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.