The Kennebec Explorer 2015 Visitor's Guide to Maine's Kennebec Valley | Page 51
BINGHAM | SOLON | NORRIDGEWOCK | MOSCOW
Storied Riverside Towns Along the Kennebec
Bingham – Gateway 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 that love the outdoors, who include a
stop in 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
River in this area, affectionately calling sections of this
wonderful stretch of river Rainbow Alley.
Solon – Old Canada Road – 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 Meeting House, 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 — 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 that 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 each year.
Learn more at KennebecValley.org 49