Index of Heritage Tours

Civil War Heritage Tours

Did you know that two Civil War battles took place in Maine? On June 27, 1863, a small band of Confederate forces commanded by Lt. Charles W. Read made their way into Portland Harbor under cover of darkness and captured the Union revenue cutter Caleb Cushing. Enraged citizens and men from the Seventh Maine Regiment pursued the Cushing, which had been becalmed off Jewell Island in Casco Bay. Realizing that his mission was doomed, Read and his men set fire to the Cushing and abandoned her. They were captured and sent to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.

The second incident occurred on July 18, 1864, when three Confederates and a Union deserter attempted to rob a bank in Calais. Citizens had heard rumors of possible Confederate activities in the area and had prepared themselves. The men were quickly disarmed by bank employees and taken to jail.

Please visit one or all of Maine's Civil War Sites and learn more about the role Maine people played in the Civil War.




Maine Maritime Heritage Trail- Coming Soon!!!

This trail is currently under development, but will include museums, historical societies and other relevant maritime sites. It will explore Maine's rich maritime history along the Atlantic seaboard and the inland waterways.




Maine Art Museum Trail...Welcome to Wonder

Maine has long been known as a place of singular beauty, but it was artists who first recognized it as a land like not other: vast glorious, wondrous and a place that fires the imagination. To showcase the beauty of Maine, seven Maine art museums invite you to explore the Maine Art Museum Trail. This trail offers more than 53,000 works of arts, from ancient to contemporary, in world-class collections located at the Bates College Museum of Art, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Colby Museum of Art, Farnsworth Art Museum, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Portland Museum of Art and University of Maine Museum of Art.