January 2, 2025
Frances Perkins National Monument
Maine begins 2025 with a new national monument, the Frances Perkins National Monument. It honors Frances Perkins (1880-1965) and her trailblazing advocacy for social justice and labor rights. The first woman to hold a Cabinet position in the U.S. as Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she was the driving force behind many of the benefits and safeguards American workers count on today, including social security, unemployment insurance, health insurance, old-age insurance, a 40-hour work week, minimum wage, and the abolition of child labor. One of only 13 of 430 national park sites designated to honor women, the Frances Perkins Homestead is located in the scenic town of Newcastle, adjacent to the Damariscotta River. Visitors can explore the historic home and trails where Perkins rejuvenated and sought inspiration throughout her 12 years as U.S. Secretary of Labor.
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station sits atop Lookout Mountain and was created to welcome the global public to the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument. Tekαkαpimək is Penobscot for “as far as one can see” and is pronounced “de gah-gah bee mook.” The architecture, landscape, and cultural exhibits result from an extensive process with representatives of the Houlton Band of Maliseet, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, and Penobscot Nation. The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is scheduled to open to the public in 2025.
The Pathmaker Hotel
The Pathmaker Hotel will open in Bar Harbor in 2025. A 46-room boutique hotel, the property has a prime location just two blocks from the sand bar to Bar Island and downtown. The hotel offers suites, double queen, and classic king-sized rooms and also provides kitchenettes with mini-fridges and microwaves. Breakfast is included in the room rate. It’s the ideal location for exploring adjacent Acadia National Park. The Pathmaker is the latest addition to the locally owned Stay Bar Harbor brand, which now includes 13 locations in town with approximately 400 rooms.
Johnson Hall Opera House, Gardiner
Johnson Hall Opera House, Maine’s oldest opera house, recently completed a multi-million dollar renovation that included a state-of-the-art sound system. Located in downtown Gardiner, a National Main Street community, the opera house is open year-round. The building had humble beginnings as a livery stable turned performance hall. In time, it became the center of entertainment in Kennebec County. With a long history of offering residents and visitors a diverse range of plays, movies, concerts, and other arts over the last 150+ years, it is now known as the Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center.
Barnard Forest
The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has partnered with The Conservation Fund to purchase and permanently protect nearly 29,000 acres of forestland in Piscataquis County known as Barnard Forest. The AMC’s efforts to restore aquatic habitat on the property have helped to reestablish native brook trout populations and allow Atlantic salmon to return to native spawning grounds in the headwater streams of the West Branch for the first time in nearly two centuries. This is one of the only places in the state where this is possible. While leveraging responsible forestry efforts on the property to position multi-use forestland as the ideal stronghold for ecological resilience and climate adaptability, AMC plans to reopen the forest for public access and recreation. Since 2003, AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative has permanently protected over 100,000 contiguous acres of woodland and fish habitat in Maine’s legendary 100-mile Wilderness.
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