BLUE HILL PENINSULA
Discover our Roots in American & Maritime History
Drawn to Maine’ s rich resources, Basque, French, and English fishermen, traders, explorers, and missionaries began arriving in the 1500s. The French built Fort Pentagoet in 1635 at a Penobscot / Wabanaki village in present-day Castine. This led to overlapping claims to this strategically important port town leading to the Penobscot Expedition in 1779, the largest American naval expedition of the Revolutionary war. Castine is now home to the Maine Maritime Academy, established in 1941 to train U. S. Merchant Marine officers to serve the Nation during World War II.
Get a lay of the land from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory located next to the Fort Knox Historic Site. On a clear day, views down the peninsula reach all the way to Deer Isle and Isle au Haut
Maine’ s reputation for building swift and sturdy sailing ships lives on in the charming town of Brooklin, where the Wooden Boat School passes on generations-old skills and modern boat crafting techniques.
Settlement Quarry and Green Island in Stonington are two of many granite quarries excavated in the early 1900s. Stone from Deer Isle quarries have been used for the Williamsburg Bridge, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the JFK Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. To learn more about the history of the industry visit the Deer Isle Granite Museum, also in Stonington.
Wooden Boat School, Brooklin
Visitor Resources
Blue Hill Heritage Trust BlueHillHeritageTrust. org Penobscot Narrows Bridge / Observatory & Fort Knox Historic Site: FortKnoxMaine. com Blue Hill Peninsula Chamber of Commerce BlueHillPeninsula. org Main Street Bucksport MainStreetBucksport. org Castine Visitor Center Castine. me. us / welcome / Deer Isle-Stonington Chamber of Commerce DeerIsle. com
Foggy Stonington Harbor
For more on what to do when visiting the Blue Hill Peninsula scan here.
Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Bridge
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