A Quick Look around Camden Maine

Following our visit to the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport and our lunch at the Front Street Pub and Restaurant in Belfast Maine, we headed south along the coast toward our temporary home base in Rockland.  On the way along US Hwy. 1 we once again passed through the big tourist center at Camden. 

As we neared the center of town, traffic was slow and I decided to stop and take photos of a few architecturally interesting and eye pleasing buildings.   

This castle-like structure is not what one might expect along the Maine Coast.  The Norumbega Inn was built in 1886 by an inventor of the duplex telegraph.  It remained as a private residence for about 100 years when it was converted into a bed and breakfast.  Shuttered for 2 years, it was completely refurbished and reopened in 2013.

The room rates for this upscale bed and breakfast (for 12/18/18) ranged from $229 to $479 per night.  There are 11 suites including the penthouse.  Breakfast is included.  The Norumbega Inn is located at 63 High Street (US Hwy. 1) in Camden Maine.  Website: https://www.norumbegainn.com/.

Notes:

·         The duplex telegraph allowed for the transmission of 2 messages simultaneously through the same wire.

·         Norumbega or Nurembega is a legendary settlement in northeastern North America which appeared on many early maps beginning in the 1500s.  The houses were said to have pillars of gold and the inhabitants carried quarts of pearls on their heads…

The Little Dream Bed and Breakfast, with its “cottage style” Victorian design has that terrific looking wrap-around porch and there is a matching Carriage House on this 2 acre property as well.  Both of these structures are on the National Register of Historic Places.  They were built in 1888 as part of the Norumbega Estate.

Off season rates for the Little Dream Bed and Breakfast ranged from $129 to $235 per night.  They have 7 rooms at Little Dream.  It’s located at 60 High Street in Camden.  Website: http://littledream.com/.

This is the Whitehall Inn.  This Inn/small hotel is located at 52 High Street in Camden.  A widow bought a sea captain’s house in 1834 and began taking in guests to earn a bit of income.  

Success led to the addition of more rooms and the expanded structure became the Whitehall Hotel.  It was renamed the Whitehall Inn back in 1901.  This Inn offers a total of 36 rooms and suites.  It is currently closed for the season.  Check out their Website at: https://www.whitehallmaine.com/. 

Note:

·         The 1957 movie “Peyton Place” was partially filmed at the Whitehall Inn.  The 1996 movie “Thinner”, based on a Stephen King novel was also partially shot here…

This is the Maine Stay Inn which is located at 22 High Street in Camden.  It is the second oldest building/home in the High Street Historic District.  It was built back in 1802 when Thomas Jefferson was President and Maine was just part of the state of Massachusetts. 

This bed and breakfast has 8 rooms/suites for guests.  Prices for 12/18/18 ranged from $140 to $190.  For more information go to their website at: https://www.camdenmainestay.com/.

This is the Camden Windward House Bed and Breakfast at 6 High Street in Camden, only a block from the harbor and shopping.  This Greek revival style home was built in 1854 by a successful shipbuilder and lumberman.  It first opened for guests in 1924. 

New owners and their chocolate lab “Barney” bought the Inn in 2017.  The Camden Windward House has 8 suites available for visitors.  To learn more, go to https://www.windwardhouse.com/.

This is a view of the business district in Camden Maine looking southbound on US Hwy. 1.  The population of Camden totals roughly 4,800…but it more than triples in the summer months!

This is a view in the reverse direction looking northbound on US Hwy. 1.  The one thing that both photos have in common is the traffic!  We barely moved as we eased into town.  In any case, I’d planned to stop in Camden to look around and to check out the harbor…

Following the War of 1812, Camden prospered and grew quickly.  In addition to sawmills and gristmills, there were carriage factories, sash and blind factories and blacksmith shops.  There were 6 shipyards launching 10 – 12 vessels each year.  By 1886, the town made foundry products, railroad cars, woolens, anchors, planking, powder kegs, mattresses, tin ware, boots and shoes, leather and much more.  

Tourism began in the 1880s, with the wealthy building summer homes.  Even the great fire of 1892 that burned down most of the business district, didn’t discourage the influx of upscale visitors looking for a place to enjoy their summers.

So many places to eat, things to do and/or to explore and so little time!  

