The Kennebec Explorer 2014 Visitor's Guide to Maine's Kennebec Valley | Page 52
Storied riverside towns along the Kennebec.
Bingham | Solon | Norridgewock | Moscow
Bingham, Halfway to adventure.
Known as the gateway to adventure in Maine, Bingham is an
outdoor sporting paradise and home to the halfway point
between the North Pole and the Equator.
Sportsmen and those who love the outdoors who include
Bingham in their plans are in for a treat in any season. The
area’s many guides and outfitters will help them make the
most of their trip. Anglers are especially fond of the Kennebec
here, affectionately calling sections of this wonderful stretch
of river Rainbow Alley.
Solon, the Old Canada Road and the
South Solon Meeting House
Long the home of log drives, Solon is the point of origin for
the Old Canada Road Scenic Byway. This majestic 78-mile road
runs from here to the Canadian border and offers soaring views in
any season. Many favor autumn for the unforgettable leaf-peeping
opportunities a trip on the Old Canada Road can offer.
The South Solon Meetinghouse, a historic church built in 1842,
was added in 1980 to the National Register of Historic Places.
Constructed as a traditional Colonial church building with classical
revival details, the original pews, pulpit and choir loft gallery are
still in place. What makes it so special, though, is the interior —
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elaborately painted with buon fresco technique in the 1950s
by artists from the nearby Skowhegan School of Painting
and Sculpture.
Norridgewock, home to Maine’s Abenaki Indians
The Norridgewock Indians, or the “people of the still water
between the rapids” as their name means in their own language,
were an advanced people who cultivated the land and fished
the waters of the ancient Kennebec River Valley.
Also of note is the beautiful rainbow-arched bridge that crosses
the Kennebec River. The bridge replaced an older structure —
built in 1928 of similar design, lovingly known as the “Covered
Bridge” by locals. It is here that the Norridgewock Falls drop
90 feet over a mile, a geological feature which originally attracted
manufacturers to the area.
Moscow and the Wyman Dam
The small residential town of Moscow is situated just north of
Bingham. The town’s outstanding feature is the Wyman Dam,
which dams up the Kennebec River forming Wyman Lake, an
artificial lake 12 miles long and more than a mile wide, extending
north almost to the village of Caratunk. Replacing a natural course
of rapids 140 feet high, the dam provides 88 megawatts of
hydroelectric power for the Kennebec Valley annually.
To learn more about the Riverside Towns along the Kennebec, visit KennebecValley.org.