Moosehead Marine Museum

Maine’s maritime legacy isn’t confined to saltwater. More than 50 steamships once plied the waves of Moosehead, ferrying passengers and supplies between resorts, hunting camps, and logging bases. Their legacy is preserved at the Moosehead Marine Museum (12 Lily Bay Rd./Rte. 15, Greenville, 207/695-2716, www.katahdin
cruises.com, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tue.–Sat. Jun.–mid-Oct.), which includes photographs, models, engine parts, and other memorabilia dedicated to the old lake boats. The museum’s prized possession is the Katahdin, a 110-foot vessel built by Bath Iron Works in 1914 and used to haul log booms.

The last surviving steamboat on the lake, it now offers regular cruises between late June and early October to Sugar Island (Tue.–Sat. late Jun.–mid-Oct., $32 adults, $28 seniors, $17 children 11–16, free children under 11) and Mount Kineo (every other Wed., $37 adult, $33 senior, $20 children 11–16, free children under 11).

Lumberman’s Museum

The region’s other heroes—the lumberjacks—can be seen in spirit at the Moosehead Historical Society’s Lumberman’s Museum (444 Pritham Ave., Greenville, 207/695-2909, www.mooseheadhistory.org, 1–4 p.m. Wed.–Fri. early June–Sept., $4 adults, $2 children under 13), a house museum inside a renovated Victorian mansion that features axes and artifacts dedicated to the Paul Bunyans of the North Country. The Lumberman’s Museum also features a Victorian-era kitchen and dozens of Native American tools.

Katahdin Iron Works State Historic Site

Though it was only active for 50 years, between 1843 and 1890, the Katahdin Iron Works State Historic Site (off Rte. 11, Brownville Junction, 207/941-4014, www.maine.gov, late May–early Sept., free) was once a massive operation, smelting up to 20 tons of iron ingots a day, mostly for use in rail-car wheels and farming implements. At its peak, the iron works was a thriving city, with its own post office and even a hotel. Today, all that remains of the business are two large stone structures—a beehive-shaped kiln that heated charcoal and a massive tower that formed part of the blast furnace itself and once spewed fire into the wilderness sky 24 hours a day. Interpretive panels re-create the history of the works, which is a popular spot for picnickers.