2 Best Sights in Way Down East, Maine

An active fort during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, this site sits at the head of Machias Bay, where a naval battle was waged in 1775. Climb atop the grass-covered earthworks to take in the expansive water views. A panel display details the successive forts built here and relates the dramatic story of patriots, armed mostly with farm implements, who captured a British tender 2 miles offshore. A stone marker honors the site as a “birthplace” of the U.S. Navy.

Small buildings clustered on piers along the downtown waterfront are what remains of the nation’s last herring smokehouse, which operated here from the 1890s until 1991. Restoration is ongoing, but you can take a guided tour of the skinning and packing sheds, which have exhibits about the smoking operation and the sardine canning industry that once thrived along the Down East coast; your guide might be someone who worked here years ago and is helping preserve this legacy. There are photos and a video about the industry. The museum, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is part of Lubec Landmarks, whose Mulholland Market Gallery is next door with changing art exhibits.