3 Best Sights in Way Down East, Maine

It was in this gambrel-roofed tavern home that the men of Machias laid the plans that culminated in the capture of the Margaretta in 1775. After the Revolutionary War's first naval battle, wounded British sailors were brought here. Period furnishings and household items show what life was like in Colonial times. On the National Register of Historic Places, the dwelling is among 21 in the country deemed most important to the Revolution. Tours by appointment in the off-season.

The facade of this museum may lack period charm, but the interior more than makes up for it. Permanent exhibits document maritime industries past and present: shipbuilding, sardine canning, weir fishing, and lobstering. Each year there is a new exhibit, as well as a gallery that showcases local artists. On the second Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in-season, talks are held; check the website for details.

The 1810 home-turned-museum contains an extensive collection of old photographs, period furniture, housewares, and other memorabilia, including quilts and ship models. Operated by and headquarters for the Machiasport Historical Society, the building hugs Route 92 as it winds through the small pretty-as-a-picture village on Machias Bay. The Marine Room highlights the area’s seafaring and shipbuilding past. A model schoolroom and post office, a display about the sardine canning industry here decades ago, and a large collection of carpentry tools occupy the adjacent Cooper House, a utilitarian building constructed in 1850.