Rockland Maine is a small town of 7,600 residents on the coast of Maine. Rockland is a popular tourist destination and a service port for the Maine State Ferry Service that provides service to the islands of North Haven, Matinicus and Vinalhaven. This waterfront community offers a great place to enjoy the cool summer temperatures of coastal Maine.
Rockland was founded in 1854 and quickly became a popular shipbuilding village. In fact, the fastest vessel at the time was a schooner by the name of Red Jacket. Red Jacket was built at Rockland and sailed from here to Liverpool England and on to Australia and back, a rare accomplishment at the time.
Lime quarrying and processing was also a big source of income for residents of the city at the time. The lime exporting eventually exceeded the shipping business in total annual commerce. During this period, Rockland saw the construction of three more shipyards and several other industries. Over the next century, the importance of shipbuilding would continue in this small waterfront community.
In modern times, Rockland has a tourist-based economy. The area offers the setting of a rustic fishing village with restored downtown areas that consists of numerous shops and restaurants. There are also several historic inns and a local radio station.
Among the popular tourist attractions in Rockland Maine is the Farnsworth Art museum. Farnsworth houses some of the finest examples of 18th to 20th century American folk art. There are many original works by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Eastman Johnson, and Maurice Pendergast. The museum also focuses on Maine's contribution to American art.
Besides the Farnsworth art museum there are also several other local attractions. The Lincoln Street Center for the Arts is an educational facility that provides instruction in the fine arts. The Strand Theater also contributes to the culture of Rockland Maine.
Rockland Breakwater Light is a small lighthouse off the coast at the end of a mile long breakwater. The light provides tours on the weekends during the summer. This light was built in 1902 and although it is only 25 feet tall, it has been used for over 100 years to guide boats into the harbor.
Rockland has several festivals throughout the year including the North Atlantic Blues Festival and the Maine Lobster Festival. The Maine Lobster Festival is held the first week of August and includes a parade and other festivities. One of the popular events is the Lobster crate race. There is plenty of lobster served; in fact, in 2008 there were over 20,000 pounds of lobster devoured during the festivities.
During the gilded age of the 1880's to the early 1900's Rockland Maine was a major attraction to vacationers coming from the New York area. There were many hotels developed in the area that provided the wealthy with travel destinations that were equal to any of the other fine travel destinations of the time including Newport.
The area changed as a result of the invention of the car and the effect of the great depression of the 1930's. Although numerous attempts were made to revitalize the area over the years it never matched the elegance of the gilded age. Today, Rockland has in fact been reincarnated as a hip, artistic midcoast mecca. Artist Eric Hopkins, who attended Rockland High School in the 1960s and moved back to the area in 1981, says the city has come a long way. He recalls Rockland’s smelly fish processing days, its employment problems, and a more utilitarian Main Street filled with hardware and grocery stores. “It was a real working town,” says Hopkins, who opened his own art gallery in Rockland in 2006. “Who would have thought twenty years ago, we’d have sushi and espresso bars here along side high-end art galleries.” Modern day Rockland Maine offers the same great waterfront destination that it offered over 100 years ago. It is a fitting symbol for this seaside city that has, through an unlikely journey, come to epitomize the marriage of food, art and Maine small town hospitality.
