Visit one or all of these Kennebunkport museums, and you’ll feel a stronger connection to this historic coastal community. Through artifacts and stories, these attractions take you back in time and introduce you to the people whose actions and ingenuity have charted Kennebunkport’s course and earned the town its place in history.
Seashore Trolley Museum
195 Log Cabin Road, Kennebunkport, Maine, 207-967-2800
Even rail buffs may be surprised to discover that Kennebunkport is home to the oldest and largest electric railway museum in the world. The Seashore Trolley Museum’s story begins in 1939, when the attraction was founded with just one open trolley car. Since that moment when 10 people chipped in $15 apiece to save car No. 31 from the Biddeford & Saco Railroad Company, thousands have supported the museum’s mission and growth. Today, the collection contains more than 250 transit vehicles from around the U.S. and from many other countries. The museum is open weekends in May and October and daily Memorial Day through Columbus Day.
First Families Museum
8 Maine Street, Kennebunkport, Maine, 207-967-2751
The Kennebunkport Historical Society’s museum, housed at White Columns—a stately Greek Revival-style mansion in the heart of town—offers both a look at luxurious living in the mid-19th century and a chronicle of two centuries of Kennebunkport history. Exhibits focus on prominent individuals—from sea captains to presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush—who have brought fortune and fame to this Maine coast town. The museum operates from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day and reopens in December during Kennebunkport’s Christmas Prelude.
Brick Store Museum
117 Main Street, Kennebunk, Maine, 207-985-4802
This eclectic museum of local art, history and culture has six galleries that house rotating themed exhibitions year-round. They’re tucked inside four historic buildings including a former dry goods store, built in 1825 by merchant and ship owner William Lord. It was Lord’s great-granddaughter who founded the museum in 1936 and filled it with her family’s treasures. Today, the museum owns nearly 70,000 artifacts that tell rich, human stories… from quilts with secret pouches to shipwreck relics.
