For more than 500 years the area around Bath, Maine, has been a center of shipbuilding and other maritime activities. From our conference hotel in Freeport, we will experience all that coastal Maine has to offer. From its varied museums, shipyards, railways, lighthouses, scenic vistas, and tool-related attractions, there will be an experience to suit every interest!

There will be an exciting day exploring the the Maine Maritime Museum, a cruise around the harbor to observe shipyards and lighthouses, a tour of the museum’s Percy & Small Shipyard, which for 51 years has preserved the heritage of shipbuilding, and we will observe a demonstration in the shipyard’s blacksmith shop. We will have the opportunity to visit the nearby boat yard where the sailing ship Virginia is being reconstructed. Virginia, known as Maine’s First Ship is a replica of the first ship built in the Americas circa 1607 in what was then known as the Popham Colony.

Narrow gauge railroads were present in Maine beginning in the late 19th century to carry freight and passengers from the coast. Others served the vast areas of timber for which Maine is so famous. We will have an opportunity to ride the rails behind a narrow gauge (2 foot) steam locomotive at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in nearby Alna.

Other activities include historic house tours (Civil War buffs will enjoy a tour of the Joshua Chamberlain house) at the Pejebscot History Center in Brunswick; tours of the Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay; historic house tours of the three homes curated by the Lincoln County Historical Association in Wiscasset; the Maine Historical Society’s Wadsworth-Longfellow House, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad, which runs around the harbor, and the Victoria Mansion Museum in Portland.

Visiting the coastal communities will also be an attraction, as there are many places to observe Maine’s rocky coast including nearby Bailey’s Island, where you can observe its unique Cribstone Bridge, and scenic lighthouses are found all along the coast, including Pemaquid Point and the famous Portland Head Light. We will have a live auction at the hotel presented by Casco Bay Auction Company of Freeport. It will feature tools, antiques and collectibles, surely something for everyone! There will be an ice cream social, tool trading, member displays, a day of featured presentations detailing the history of tools, trades, and crafts in coastal Maine, a presentation by Lie-Nielsen Tool Works, a silent auction, banquet and a special presentation about a sea captain’s wife by a local interpreter/historian. Whew, this will be a great meeting with somuch to do and see! The Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport is just around the corner from the incredible shopping opportunities found in Freeport, including the flagship store of L. L. Bean. It is only one block from the Freeport Amtrak Station and 26 miles from the Portland International Jetport. We hope you will plan to attend this wonderful in person meeting