A Visit to Westport Island, Maine

This Mainer would like to point out a fact that has not yet surfaced in all her travels throughout the state or in the piles of local history books she has read thus far. To be clear, that’s not to say nothing has been written or discussed on the topic, but only that she has yet to discover that material. You are very welcome to use the contact page to direct her to anything she’s missed.

Maine has four towns with names that give each of them a special connection to the other: Northport, Southport, Eastport, and Westport Island. Numerous other communities have various “port” related names, but it seems these four should create a formal compass-type association of some sort.

Having shared these musings, let’s move on to a feature of the latter in the group of four: Westport Island located in Lincoln County. Though not everything in this island town was explored (one must always save something for a return visit), I did drive all but one short road on the island.

To be honest, that’s not exactly a dramatic accomplishment. There is the Main Road that runs from top to bottom, along with a few other side ones. So it’s very doable to cover the town in one trip, and it’s impossible to get lost. But don’t think you can cruise through in a matter of a couple minutes. The way is very narrow and winding, and much of it is unpaved with a generous number of potholes. You’ll feel like you’re in someone’s driveway for most of the trek. Mind you, my visit was in spring so your experience may vary from this one. Or maybe not.

But aside from this, the scenery is tremendously distracting. Westport Island is a beautiful part of Maine. You’ll continually be tempted to pull over to enjoy it. Good news for you and me, the town invites us to do just that with their Westport Island History Trail.

For this feature, I decided to explore the town via these interpretive signs. A few of the stops are shown below, but not all of them so as to not spoil your trip, if you should be able to visit Westport Island for yourself.

The history trail begins at Ferry Landing. As I pulled in, I saw a few people working on the site’s gardens. They were kind enough to chat with me. One of them is a member of the town’s select board. Donna shared that volunteerism plays a big role in the town’s well-being since there are only 700+ residents. (Case in point, no one was getting paid to pull out the weeds in the gardens.) This is a recurring theme throughout Maine.

I mentioned that it was surprising to find extensive displays of local history in such a small town. Along with grant funding from the Maine 200 Bicentennial, the project was successful due to the Westport Island History Committee and the Friends of Westport Island History nonprofit. There is much history related to mills, fishing, lumbering, shipbuilding, and more in this place. It is encouraging to see the local priority of preserving it for future generations.

Above is the Squire Tarbox Inn.
Sections of this building date back to 1763.
And, yes, you can come and stay, if you like.

The island is only two miles across at its widest point, but it does has some wonderful trails. I enjoyed this particular trek through the Bonyon Preserve.

Westport Island is a special Maine place. I’m off to explore some other parts of the state on this journey to every town. Come along for the read by signing up for the weekly newsletter. Happy to have you join this learning adventure as you discover more local places in the 207. If you’ve missed any of the other towns already featured, check out the whole list on the INDEX page.