Maine's Museums: Art, Oddities & Artifacts

Book excerpt: Distinctly Maine: Active Shakers, ice harvesting, a museum on wheels, and more! The first book devoted solely to the diverse and often unexpected museums in the Pine Tree State, Maine’s Museums: Art, Oddities & Artifacts showcases a broad range of art, history, maritime, children’s, and unusual museums. With world-class collections of fine art by past and contemporary masters as well as the true stories of people and industries that helped shape the state and the nation, Maine’s museums invite visitors to indulge their curiosities and passions to learn about lighthouses, whales, antique cars, seashore trolleys, sardine canning, and folk art. They open our eyes to how Native Americans, shipbuilders, fishermen, lumbermen, Civil War soldiers, artists, and immigrants all had a hand in developing the state. They inspire children to discover the world and they reopen more than one Victorian-era cabinet of curiosities. Whether you want to see great works of art or truly unique collections—from umbrella covers to strange creatures—you’ll find it in Maine and you’ll find it in Maine’s Museums.