Labor Day Weekend 2024 is upon us. What does that mean to you? For many years Labor Day marked the end of the summer season at tourist destinations like our towns. But that isn’t what it was established to commemorate. Labor Day, organized by the Central Labor Union was first celebrated in this country in...
Month: August 2024
Reuel W. Norton’s Kennebunkport Hotels
I have recently posted the histories of the Old Fort Inn and Breakwater Court (now The Colony). They were both designed by architect Henry Paston Clark for hotelman, Reuel W. Norton. By the time he died unexpectedly in 1924, Reuel Norton also owned a winter hotel in Florence Villa, Florida at which he employed a...
The Twice-Moved Kennebunk House
The old house in the foreground was still at 26 Summer Street in Kennebunk when this first photograph was taken. You might recognize the Taylor Barry House in the background. The old colonial had originally been built on Main Street by Theodore Lyman in 1770 as a store. Theodore Lyman worked for wealthy Shipbuilder Waldo...
The Original Old Fort Inn
Long-time Kennebunkport hotelman, Reuel W. Norton had the Old Fort Inn designed by Architects Henry Paston Clark and John Russel in 1901.Builder Alphonse Allen promised it would be finished in time to accept guests for the 1902 season. The Old Fort Inn opened for business in June 1902, as promised. The hotel was named after...