Author: Sharon Cummins (Sharon Cummins)

I was doing some research on the Seavey Family of Cape Porpoise this week and encountered a lot of history, but I promise won’t go all the way back to William Seavey who came to Cape Porpoise from Kittery in 1720. John E. Seavey was born in Cape Porpoise in 1830. He was listed in...

The history of the Kennebunks has its own shameful episodes of treaty breaking in the build up to King William’s and The French & Indian Wars when Indigenous families still camped along the Cape Porpoise (Mousam) and Kennebunk Rivers. But no Indigenous families had lived in the Kennebunks for 48 years in 1803 when Thomas...

I keep an eye on the antique real estate for sale in Kennebunkport because that sometimes gets me a modern sneak peek inside one of these old gems. It might not surprise you to learn that I love old buildings. There are currently two condo units for sale in the 1886 Bickford House and it...

Volume up! When did your family first visit Kennebunk Beaches?

Architect John Calvin Stevens designed at least 5 Cape Arundel Cottages that are still standing. Though he wasn’t a Maine native, his family moved from Boston to Portland when he was just two years old. After finishing high school, Stevens entered the Portland architectural office of Francis Fassett. He worked his way up from office...

On this the fourth Thursday of May, I am acutely aware that my dear friend, Frank W. Handlen has been gone a whole year. Frank was a gifted marine artist, a shipbuilder, and a sculptor in heroic scale. His Kennebunkport legacy is all around us. You might remember when he launched his handmade ferro cement...

The Spirit of Massachusetts has been hauled out of the Kennebunk River to a berth on the lot near the new Pilot House Restaurant in Lower Village Kennebunk and reportedly will be accessible from the eatery. The Spirit was modeled after an 1889 Gloucester fishing schooner designed by Edward Burgess and built by Moses Adams...

Join me in wishing our own Jane Morgan a wonderful birthday. The talented and beautiful sister of Kennebunkport Playhouse founder Robert Currier turned 100 years old on May 3, 2024. Florence “Flossie” Currier grew up at the Kennebunkport Playhouse. She worked in the box office, helped out as Treasurer, and often made appearances on stage....

Every year at this time, I start getting inquiries about the history of Strawberry Island. When I was reading through the August 8, 1923 issue of Turn O’ the Tide the other day, looking for something else, of course, I came across an article about Strawberry Island titled, OH, YES, THEY HAVE NO STRAWBERRIES BUT...

My favorite photographic collections at the Kennebunkport Historical Society are the ones that include pictures from all over Kennebunkport taken around the same time. This collection transports us to Kennebunkport Village in 1901. Let’s follow the year-old trolley tracks into Dock Square, (picture #1) past the equine iron drinking fountain. The street approaching the bridge...