Maine Places to Love: Peaks Island

A pleasant and convenient 17-minute Casco Bay Lines ferry ride from the Old Port, Peaks Island is a Portland neighborhood, one whose year-round population multiplies during the summer, and whose scenic beauty and range of attractions (biking, kayaking, restaurants, inns, shops, small museums, and walking and golf-cart tours) draw scores of day-trippers. People who visit tend to conclude that residents are very lucky to live on Peaks.

Lucky 13: Land/trail properties conserved by the Peaks Island Land Preserve. (peaksislandlandpreserve.org)
Built in 1888: The Fifth Maine Regiment hall is a Civil War memorial, a local history museum and a cultural center. (fifthmainemuseum.org). The regiment’s last Civil War veteran died in 1938. (cascobaylines.com/blog)
Coney Island, baby: In the 1890s, the island had 16 hotels, three summer theaters, a dance hall and an amusement park. Newspapers called it ‘The Coney Island of Maine.” (fifthmainemuseum.org)
Serving since 1871: Today’s Casco Bay Lines ferry service was initially called the Peaks Island Steamboat Company. (cascobaylines.com/blog)
720: Acreage of Peaks (peaksislandlandpreserve.org) Casco Bay’s most year-round-populous (941, point2homes.com) island.
Founded in 1912: The Trefethen-Evergreen Improvement Association is a seasonal club for boating, tennis and socializing. (teiaclub.org)
Hollywood connection: Famed director and Portland native John Ford vacationed here from youth, ushered at the Gem Theater, and was a ferry deckhand. (wikipedia.org)
The war effort: “During World War II … there were 58 military structures on Peaks … from gun emplacements and watchtowers to range-finding bunkers, fire-control posts, barracks, and searchlight bases.” (islandjournal.com)
44 nations: Are represented in the World’s Only Umbrella Cover Museum, at 62-B Island Ave. (umbrellacovermuseum.org)

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