Author: Sharon Cummins (Sharon Cummins)

Romantics at Sea

Capt. Joseph A. Titcomb, Capt. Fordyce B. Perkins, and Silas H. Perkins, who all ran the Perkins Coal Wharf in Dock Square had much in common. First and foremost, they were all related, either by blood or marriage to each other and to the family who built and occupied the Nott House now owned by...

February 13, 2025February 13, 2025

Coal, Couplets, and Candy

Even the tiniest buildings in Dock square have fascinating history. Taking a walk in the neighborhood the other day I noticed that Dock Square Coffee Shop on Perkins Wharf is for sale. It got me thinking about the history of that small building and the tiny one beside it that now houses part of the...

February 6, 2025February 6, 2025

Did you feel the Earth Move like it was 1727?

THROWBACK THURSDAY is appearing early this week in light of today’s relatively rare occurrence. The earthquake experienced here in 1727 was noted as the fourth great earthquake that had happened in New England since the Pilgrams landed at Plymouth Rock. The first one had been in 1638, the second in 1658, and the third in...

January 28, 2025January 28, 2025

Two sets of Twins between Chestnut and Elm

I love walking around my neighborhood thinking about the lives of the people who have occupied these old houses in historic Kennebunkport Village. Believe it or not, it’s what I do for fun. Twin houses built during the War of 1812 used to stand on Ocean Avenue between Elm and Chestnut Streets. Cooper Nahum Haley,...

January 23, 2025January 23, 2025

Keeping up with the Greeks in the Kennebunks

Before you read today’s THROWBACK, look at the 4 pictures and take a guess where these columned Greek Revival houses stand in the Kennebunks today and in what order they were built. Master builder Beniah Littlefield built Nathaniel L Thompson’s house at Summer Street in 1842. Shipbuilder N.L. Thompson was a trendsetter. Not only did...

January 16, 2025January 16, 2025

History Hero Seth E. Bryant of Kennebunk Lower Village

Seth Emery Bryant was a historical record keeper by vocation and clearly, by nature. Though he was technically from away, the contributions he made to the record of the history of the Kennebunks are immeasurable. Seth Bryant, the eldest son of William M. Bryant and Kennebunkport Perkins family descendant Mary E. Emery, was born in...

January 9, 2025January 9, 2025

Kennebunk ships on Wilde adventures in the Pacific

Theodore Lyman left his Kennebunk shipyard and mansion for Boston in 1790 never to return, but he continued to influence our maritime history for decades. Theodore’s brother-in-law, Dr. Oliver Keating, occupied the Lyman property as an agent for Theodore until 1799. Lyman then installed his cousins, the Plummer brothers there. The House and shipyard were...

January 2, 2025January 2, 2025

Holiday Greetings from Kennebunk Newswoman

Annie J. Crediford was our first newswoman in the Kennebunks. Born into a Brunwick, Me maritime family, she had traveled the world and lived in Japan before she reached marrying age. Upon her return to Brunswick as a teenager she went to work for the Brunswick Telegraph, learning every aspect of the newspaper business. She...

December 19, 2024December 19, 2024

The White School on KHS Prelude Village Walking Tour Moved Twice

While you are milling about Dock Square this weekend waiting for the Christmas Prelude Tree lights to come on, notice the building now blended into the Brown Block/Colonial Phamacy. It wasn’t always so. The humble old ‘White School,’ almost 70 years older than the Brown Block, has plenty of stories to tell. Samuel Davis built...

December 5, 2024December 5, 2024