A Visit to Castine Maine
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Our route from Mount Carleton, New Brunswick to Castine, Maine
Longtime sailing friends Marianne and Wyllys spend their summers in Castine, Maine. Wyllys’ family has owned an oceanside cottage there since the 1950s and when they learned we were in Canada, they graciously extended an invitation for a visit. It didn’t take us long to say yes.
Marianne and Wyllys, longtime cruising friends and our hosts in Castine (Used with permission)
Our trip took us north to Saint-Quentin, ‘The Maple Capital of the Atlantic’ and then south on a diagonal and out of New Brunswick.
We headed across the border and through US Customs once again... this time at Van Buren, Maine. For the first time, the agent checked our fridge and confiscated our fresh eggs and a green pepper, both of which had been purchased in Lubec, Maine. Rules are rules!
Back thru US border control - they took our eggs and green pepper... darn!
We made our way along US-1 through Caribou and Presque Isle and the potato growing regions of Maine until we reached Houlton.
All colors of potatoes for sale
Houlton is the eastern terminus of The Great Northern Highway, US-2, which we drove in 2022 from Everett, Washington. Last time, we stayed in the Houlton KOA campground. This time the parking lot at the Hannaford supermarket suited our needs just fine.
US-2's eastern terminus is Houlton, Maine on the New Brunswick border
We were off in the morning on I-95 south towards Bangor. It’s a boring ride, but fast at 75 mph (120 kmh). The day was gray, then drizzly. We finally exited I-95 and followed the Penobscot River all the way to Watson Point in Castine on Penobscot Bay. Marianne had prepared their guest cottage for us. It was comfy, cozy and a few steps from the shore’s edge.
Our seaside cottage in Castine, Maine - Wow!
Once we were settled, we headed into town with Marianne as our guide. We met Wyllys at the historic Castine Golf Club. Established in 1897, this 9-hole golf club, tennis club and yacht club is one of the oldest golf clubs in Maine. Golf Magazine rated it as ‘one of the 50 best 9-hole courses in the world’. We’re not golfers, but Marianne and Wyllys are. We met Wyllys at the club after a round and had lunch before setting out on a town tour.
Castine Golf Club, one of Maine's oldest Photo: Castine Golf Club Website
According to the town’s website, “Castine, Maine is one of the oldest communities in North America. It has been occupied continuously since the early 1600s as the site of numerous trading posts, forts, missions, and permanent settlements of France, Holland, England, and colonial America.”
Castine is one of the oldest communities in North America.
Both Wyllys and Marianne conduct town tours. Wyllys led the tour today. We climbed aboard the tour mobile. ‘Scarlet’, along with three other tourists and whizzed around Castine for a very informative, fun historical tour.
Wyllys was in the driver's seat as we waited for three other tourists to begin our historic tour.
Some of the highlights...
The Windmill House has an antique windmill built as a piano studio over a century ago. The house itself is newer, but the original windmill remains intact and has been renovated.
A windmill is not quite what you'd expect in a New England colonial town.
The "Stone Cottage" was originally built before 1796. It has served as the town jail, poor house, and a rustic summer cottage since the 1890s.
The Stone Cottage has served many purposes since it was built ~1796
Dyce Head Light is located near the mouth of the Penobscot River. It was decommissioned in 1935 and is now located at a private residence. According to the website, the light was re-lit in 2008.
Dyce Head Light
We stopped at The Pentagöet Inn and Pub for a look-see since Marianne knew the owners. Built in 1894, this Queen Anne Victorian-style inn is Castine’s oldest, original ‘summer hotel’ and it’s a gem. The Pentagöet has received kudos from Forbes, Travel & Leisure and Yankee Magazine among others. If we returned to Castine for a visit sometime, this is the place we’d choose to stay.
and Pub - it's a gem! Photo: Pentagöet Inn website
Castine’s streets are lined with historic houses. Wyllys used the phrase “Five, Four, and a Door” to describe Georgian or Federal style houses meaning that there were typically five windows across the front of the second story, with a center door framed by two windows on either side on the first floor. Popular in the mid-1700s to ~1830, it became a game to identify this style house during the tour, although having been brought up in New England, Marcie was pretty familiar with the phrase and this architectural style.
Some say white chimneys marked the homes of Loyalists or those who were sympathetic to the British. While it’s a good story, it might be an urban myth because there’s no official historical record to prove it and Loyalists probably didn’t want to alert the revolutionaries of their allegiance.
Are those Loyalist chimneys?
A lovely dinner at home with Marianne and Wyllys and their visiting granddaughter and we were off the next morning heading west. We had lots of friends to visit on our route back home and Niagara Falls just happens to be along our route. What do you think? You won’t need a barrel and you won’t get your feet wet. Come on along!