Kennebunkport Historical Society

Kennebunkport Historical Society Our mission is to preserve Kennebunkport’s social, cultural, & architectural history-Goal: To make relevant and accessible for today.

Research by appointment 207-967-2751

Historic House & Walking Tours/George H.W. Bush collection: Check kporths.com!

See you there!
05/31/2026

See you there!

THROWBACK THURSDAY by Sharon CumminsThe Enterprising Bartlett FamilyWhen you hear “Bartlett’s” do you think of the bridg...
05/28/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY by Sharon Cummins
The Enterprising Bartlett Family

When you hear “Bartlett’s” do you think of the bridge that had a lumber mill on one side of route one where it crosses the Kennebunk River and a store building across the street? Some of you probably think of Bartlett Avenue at Goose Rocks Beach. A few of you might even think about the family who sent 4 offspring west to capitalize on the Gold Rush. You are all thinking of the same enterprising Bartlett family!

John Bartlet was the father of all the Kennebunk Bartletts who went west in the 1850s. Honest John, as he was known, was engaged in the lumber business in Kennebunk with his younger son, William. William Bartlett eventually became sole owner of the mill, house and store. He manufactured boards, timber and slabs for 70 years, there while he operated a country store across the street.

William Bartlett was also interested in real estate, especially the lots with lots of timber growth. He bought a 100x100-foot Goose Rocks Beach lot from Benjamin Fuller, Francis and Orlando Dow in 1889 adjoining what would come to be known as Crescent and Bartlett Avenues. In 1890, William Bartlett purchased a larger contiguous lot from the same landowners along Bartlett Ave to the sea. The beautiful Bartlett family cottage he built at the oceanfront has since been replaced by two modern houses but in 1897, there were no cottages between his family cottage and Pick-Joel. By 1906, he had built an oceanfront house next door for Jeremiah Downing.

Some of the earliest settlers in our town lived between Cape Porpoise and Goose Rocks. Early Goose Rocks Beach was populated in part by early families of the Kennebunks. The Downings were a longtime Kennebunk family. The cottage Bartlett built at Crescent and Bartlett Ave was sold in 1898 to the Larrabee Family, whose ancestors had built the fort on the Mousam River in the 1700s. The Bartlett’s neighbors on the other side at the oceanfront were the Burnhams. They were direct descendants of James Burnham, the only local casualty of the Revolutionary War Naval Battle of Cape Porpoise.

What a great audience! I appreciate the opportunity to share our historical stories.
05/27/2026

What a great audience! I appreciate the opportunity to share our historical stories.

Historian Sharon Cummins from the Kennebunkport Historical Society will speak at Graves Library on May 27 at 4 p.m., sha...
05/26/2026

Historian Sharon Cummins from the Kennebunkport Historical Society will speak at Graves Library on May 27 at 4 p.m., sharing stories about local people during the American Revolution. The free event is part of the library’s America’s 250th celebration series. To save a seat, call 207-967-2778!

Local history tours are a great activity for a rainy day!
05/25/2026

Local history tours are a great activity for a rainy day!

Remembering Kennebunkport’s fallen soldiers this Memorial Day Weekend
05/24/2026

Remembering Kennebunkport’s fallen soldiers this Memorial Day Weekend

Kennebunkport is reflecting this Memorial Day Weekend on the brave heros throughout our history who made the ultimate sa...
05/22/2026

Kennebunkport is reflecting this Memorial Day Weekend on the brave heros throughout our history who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Pictures of the 1980 Memorial Day Parade. Were you there?

Congratulations to our graduating senior social media intern, Brielle Thompson! We are so grateful for all of your creat...
05/22/2026

Congratulations to our graduating senior social media intern, Brielle Thompson! We are so grateful for all of your creativity, hard work, and support this past year at the Kennebunkport Historical Society. We wish you all the best as you graduate from Kennebunk High School and head off to University of Connecticut this fall! We are also excited to welcome our newest social media interns, Lauren Aube and Parker Gaudette, to the team. We look forward to a fun and creative season ahead!

THROWBACK THURSDAY by Sharon CumminsCape Porpoise Day 1953The Kennebunkport Historical Society was only a year old and d...
05/21/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY by Sharon Cummins
Cape Porpoise Day 1953

The Kennebunkport Historical Society was only a year old and didn’t have a headquarters yet in 1953. Educator, Melville Freeman was the Society’s first Historian. He had not yet written the History of Cape Porpoise, but his 1953 illustrated history-talk schedule makes me feel like a slouch.

Freeman was also one of the organizers of the July 31, 1953, Cape Porpoise Day events which included a tour of his house and garden on Fishers Lane.

A County Fair at Atlantic Hall kicked off the festivities at 10am followed by eight open house tours under the auspices of the Kennebunkport Historical Society from 11-4:30. These houses ranged from ancient to modern.

Stop 1 was the Mr. and Mrs. George E. Emmons house on Pier Rd, built in 1854 by John Fletcher and sold to Henry B. Hutchins in 1885.

Stop 2 was Ye Olde Garrison House, built for Rev. Thomas Prentice in 1731 and garrisoned in 1734. Mrs. Maurice F. Leach, aka Ida, lived at the Garrison House in 1953.

Stop 3 was Mr. and Mrs. Melville C. Freeman’s “Back Stage” built by the Freemans in the early 1940s on Fishers Lane.

Stop 4 was The Capt. Seth Grant House on Pier Road occupied by Miss Constance Worcester in 1953. It was built in or before 1828 on land Capt. Grant acquired from his brother-in-law, Capt. John Bickford.

Stop 5 was the gardens at the Davis House on Pier Road. Mrs. Davis also displayed her collection of antique drums.

Stop 6 was The Mrs. Charles L. Wentworth Estate on Bickford Island, built in 1901 and enlarged in 1904. The Historical Society tea committee was serving tea on Mrs. Wentworth’s lawn from 3-4:30pm.

Stop 7 was Winkie Perry’s Fish House. Winkie said the end over the water was made with pieces of a Nova Scotia schooner wrecked nearby and brought to Langsford Road by Alec Rice in 1850.

Stop 8 was the modern home of the Pendergast family built in 1951 on a hill rising from Paddy’s Creek.

Thank goodness someone brought a camera along on that thrilling 1953 house tour.

Address

125 North Street
Kennebunkport, ME
04046

Telephone

(207) 967-2751

Website

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