Maine Attractions: A State of Surprises
- Ren Gudino
- 20 hours ago
- 6 min read
When most people think of lighthouses and lobster, they think of Maine, but this coastal wonder is so much more. From a history of shipbuilding starting 400 years ago, wild blueberries covering the land since the end of the second Ice Age, to building the first interstate in New England (the second in the country), Maine is home to more than the nation’s highest moose population. It’s even the birthplace of the donut! Let’s set sail on a journey from the first English colony in America, all the way to this year’s blueberry festivals, and learn just how much Maine has shaped our nation!
On December 13, 1947, the Maine Turnpike first opened for traffic, stretching 47 miles from Kittery to Portland. This was the first superhighway in New England and the second superhighway ever built in the country. This now 83-year-old interstate started with hundreds of locals cutting down trees, designing, and building a highway that would later reach to Augusta. The road required folks to clear miles of untamed land, taking two years to build the first paved section. Now, this 109-mile highway, also known as I-95, is the state's busiest stretch of road, with 10% of state traffic and 55% of the state's freight. Once states received federal funding in 1955, there was talk about getting rid of the turnpike when construction costs had been paid off, but Maine DOT opted to keep it a self-funded road. This allows MaineDOT to cover other projects, since two-thirds of turnpike tolls come from out of state, and the highway is maintained with its own funds. However, highway building isn't the only thing Maine was first to accomplish.
Though not known for being the first colony in America, the Popham Colony was the first organized attempt by the English to establish a colony in New England, dating back to 1607. Though it was abandoned a year later (with Jamestown, VA, becoming the first permanent settlement), this failure was an important step toward the Pilgrims' future success in colonization. Most notably, during Popham Colony's brief existence, a shipwright named Digby built the first ship ever constructed by the English on the North American mainland — beginning what would later become one of Maine's most innovative and prolific industries.
In 1830, Maine was building more ships than any other state until the mid-1890s. At the time, Southern Maine was the perfect location for building warships, cargo ships, and fishing vessels. This was in part due to the plentiful supply of shipbuilding timber, 3,000 miles of tidal coastline and a large workforce of skilled tradesmen. The wooden shipbuilding industry was Maine's domain until after WWI, when steel ships became dominant. Nowadays, Maine is still the leader of wooden shipbuilding even though decent timber is in high demand, thanks to still having active skilled shipwrights. When Virginia needed replicas of ships to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's settling, it was Maine's shipyards that built two of them.
Ships are different from boats, though. When it comes to boat building, Maine's history goes back even farther, since boats were used for fishing, transportation, and pleasure. These vessels are not as well documented and are much simpler to build. These smaller boats were still built as lifeboats or working craft and taken on ships. The shipbuilding industry took a turn in 1890 when Bath Iron Works opened and began producing steel ships, and during both World Wars, the Maine shipyards became nationally important as they produced boats and ships for the Navy, Army, and Maritime Commission. In the '50s, a Maine shipyard started experimenting with composites, using fiberglass. Since then, it's become very common to see a boat or ship made with fiberglass, aluminum, or any of the strong wood composite materials. Now, there are still 200 firms in Maine that build boats, though most of their income comes from running marinas or storing boats, with boats only being made now for fisheries or pleasure—like luxury yachts.
The shipbuilding industry did more than influence our position in the World Wars—it also led to cultural culinary innovations, or so the story goes. In 1840, a 16-year-old named Hanson Gregory from Rockport started out as a sailor and rose through the ranks to sea captain. His mother would send him with batches of fried dough flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon. Modeled after a fried 18th-century Dutch treat called the "oly koek," the recipe was found in a British cookbook in 1800 called the "dow nut," a name that later evolved to "doughnut." These rounded loaves of fried dough had one issue: they were often undercooked in the center and held a lot of grease. Gregory once said to the Washington Post in 1916 that it was "tough on the digestion." To fix this issue, he claims to have used a fork to cut a hole in the middle of the treat to decrease the amount of oil the dough would absorb and to give the treat crispier edges, also allowing it to cook faster. Different sources claim he used a ship's pepper tin to later make a perfect circle, while another says he pushed the dough through a spoke of the ship's wheel. When he returned home to Rockport, he suggested to his mother that she roll the dough into a ring, making the doughnut treat with its iconic hole a hit among the locals. Though there are mixed sources on whether this story is an account of history or just local lore, the National Bakers Association recognized Hanson Gregory as the inventor of the doughnut in 1948.
Of course, there are other things about Maine that are worth mentioning in the present, not just the past. Eastport, Maine is the easternmost city in the US, which means it is the FIRST place in the country to see sunshine! Maine's official state animal is the moose — and for good reason, as it has the highest moose population in the United States. How many moose is that? This source claims there are approximately 75,000 moose roaming the entire state. Maine doesn't just have the most moose, though. This state also has the most blueberries and, in fact, produces 99% of all the blueberries in the entire country.
That's right: if you're a person that buys blueberries, you're most likely eating blueberries that came directly from Maine! They are the largest producer of blueberries in the US, supplying 99% of all blueberries in the country. The annual harvest is so large that, if they were spread out in a single layer, North American blueberries would cover a four-lane highway from Chicago to New York. Any and all wild blueberries purchased in the US are Maine wild blueberries, coming from any of the 47,600 acres of wild blueberry land managed by 512 Maine farms. When the glaciers receded from the last ice age, blueberries sprouted and thrived in spite of the highly acidic soil. Native Americans burned the fields to discourage weed growth and give the blueberries full sun, and have since been harvesting them for over 1,000 years. Since wild blueberries are smaller than cultivated varieties, they have a higher "skin-to-pulp" ratio. This gives them a higher concentration of antioxidants, while also being a great source of manganese, dietary fiber, and vitamins B6, C and K.
The state celebrates this natural wonder by hosting blueberry festivals throughout the year. The Machias Wild Blueberry Festival has been celebrating the Washington County harvest for 46 years. Once just a few vendors and blueberry pies, this annual fall fest has turned into a full-on event with music, vendors, crafts, food, and entertainment. They were even once featured by ESPN when they live-broadcasted the Machias Wild Blueberry pie-eating contest. In July, Maine's Wild Blueberry festival is an event held alongside the Union Fair. This festival includes a baking contest, a pie-eating contest, a new exhibition/education area, bands and solo musical artists, kids' events, a new selfie wall scavenger hunt, and the crowning of the Maine Wild Blueberry Queen!
From its beginnings as the site of America's first English colony to the home of the northernmost point of I-95, Maine is full of firsts and mosts. The state's shipbuilding heritage and Captain Gregory's doughnut hole invention show just how innovative Maine is. The most unique and famous of all is Maine's indigenous wild blueberry crop that has thrived since the glaciers receded across nearly 50,000 acres. Whether you're visiting the home of the doughnut, checking in at maritime museums, stopping in at this year's blueberry festivals, or just traveling through along the historic I-95, remember that Interstate Signways marked the way!