Benajah Leonard Bugbee, seen here at Cape Porpoise Pier, was employed by the American Optical Company in 1905. He tried out their newly developed lens by taking pictures at Kennebunk Beach. The Webhannet Golf Club and The Atlantis Hotel were just a few years old. The train must have been quite a distraction for the...
Month: March 2023
An Irishman in Kennebunkport
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you of all nationalities. I was surprised to learn about Thomas Casey, the eventually revered “Patriarch” of Kennebunkport. The Irish Catholic lobsterman was not originally welcomed here with open arms, but he won the love and respect of his neighbors in Kennebunkport by speaking his mind with wit and passion....
The 4-masted Schooner Sagamore
The Schooner Sagamore, seen here, was launched from the Charles Ward Shipyard in Kennebunk Lower Village on May 11, 1891. Four days later a reporter for the Eastern Star wrote about it. “The Sagamore launched from Ward’s yard took the water well but the carriage shop of Hall and Littlefield got a wetting, water pouring...
The Nonantum
Henry Heckman of Lower Village built The Nonantum in 1884 with 26 guest rooms and a staff of 10. His business was so successful that he had doubled its size by 1894. Architect Henry Paston Clark designed a Georgian Revival façade for the main building during the expansion and a wide front Piazza was added...