What happens when a moose and his rival lock horns in mortal combat? Their interlocked racks end up in the Cabinet of Curiosities at the Maine State Museum. The museum, an engaging, four-story ode to all things Maine, is situated around a multifloor mill that churns on water power. The newest permanent exhibit, At Home in Maine, looks at homes throughout the years; in the mod 1970s house you can watch a family filmstrip and dial a rotary phone.
Maine State Museum
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.48 MILES
There's a palpable mix of reflective nostalgia and horizon-scanning adventure at this wonderful museum, which preserves the Kennebec's long shipbuilding…
28.93 MILES
Bowdoin, established in 1794, is one of the oldest colleges in the US and the alma mater of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne and US…
0.1 MILES
Built in 1832 and enlarged in 1909, this stately, granite-domed edifice was designed by Charles Bulfinch (the Boston architect behind the nation’s Capitol…
25.64 MILES
Eccentricity abounds inside this 1903 school building on the Good Will–Hinckley educational complex south of Hinckley. Here, the LC Bates Museum heartily…
0.91 MILES
Just across the river from Augusta's main drag (Water St) stands this 1754 landmark, America's oldest wooden fort. It was built by a Boston-based outfit…
Whaleback Shell Midden State Historic Site
22.71 MILES
Hidden deep in a dark forest are the piled remains of this former shell midden (refuse pile), an important record of the area's pre-Colonial past…
29.81 MILES
Squeezed between the Sheepscot and Sasanoa Rivers, about 13 miles south of Wiscasset, this preserve contains in its compact dimensions no less than six…
18.83 MILES
The Colby College Museum of Art is fresh from a marvelous expansion and the addition of a 26,000-sq-ft glass pavilion. The space displays works from a…
Nearby attractions
0.1 MILES
Built in 1832 and enlarged in 1909, this stately, granite-domed edifice was designed by Charles Bulfinch (the Boston architect behind the nation’s Capitol…
0.91 MILES
Just across the river from Augusta's main drag (Water St) stands this 1754 landmark, America's oldest wooden fort. It was built by a Boston-based outfit…
3. Colby College Museum of Art
18.83 MILES
The Colby College Museum of Art is fresh from a marvelous expansion and the addition of a 26,000-sq-ft glass pavilion. The space displays works from a…
21.32 MILES
The first prison in the district of Maine opened in 1811 and, surprisingly, remained in operation until 1953. The hilltop structure of granite, brick and…
21.44 MILES
There are so many wonderful, privately run nature preserves in this part of Maine you could blink and miss them. Such is the case at Griggs Preserve, run…
21.72 MILES
OK, so it's not really a castle. Still, Wiscasset's grandest and best-situated mansion has a certain regal air about it. Judge Silas Lee had the Federal…
21.72 MILES
This mansion was built by Captain William Nickels, and is a great example of how maritime voyaging shaped Wiscasset. It's also a gorgeous example of…
8. Fort Edgecomb State Historic Site
22.49 MILES
This octagonal fort was built around 1808–9 to 'protect' Wiscasset, then a major shipbuilding center and port. In many ways, the fort's guns were actually…