Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth

century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and

preservation. Photographs bring alive our image of the past and can

open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a

sense of history.

From its early settlement in the 1600s to the present, the area

known as the Port and the Cape has typified what it means to

live or vacation on the Maine coast. Kennebunkport is a study in

contrasts: fishermen work the sea while tourists fill Dock Square in

search of art, lobstah, and steamers; fish shanties dot the shore of

the Cape while estates and luxury hotels dominate Ocean Avenue;

sailboats glide serenely through the harbor while carnivals take place

on the Kennebunk River. It is this variety of people, places, and

events that has always made Kennebunkport one of the most dynamic

and vivacious communities on the Northeastern seaboard.