Family-Friendly Lodging Near Ogunquit’s Best Museums
As a guest of ours at the Gorges Grant Hotel, Juniper Hill Inn, Milestone, or Cottage on Acorn Lane, you not only get to soak up our fabulous hospitality and all the arts, culture, shopping, and dining on tap here in the Beautiful Place by the Sea: You’ll also be auspiciously poised to explore some local history among the numerous fine museums dotting our Southern Maine coast. Here are a few nearby options well worth tracking down!
Brick Store Museum (117 Main St., Kennebunk, ME)
The Brick Store Museum’s stated mission is “to ignite personal connections to local history, art, and culture through exhibitions, education, and programs celebrating the human experience in the Kennebunks and its surrounding communities.” The exhibitions that rotate through its six galleries, bolstered by smaller “History Showcases,” tell stories of place and people, bringing the past to life and evoking the vibrancy and diversity of local culture.
Current exhibitions include “From the Kennebunks to the Argonne Forest: The Great War That Changed America” and “Tea Time,” which delves into the local popularity of tea. The museum is also hosting some intriguing upcoming events, including an indoor tour focused on “Love Stories of the Kennebunks” (February 9th, 16th, and 23rd) and a presentation by the Maine Historical Society’s Kate McBrien on “The History of Malaga Island” on February 15th, part of the monthly Roger Culture Series lectures offered each year between February and October.
Seashore Trolley Museum (105 Log Cabin Rd, Kennebunkport, ME)
If you’re a fan of vintage rolling stock and other railway artifacts—or, really, just history in general—you’ll appreciate a stroll around the campus of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, run by the New England Electric Railway Historical Society that was founded way back in 1939. Explore State-of-the-Art Cars, car barns, and other attractions among the public exhibits, and hop aboard the 1.5-mile interpretive railway for a narrated ride along the historic Atlantic Shore Line. The museum also includes a Town House Shop, where antique railcars are restored and the institution’s operating fleet is kept shipshape, and a gift shop.
Counting House Museum (Main & Liberty, South Berwick, ME)
The Counting House Museum occupies the only surviving structure of the once-mighty Portsmouth Manufacturing Cotton Mill, which at its height processed some 1,300 bales of cotton per day. The mill closed in 1893, but the Counting House—once occupied by the Portsmouth Manufacturing accountants—remains as testament to this piece of local history.
Within you’ll find exhibits and artifacts related to the mill, as well as the upstairs ballroom that originally served as venue for the “Lighting Up Ball” every August and today hosts the annual meetings of the Old Berwick Historical Society, which has maintained the Counting House Museum since the early 1960s.
A heads up: The Counting House Museum is currently closed for the winter, but opens in June for its 2019 season, which runs through October.
Enjoy the Ogunquit Area’s Museums Alongside Our Unbeatable Hospitality
Take advantage of our lovely accommodations in Ogunquit—which you can save money on by booking directly with us, mind you—and enjoy some of our area’s fascinating and diverse museums during your getaway in the Beautiful Place by the Sea!