This wonderful new book takes us back in time to visit the rural communities that thrived along the banks of the Kennebec River around the turn of the century--from Augusta and Gardiner down to Merrymeeting Bay on the coast. Local author Gay M. Grant has brought together more than two hundred beautiful photographs taken by gifted local photographer Herman Bryant between 1890 and 1936. This volume makes these photographs available to the public for the first time. The images bring to life the people, places, and events that defined the history of the area during this exciting era. We see the Kennebec River at its industrial peak, when industries such as lumber, paper, ice, and shipbuilding lined its banks. We encounter buildings such as Maine's old capitol building (before its refurbishment) and the Blaine House as it used to look. We witness terrible tragedies such as the train wreck of 1905, and share in local celebrations too. We experience the Age of Steam and the Age of Sail in their heyday. Most important of all, we meet the people who lived and loved, worked and played in these communities throughout this fascinating period. Through the pages of this book, our past reaches out to us.