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York’s greatest treasures are also its least-known
by
Jack P. Terceño
The first English and Scottish settlers came to
York in 1623 and began making their living off both the land and the sea. In
1652, this farming and fishing community became the first town to be
incorporated in Maine (which was then still part of Massachusetts). Forty years
later, the blossoming community was nearly wiped out in an Indian massacre,
during which all but a handful of the town’s pre-colonial buildings were
destroyed. More than three-hundred years ago, though, Yankee spirit and
determination were already in full swing, and the town was rebuilt and
continued to prosper. During the eighteenth century, York became an
important mercantile port, with as many as fifty ships anchored in the York
River at any given time. Warehouses — including a business and wharf owned by
Declaration of Independence signatory John Hancock — lined the river, feeding
an economic boom throughout southern Maine. While that boom eventually went
bust, a new period of economic prosperity began in 1871 and laid the seeds for
York’s character today. The construction of the Marshall House — a sprawling
Victorian hotel on York Harbor — signaled York’s birth as a haven for summer
tourists escaping Boston, New York and Philadelphia, including wealthy families
and literary notables like Mark Twain. More than a hundred inns and guesthouses
sprouted up after the Marshall. At the turn of the last century, The Yorks (as
the four areas are commonly called) were considered by some a “little Newport,”
with rich city dwellers spending their summers in twenty-room “cottages”
overlooking the Atlantic. Many of those beautiful historical homes remain
throughout the village and harbor areas, making the drive along Route 1A a
visual feast for those who love opulent dwellings with New England gables and
wrap-around porches. York’s true treasures lie not in the houses
themselves, however, but rather in the other artifacts of the area’s past that
have been collected by the Old York
Historical Society. While The Yorks have a year-round population of
only about 12,000, and a summer head-count between 50,000 and 60,000, the
town’s Historical Society boasts a collection of antiques most major Northeast
cities would envy. If, that is, those cities knew it existed. “We have one of the largest collections of
antiques that nobody knows about,” says Historical Society Director Scott
Stevens. “You couldn’t put a value on much of our collection. There’s nothing
like them in the world.” York owes its historical treasures almost
exclusively to the generosity of past and present residents, who have often
emptied their attics into the society’s hands. While most towns this size could
never claim local connections to such a wide array of antiques — from a
nineteenth-century bamboo cabinet from China to a Spanish foot table made in
1720, which is one of only four known to exist (one of which is in New York’s
Metropolitan Museum of Art) — York’s previous affluence gives it a former
resident list that reads like a high society social invitation. The people who
summered in York were wealthy world travelers, many with a taste for European
furniture, and they considered York their home as much as anywhere. So when
they had pieces to donate, York benefited. York benefited a great deal. The Historical
Society’s main museum is the Emerson-Wilcox House in the center of the village
(former owners were relatives of Ralph Waldo Emerson). The house was built in
the 1740s, and in 1760 the owners moved a 1710 house to the property and
attached it to the existing structure. More additions were added in the early
nineteenth century. Today, every room is filled with treasures from the past. “This is where we show some of our best
collections,” says Stevens. “Antique lovers really like this house. It’s all
from local people — it’s from York. All of these pieces have family histories.”
And many of the pieces are one-of-a-kind. There is the weapons collection tracing rifles,
swords and other weapons from the Revolutionary period through the nineteenth
century. There is the gold damask-covered wing chair made in Boston between
1740 and 1760; the mahogany inlaid sideboard made in nearby Portsmouth in 1820;
and ceramics dating from the 1600s to the 1850s. There are desks, an ivory
chess set, model ships, scrimshaw artwork, books, bottles, rugs, silver pieces
and pewter. Then there is the society’s prize possession, a four-poster bed
displaying the Bulman Bedhangings, circa 1745, the only complete set of
eighteenth century crewel bed hangings in existence. The hangings are such a
rare and important piece of pre-colonial Americana that the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London exhibited them during its American Bicentennial exhibition in
1976. Even more pieces remain in storage, where Stevens says he is “still
discovering amazing treasures.” Every room in the Emerson-Wilcox House — and
other society buildings — is decorated as it would be if the home were being
lived in. This method of displaying the collection creates in the York museums
an unforgettable glimpse into every day life hundreds of years ago, for the
society’s buildings — there are seven all told — are more dwellings frozen in
time than museums keeping the past just out of arm’s reach.
