The Maine Beaches Visitor Guide 2020 Visitor's Guide to The Maine Beaches | Page 6

CELEBRATE MAINE’S
BICENTENNIAL
Walker’s Point, Kennebunkport
Throughout 2020 The Maine Beaches will join the rest of Maine in celebrating the
Bicentennial Anniversary of Maine's Statehood. Previously a part of Massachusetts,
Maine became the nation's 23rd state on March 15, 1820. The new state bordered
New Hampshire to the south and west, though the U.S. and Britain disputed the
northern and eastern borders until the Webster–Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
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The industrialization of the 19th century found The Maine Beaches area flourishing.
The railroads arrived. Textile mills in Biddeford and Saco attracted French-Canadian
workers from Quebec and New Brunswick. Kittery's Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,
the U.S. Navy's oldest continuously operating shipyard, was booming.
It wasn't long before people began to recognize the beaches of the southern Maine
coast as an appealing vacation destination. The Bush family first built their "mansions"
on Walker's Point in 1902. Built around the turn of the 20th century, the historic
family-style summer community of Ocean Park and the pier at Old Orchard Beach
began attracting leisure visitors arriving by automobile. By the 1950s, The Maine
Beaches had perfected the art of tourism and hospitality. With lobster, lighthouses,
miles of long sandy beaches, arts and culture, quaint coastal towns, outlet and
boutique shopping, unmatched lodging and dining, this truly is Vacationland.
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