The Camden Deli’s customers have given it 85% excellent or very good ratings on TripAdvisor!  The TripAdvisor photos were mouth-watering, especially of those big deli sandwiches… Check out their Website: http://www.camdendeli.com/.  

The Mariner’s Restaurant right next door has an 89% excellent/very good score on TripAdvisor.   They are open for breakfast and lunch.  They don’t have an official Facebook page or website.

Camden is loaded with shops, restaurants, bed and breakfasts and activities for those who have the time or focus on one area on their vacations.  As readers may have noticed, that’s not our style.  We love road trips, sampling the attractions, towns and countryside as we go.

Since I have a ‘thing’ for ships and boats…I headed on down to Camden’s busy harbor to look for some larger yachts… I noticed The Big Snooze, an older yacht that has the ‘look’ that I like.  I wondered about the name though.  The ‘big snooze’ could reference relaxation, a mob hit or a 1946 Looney Tunes cartoon by Warner Brothers featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd…

Across the harbor tucked in between sailing vessels and working boats, I noted the Omni Sea.  This 112 foot long Westport motor yacht was delivered to her owner in 2014.  FYI, The Westport Shipyard is located in Westport Washington.

Camden’s harbor is a very busy sheltered anchorage, that’s for sure.  If you look carefully at this photo, you can see the narrow opening leading to and from West Penobscot Bay.

I took this photo just to show how attractive and accessible the shoreline along the harbor is in Camden.  There is a lot going on!

Of all the vessels in the harbor, the Pursuit was my favorite.  I like the old style as well as the color combination.  Also, it’s not too big, a modest yacht that could be operated by a couple...

Maine Windjammer Cruises, the cruise schooner business, was established by Captain Frank Swift back in 1936 and they’re still going strong.  Their former cargo schooners provide 3 to 5 day all-inclusive sailing trips.  Maine Windjammer vessels include the Grace Bailey, the Mercantile and the newer yacht/schooner blend, the Mistress.

This is one of the ships from the Maine Windjammer Cruise fleet.  It’s the Mercantile.  She was built in 1916 as a shoal-draft vessel, designed to handle cargo in and out of places that were inaccessible to deeper draft ships.  She began sailing out of Camden in 1945 as part of the Maine Windjammer fleet.  Mercantile has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The Mercantile was completely restored and updated in 1989.  She is 115 feet long and she has accommodations for 29 passengers.  This 2-masted schooner was built on Little Deer Isle Maine.  Ships of her type were one of the most common cargo vessels of the coasting trade which flourished until superseded by better roads and railroads. 

To learn more about cruises on the Maine Windjammer Cruise fleet, just go to https://www.mainewindjammercruises.com/index.cfm.

This is the schooner Lewis R. French.  She was launched in the spring of 1871 in Christmas Cove Maine.  She is the last schooner that remains out of the thousands built in Maine in the 1800s.  With luck and a lot of care, the French carried a mixed bag of cargoes for several owners around the northeast for over 100 years!

She carried freight until 1971 and then this 101 foot long schooner spent 3 years being rebuilt for the passenger cruise business.  The Lewis R. French can be chartered at times but she primarily operates 3 to 6 day cruises around the northeast coast.  She is totally powered by sail…with a powered yawl available should the ship encounter a dead calm.  By way of example, you could book a 3-day Memorial Day cruise for 2019 for a reasonable $625.00 per person.  To learn more about this schooner and the cruises available, go to https://www.schoonerfrench.com/index.htm. 

These photos don’t do justice to the French and Brawn Market Place in downtown Camden.  This store has been serving Camden for 150 years!  Talk about longevity in the retail world…Wow!

They have deli, bakery, produce, quality meat and seafood, beer, wine, etc.  They have a butcher that can provide custom cuts and they offer various platters, sandwich and soup specials, lobsters steamed to order, meals to go, delivery, provisioning and catering...just to mention a few options.  I can tell you that we could have lost it in this market if we were staying in a cottage nearby or needed to stock up the larder on a boat!

To learn more about the French and Brawn Market and to see a couple of beautiful photos of downtown Camden with the hills behind and harbor in front, just go to https://www.frenchandbrawn.com/.

That’s all for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave