Throwback Thursday

The bridge that connects Kennebunk Lower Village to Dock Square Kennebunkport has been rebuilt several times. During a freshet on March 1, 1896, the old wooden drawbridge collapsed with a loud crash when big chunks of ice rushing downriver with the violent ebb tide cut through its supporting pilings.The need for safe and attractive vehicle passage from the Lower Village train depot to the Kennebunkport hotels by the time the summer folk arrived was of course the priority but year-round residents of both villages, who shared a post office, a milkman, and a family culture were also greatly inconvenienced. A...

I always assumed that women were gradually, if begrudgingly allowed to play golf with the men as the sport became popular in the Kennebunks but one lesson historical research has to teach me over and over is, never assume. Sarah Bancroft, seen in the first picture showing her Swedish Coachman how to drive, was a major impetus in bringing golf to the Kennebunks. She had learned the game while traveling in England and had purchased two sets of golf clubs of her own. The first organized golf club in the Kennebunks was called the Kennebunkport Golf Club. Artist Prosper Senat...