The Boothbay Region

The history of our region dates back to the early and mid-1600s, when the area was settled by English fishermen and farmers. In 1622, a few Massachusetts Pilgrims looking for food sailed “down east” from Plymouth to resupply at Damariscove Island, where then-plentiful cod was dried to preserve it. The settlements at Damariscove and other islands just off our jagged coastline hung on until the Indian Wars of the late 1600s forced them out. The Scotch-Irish families who resettled the area in 1729 engaged in subsistence farming, exporting lumber, firewood, and fish for cash to buy what they could not create themselves. Eventually, shipbuilding and fishing became the area’s lead industries.

In addition to commercial and recreational boatbuilding, naval vessels were built here for World War I, World War II, and Korean War service. Boothbay shipbuilders were much in demand at seaports all over New England when those contracts were given out. That tradition of excellence continues today with luxury yachts, tugs, and daysailers, as well as the classic lobster boats that work our waters.

Beginning in the 1860s, regular steamer service from Boston and other cities helped to launch the first summer tourist boom, bringing visitors out of the urban heat and hubbub to the fresh salt air and quiet of the Boothbay peninsula. Hotels and cottages for these “rusticators” sprang up throughout the region. In the late 1880s, industrial-sized businesses brought year round work. Ice works were set up on local ponds, and sardine and lobster canneries also provided a flood of new jobs. The region experienced true prosperity in that turn-of-the-century era. Today, the working population’s main sources of income are shipyards, fishing, hospitality, and providing services for summer residents and retirees.

For a small geographical area, the Boothbay region boasts an impressive array of distinctive attractions. The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is a world-class facility set on nearly 300 acres that continues to grow with the construction of a glasshouse/conservatory. At the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, scientists use cutting-edge, innovative approaches to seek solutions for climate change and host a range of educational programs. The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor presents a diverse, year round calendar of musical entertainment, and the Boothbay Region Land Trust maintains more than 30 miles of hiking trails that are open to the public all year.

Find lots more information on the website of the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce, from which some of the above text was adapted.