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 — 50 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.