Archive for December 2009
Brick Store Museum – Kennebunk, Maine
Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk, Maine
The Brick Store Museum located in Kennebunk, Maine used to be a brick store. Built in 1825 by William Lord, the locally-kilned bricks were an unusual choice in the midst of an abundance of inexpensive Maine timber. The exterior of the building remains mostly unchanged since then, but the interior has been altered significantly. However, evidence of the store’s history remains: One can still see the pulley system used to hoist heavy goods.
William Lord’s great granddaughter, Edith Cleaves Barry, inherited the store and opened the Museum in 1936. She then overtook three other buildings, dating from 1810 to 1860, and linked them on the inside. The complex now consists of five buildings.
The Museum is home to more than 70,000 artifacts, including maritime papers, items from the estates of authors Kenneth Roberts and Booth Tarkington, paintings by Thomas Badger, John Brester Jr., Abbott Fuller Graves, Hannah Skeele, and Louis D. Norton. Visitors’ favorites include quilts with secret pouches and handwritten inscriptions, a painting found floating at sea of a Kennebunkport ship captain, and the largest collection of World War I and World War II posters in the state.
Researchers of all ages visit the Museum to utilize the extensive primary source materials: diaries and family papers, more than 3,000 historical photographs, vintage postcards, indexes for Kennebunk-built ships, commercial records, maps, and architectural drawings. They even have area newspapers dating back to 1877. A section of the archives is devoted to Maine writers, with collections of Sarah Orne Jewett, Kenneth Roberts, and Booth Tarkington. Call (207) 985-4802 to schedule an appointment with an archivist.
The Brick Store Museum offers a variety of exhibitions and events. There is truly something for everyone. Past exhibitions have included: Mailed from Maine: Vintage Postcards of the Kennebunks; Quilts from the Collections of the Brick Store Museum; Living Little: A Selection of Dollhouses and Architectural Models; Around the World with Edith Barry; Faces of the Kennebunks by Photographer Liam Crotty; Kennebunk’s Big Leaguers: The Baseball Legacies of Colby Jack and Bobby Coombs; Wild Things: Selections from Kate Manko’s Collection of American Folk Art Animals; Camp Maine: Rustic Furniture and Accessories, 1860-1940; and The Art of Rug Hooking in Maine.
The Museum is conveniently located on 117 Main Street, at the junction of Route 35 and Route 1, in downtown Kennebunk, Maine. They are open year-round, Tuesdays through Fridays, from 10 to 4:30 and Saturdays from 10 to 1. The Museum is closed on national holidays and the day after Thanksgiving. Please call (207) 985-4802 to verify hours. Suggested donation of $5 for admission.
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