Fun NH/ME Weekend PART 3: Visited Quaint Downtown Kennebunk

This is part 3 of a fun NH/ME Weekend, when after apple picking, we drove a little further east to the town of Kennebunk. Kennebunk is NOT Kennebunkport, and you'll learn the difference in today's blog, plus what we did. 

(Photo: The main street of Kennebunk, Maine. Credit: R.G.) 

KENNEBUNK IS NOT KENNEBUNKPORT - These are 2 different towns in eastern Maine but the town centers are located 5 miles apart and separated by two rivers.  Kennebunk is inland and Kennebunkport is along the coast.  Both are located in York County, southeastern Maine. 

(Sign at Rotary Park that highlights historic homes and sites in Kennebunk. Credit: R.G.) 

DOWNTOWN  - There are some nice shops downtown, and several restaurants. We did enjoy going into one of the Maine gift shops. Only one restaurant was open though, so we opted for our own thing.

LUNCH AND WATERFALLS - We decided to get a sub to split, and Dunkin' Donuts for drinks. We drove through town looking for a place to eat, and found a beautiful waterfall on the town's edge, near Rotary Park.

(Photos of the falls and river - our view at lunch. Credit: R.G.) 

  

MUSEUM IN THE STREETS - The town worked with a business called "Museum in the Streets" to create historic signs and allow visitors to take tour of history. The signage includes a series of 25 panels that make up the tour, with rare photographs, documents and records of Kennebunk's history.  

THE FORMER MILL NEXT TO THE FALLS - Here's the historic inscription of the sign about the former Mill:   Numerous manufacturers have occupied this site throughout Kennebunk’s history. Since the first settlement of Kennebunk in the mid 1600s, until now, the Mousam River has been the site of many industries including sawmills, textile and matting mills, shoe mills, iron mills, paper mills, grist mills, trunk and leatherboard manufacturers, as well as sash and blind manufacturing mills. This building, now known as the Lafayette Center, was built following a destructive fire in 1903. Built from brick, this became the site of the Goodall Worsted (Matting) Company and in 1926 became the home of the Kesslen Shoe Company which closed in 1972. Now this building houses several businesses. - 

BONUS PLACE IN KENNEBUNK!!

SPECIAL FLASHBACK TO MAY 2009- We were about 5 minutes away from the famous "Wedding Cake House" where we stopped in May 2009 (1 month before our wedding on June 26, 2009). So, if you're in Kennebunk, you NEED to stop by the house- You can't get inside, but you can take pictures like we did in this throwback 15 Years Ago!! "

THE WEDDING CAKE HOUSE" - A plaque placed at the side door of the George W. Bourne House in Kennebunk, Maine by the Maine Society, Daughters of American Colonists, tells us that "In 1825 the shipbuilder George Washington Bourne (1801 - 1856) brought his bride, Jane, to this new brick Federal-style home. Inspired by Milan's Gothic Cathedral, Bourne started the house decorations in 1852, using only hand tools. He completed the work shortly before his death. By century's close, the name "Wedding Cake House" was widely applied.