The Old York Historical Society also operates
the nineteenth-century George Marshall’s General Store — presently used as an
art gallery — and the John Hancock warehouse along the York River just up from
the harbor; the 1745 one-room “Old School House” beside Jefferds’ Tavern, a
1750 saltbox that serves as the society’s visitors center on Lindsay Road
(called by some “the oldest main street in America”); and the Elizabeth Perkins
House along the York River. Perkins, the founder of the Old York Historical
Society, used to drink tea on her lawn with Mark Twain, who summered across the
river. To reach her house, you have to drive across the oldest — and perhaps
bumpiest — pile-driven bridge in the country. Tours of each of the seven museums are included
in the society’s $7 ticket price. About thirty to forty-five minutes is
required to truly appreciate all that each building has to offer, but the
tickets are good for as many days as it takes you to view them all. The museums
are open from June to Columbus Day in October. The York Harbor Inn
The oldest room in the inn is the “Cabin Room”
lounge, the focal point of the inn’s main building, which sits along Route 1A
directly across from York Harbor Beach. The cabin room was originally built ten
miles off the coast on the Isles of Shoals circa 1637. In the early 1800s,
fearing the British during the War of 1812, the fishing community residents
dismantled their homes and brought them to the mainland, erecting them anew in
York. (At the time, dismantling a home and moving it was cheaper and easier
than cutting the trees and hewing the beams needed to build a new one.) The
York Harbor Inn’s Cabin Room is one of those original Isles of Shoals
buildings, and was originally a sail loft, used for refitting ships’ sails. Now
the heart of the York Harbor Inn, the Cabin Room features a high beamed
ceiling, a large stone fireplace and a comfortable den atmosphere. The rest of the York Harbor Inn is quite a bit
newer than the Cabin Room. Operated throughout much of the 1900s as the
Hillcrest Inn with only a dozen or so guestrooms, the York Harbor Inn was on
the verge of being condemned when the Dominguez family moved from New Jersey
and bought it in 1979. Innkeeper Garry Dominguez and his brother George were
convinced by a third brother, Joe, who was a pilot flying out of Boston’s Logan
Airport and lived in nearby Kittery, Maine, to purchase the inn as a family
business. Since then, the family has refitted the inn with new electrical and
plumbing systems, has purchased another building beside the inn — now known as
the Yorkshire House — to add eleven more guestrooms, and has built a huge
addition more than doubling the original inn’s size, creating a sprawling
lodging with a ballroom, private conference room, oceanside formal dining room
and the Cellar Pub, an English-style pub that attracts locals and guests alike.
Garry runs the inn with his wife Nancy, various family members who work there
seasonally, and longtime employees who are almost part of the family. When the
York Harbor Inn purchased the house next door and turned it into the upscale
bed and breakfast Harbor Cliffs, Garry’s 85-year-old father “Papa Joe” took it
over and still puts out breakfast for his guests every morning. Garry says innkeeping is not a job, but a
lifestyle, and he is lucky his family has come to love it as much as he does.
The most rewarding aspect of owning the York Harbor Inn, he says, has been
growing the business and pushing for the inn to reach its potential. “We have
reinvested so much back into the inn to upgrade the entire physical plant, and
it is finally reaching the point that our major capital improvements will have
been completed,” Garry says.
The York Harbor coastline is not as dramatically
beautiful as much of the Maine coast. Though rocky, with sheer cliffs rising
from the beach sands in some places, this stretch of coastline pales for sheer
majesty of nature when compared to areas farther north. Still, there is
something to be said for arriving at the York Harbor Inn under cover of night,
for the dawn will reveal a view that should not be first experienced from behind
the wheel of a car while distracted by looking for a signpost. From the inn’s
front rooms, the Atlantic stretches away into the distance, blending with the
sky along the horizon line. Closer to shore, rocky outcroppings break up the
waves and buoys bob on the crests and troughs, reminiscent of the area’s
seafaring heritage.
