An afternoon in Eastport, Maine

Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Eastport is the easternmost city in the United States. Wikipedia

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The Tides Institute and Museum of Art


We spent the afternoon in Eastport, it was actually hot today and Eastport was busier than we have seen it in years. It was once a thriving city, with the Eastern Steamship Line, a booming sardine industry and a much larger population when my grandmother was a young girl and woman in the early 1900s. Her uncle was once a Mayor of the city and Superintendent of the Steamship Line later in his career. My mother spent some summers there as well in the 30s. It is no longer a booming metropolis, but it has a deep water port, and many stately buildings undergoing rehab work. It has always been an art colony as well, the lovely sea light that delights painters is gorgeous with views of Campobello Island, NB, Canada directly across. the water.


My photograph is a portion of the fountain described in the clip below. It was designed for humans and horses as well. In the extras you can see the fountain with the library building and a bank on an adjacent street in the background. 


The Tides Insitute and Museum of Art owns and maintains an 1889 cast iron water fountain, made by the J.L. Mott Ironworks Company of New York City, that serves as the centerpiece of the City of Eastport civic space in front of the TIMA’s main building in downtown Eastport, Maine. The fountain was originally installed in 1889 in front of what is now TIMA’s main building. With the advent of the automobile in the early twentieth century, the fountain was relocated to Eastport’s Hillside Cemetery. There it remained until it was brought back to be placed very near its original location in 2006 as part of the new civic space. In 2015, the fountain was donated to TIMA by the then owners of the fountain, the local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The local branch was disbanding and the branch felt TIMA was the best hope to preserve the fountain in the future. For a view of the original design plan of the fountain from TIMA’s collections, follow this link: 1889 Water Fountain Plan.


We spent the afternoon in some of our favorite shops and sat on a bench and enjoyed the boats and gulls busy on the water. The harbor is visible in the other extra along with a mermaid statue.

For the Record,
This day came in very warm and was quite hot even in Eastport where it is usually much cooler with the ocean air.

All hands and paws happy.
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