Hard Telling Not Knowing each week tries to answer your burning questions about why things are the way they are in Maine — specifically about Maine culture and history, both long ago and recent, large and small, important and silly. Send your questions to [email protected].
There are a lot of old things in Maine. Old buildings, old artifacts, old places and, yes, old people. We’re sure at least one of the people reading this has referred to themselves as a fossil, in traditionally sarcastic Maine humor.
But in this case, we’re talking about really old stuff — things that are far older than anybody currently living. Here’s a list of some of the oldest things in Maine, from rocks that are more than a billion years old to businesses that have been in continuous operation for more than three centuries.
Oldest rocks in Maine
Seven Hundred Acre Island, near Islesboro n Penobscot Bay, is not unlike many of the other small islands along the coastline in Maine — dotted with pine trees, soared over by sea birds and occupied by both wealthy summer residents and lobstermen. What makes that island different from all the others is the presence of the oldest known rock formation in the state.
The pegmatite there, an igneous rock that forms the bedrock on Seven Hundred Acre Island, was once believed to be around 543 million years old. More recent scientific study indicates that parts of the rocks may be as old as 1.8 billion years, making them potentially the oldest rocks in New England. They were formed back when what is now Maine was squashed inside an ancient supercontinent, and when the only life on Earth were tiny microbes.
Oldest fossil in Maine
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly is the oldest fossil in Maine, as there are countless tiny fossils found in ancient rocks all over the state — from brachiopod shells to the familiar trilobites. The oldest ones date from the Cambrian era, around 500 million years ago. Maine’s state fossil, a prehistoric plant called Pertica quadrifaria, is from the Devonian era, 390 million years ago, and was discovered in 1968 in the rocks of the Trout Valley Formation in Baxter State Park.
Interestingly, though dinosaurs almost certainly did roam prehistoric Maine, no dinosaur fossils have ever been found in the state. That’s because there’s a huge gap in Maine’s fossil record, between 360 million and 1 million years ago. Maine underwent millions of years of geologic upheaval during that time, eroding all the rocks from that era — and their fossils.
Oldest evidence of human habitation in Maine
The earliest human artifacts in what is now Maine were found along the shores of Aziscohos Lake, a long, narrow body of water east of what is now Rangeley, just short of the New Hampshire border.
In the 1970s, Francis Vail, a resident of nearby East Stoneham, began collecting the stone spear points and chisels he found along the lake, eventually amassing more than 1,500 of them. That attracted the attention of archaeologists, who professionally excavated the site, finding thousands more stone tools as well as evidence of hunting grounds, charcoal from hearths, food storage and camp sites.
The artifacts are believed to be around 13,000 years old, according to Maine’s senior archaeologist, Arthur Spiess, and are among the oldest evidence of occupation by humans in the eastern U.S. — thought to be the very earliest ancestors of the Wabanaki people.
Oldest known European settlement
The very first Europeans to build a permanent settlement were the ill-fated settlers on St. Croix Island in what is now Washington County. Sailors led by French explorer Pierre Dugua de Mons created a settlement on the 6.5-acre island, with plans to claim the region for France. It lasted only a year, before scurvy and starvation drove them elsewhere.
Oldest road in Maine
The oldest road as we know it was built in the village of Pemaquid around 1640, according to Spiess, Maine’s senior archaeologist. The flourishing English port there had been settled more than a decade earlier, but around that time a cobblestone “street” had been built in the heart of the village, meant to facilitate carts loaded with fish. While it’s not in use as a street as we’d recognize it today, it is part of Maine’s Colonial Pemaquid Historic Site, and is one of the oldest “streets” in New England.
Oldest boat in Maine
Out of all the boats that ply the coastline, rivers and lakes of Maine, none are as old as the approximately 800-year-old dugout canoe unearthed from the mud on Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport in 2019. The canoe, crafted by Wabanaki people, is by far the oldest ever found in Maine and one of the oldest in New England, and predates contact with European people by more than 300 years. The canoe, made from a single large birch log, is still being preserved so it can eventually go on display in a museum.
Oldest building in Maine
There is some debate over what actually is the oldest building in Maine. According to studies of the wood as well as architectural surveys, the McIntire Garrison House in York, a log garrison house built in 1707, is the oldest still-standing building in Maine. Other records hold, however, that the William Whipple House in Kittery was built in 1660, and the William Pepperrell House in Kittery Point was built in 1682.
Regardless: they are all very, very old — and Kittery is also the oldest town in Maine. The neighboring town of York has fought with Kittery, Eliot and Ogunquit over its borders over the years, including a 2022 dispute between Kittery and York that saw the existing town borders upheld in court.
Oldest business in Maine
When you’re planning a weekend getaway in southern Maine next summer, you might want to check out the Seaside Inn in Kennebunkport — it’s the oldest business in Maine, and is tied with a Rhode Island establishment as the oldest hotel in the country. The Seaside opened in 1667, owned by John Gooch, who was given a commission by an agent of King Charles II. It has been operated by members of the Gooch family for twelve generations.