The Many Sides of York
One of the most intriguing and undiscovered
aspects of The Yorks is the history preserved by the Old York Historical
Society. But history is not the only discovery to be made here, as The Yorks
blend together many characteristics into an area that seems to have something
to offer everyone. In the summer, York Harbor offers gorgeous
vistas and beautiful sunset cruises, as well as great fishing. Throughout the
peek tourist season, town and area festivals and other events provide a wide
array of activities for the whole family, from garden tours to fireworks
displays to a Revolutionary War encampment in July. While similar events can be
found throughout New England, York couples them with a truly small-town feel
and an easy-to-reach location with an out-of-the-way feel. “My personal
favorite aspect of the Yorks is the small town feel of the community and the
historic buildings and homes,” says Garry Dominguez. “Living and working in a
small town really can add to the quality of life — especially when it’s so
picturesque, with a seaside location.” While York Harbor is steeped in history and
tradition, York Beach is a more modern summer resort that welcomes thousands of
families every year. York’s year-round population of 12,000 jumps four to five
times higher in the summer, and between Long Sands and Short Sands beaches,
there’s room for almost everyone to worship the sun. Short Sands Beach also is
host to a bowling alley and Fun-o-rama, as well as York’s Wild Kingdom Zoo and
Fun Park (though closed in the winter, through the fence the “wild kingdom”
looks far more mundane than its name would suggest, but children are likely to
enjoy it just the same). To the north of the beaches sits Cape Neddick Light,
better known as Nubble Light, on a small craggy island just off the coast. York
Beach also is close to other hot pots in southern Maine, including Ogunquit,
Kennebunkport and the Kittery Outlets. Daniel and Barbara Bourque have been making the
three-hour drive from Connecticut to York Beach every summer for 42 years. They
originally went alone, then brought their children, and now bring their
grandchildren. “It’s very family-oriented,” says Dan. “It’s great for the
kids.” Born in Lewiston, Maine, Dan says he remembers when the outlet malls in
Kittery were nothing but woods. Nowadays the area is much more developed. “It’s
getting crowded,” says Dan. “But you can’t beat it, boy — I wish I could go
back and live up there.” Though their home remains in Connecticut, the
Bourques usually bring a piece of Maine home with them after each trip, in the
form of Maine lobsters packed into a Styrofoam cooler. “The lobster is great,”
says Barbara. “That’s the only place we eat lobster. We never eat it around
here.” Autumn in York Harbor is typically less crowded,
though the Bourques say things get hectic every fall during the nearby Fryberg
Fair, Maine’s biggest state fair, which they usually attend. As for local
attractions, The Yorks offer stunning New England foliage in September and
October, while the fishing and boating are still top-notch. Fireplaces are put
to use by the end of September, as the nights get quickly cooler. York also has
its own local harvest festival in the village square during the third weekend
of October, with crafts, food, entertainment, kids activities and events
ranging from traditional hayrides to a classic car show. Winter is just what
you should expect in Maine: snow, cold, quiet. The Yorks, trimmed down to
full-time residents, can seem almost abandoned on January nights. The solitude
can be either invigorating or maddening, depending on your character; imagine
Jack Torrance in “The Shining,” and decide whether you would find peace in such
seclusion or go insane. (Though, of course, The Yorks offer far more in the way
of human companionship — living, breathing companionship — than The Overlook
did in winter.) “Spring can be a bit muddy as the snow melts,”
admits Garry Dominguez, “but being on the south coast as we are seems much
better than to the north or inland. May and June are great months to visit, as
the flowers and trees come into their own, boats are returned to the water and
the locals start to venture out of doors.” In short, spring in The Yorks is a
season of rebirth, as it is across the world. You Can Get There from Here — or
Anywhere
Getting
to The Yorks is relatively easy and quick, considering this is Maine, which
most people envision as farther away than Canada. (In high school, my algebra
teacher had a saying for people who solved a mathematics problem in the most
convoluted, difficult and time-consuming manner possible: “That’s like going to
New York City by way of Caribou, Maine.” The inference was clear: Maine was
damn far out of the way. But The Yorks are much closer than Caribou, which is
far to the north on the Canadian border.) Driving to Maine from nearby states is simple:
just find I-95 and follow it north through New Hampshire. The Yorks are off
exit 4, the last exit before the toll booth that marks the official beginning
of the Maine Turnpike. The town is slightly more than an hour’s drive from
downtown Boston, about four-and-a-half hours from Manhattan. If you’re flying
in, you can either land at Boston’s Logan Airport and rent a car to make the
drive from there (getting a connecting flight north would waste more time than
driving the rest of the way, plus you’re going to want a car on hand in The
Yorks). You can try getting a direct flight into Portland Airport in Maine (50
minutes north of York) or Manchester, N.H., which is a nice small airport less
than an hour away, and currently hosts Southwest Air flights with low fares. As
for the rail, there has been talk for years of extending the line north of
Boston up into Maine, and it would pass The Yorks. But work has yet to begin,
so don’t expect that to happen any time soon. Old York Historical Society: http://www.oldyork.org
York Harbor Inn: http://www.yorkharborinn.com
Images by: Jack Terceño and courtesy of the York
Harbor Inn |
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Just an hour north of Boston lies a beautiful
village along the Maine shoreline that has been known for years as a great
summer resort, thanks to its long sandy beaches and focus on family fun. But
the true treasures in York — the collective name for York Village, York Harbor,
York Beach and Cape Neddick — owe as much to the area’s history as to its perch
along the rocky downeast Maine coast.
Across the street from the Emerson-Wilcox House
is the Old Gaol, the very first prison in America, which was built in 1719 as
the King’s prison for the province. This building includes “dungeon” cells,
rooms about fifteen feet by fifteen feet where everyone accused of a crime —
from suspected murderers to men in debt — were held while awaiting trial. The
jailers and their families also lived in the building, their parlor serving to
either entertain guests or process criminals. The wooden mantle above the
parlor fireplace has prisoner graffiti scratched into it from the 1700s.
Upstairs, one bedroom cell boasts the only indoor “plumbing” in the gaol — a
raised seat over a chute that empties into the rear yard — and a pair of
manacles bolted to the plank floor beside the bed.
Most of York’s elegant old hotels and Victorian
inns burned down at one time or another, but the new crop of homes converted to
bed-and-breakfasts are worthy descendants of the New England innkeeping
tradition — and at least one modern-day lodging, the 
The most exciting time of all came two summers
ago, when the York Harbor Inn finally was given the ocean view the Dominguez
family always knew it could have. Throughout the twentieth century, most of the
inn’s view of York Harbor was obstructed by eleven oceanfront “cottages” that
stood across the street. They were originally owned by Hartley Mason, whose
1929 will commanded they be removed and the property be turned into a park upon
the death of his last direct descendent. In the summer of 1998, the will took
effect and the houses were sold, dismantled or burned down by the local fire
department for practice drills. Though the months-long process dampened that
summer’s business — “We were looking through the buildings, with toilets and
bathtubs hanging out in the open,” Garry recalls — a park now sits across from
the York Harbor Inn, providing a gravel path down green lawns to the beach. “We
knew when we purchased the inn nearly twenty years previously that those houses
may come down, but to watch it actually happen and to witness the park being
created and our ocean vistas opening up was thrilling,” says Garry. “Now our
restaurant, with its wall of windows, and many rooms from the inn offer
unobstructed ocean vistas.”
It is not the view that will bring people back
to the York Harbor Inn. What will delight visitors and make many return is the
beauty of the inn itself, from the magnificent Cabin Room to the elegant dining
room to the finely-appointed Victorian-style guestrooms. The dining room’s menu
has been written up in Food & Wine Magazine, and the Cellar Pub offers a
tantalizing menu of its own, from burgers to boiled lobster. Many of the guestrooms
have four-poster beds and working fireplaces (rooms in the High Cliffs even
include Jacuzzis). Rooms are furnished with antique furniture, richly-colored
wallpaper and simple, classic bedcovers. The walls
are adorned with oil prints of young nineteenth-century debutantes petting
spaniels and Victorian ladies in gardens, and some rooms include bookshelves
with French doors. Walking outside the inn you are struck by the rich smell of
burning wood coming from the inn’s many chimneys, a smell that immediately
creates soothing images of forests and campfires. Overall, the sense one gets
stepping into a York Harbor Inn guestroom is of subdued, comfortable elegance.
The handwritten welcome note from the housekeeper adds to the feeling of being
embraced by the inn, being taken in like an old friend back from a long trip.
The inn’s rates vary with the seasons but are quite reasonable, and York Harbor
Inn also offers special packages that include two nights and various meals.