Saturday, April 30, 2016

This looks like the place to be. If you are going to visit the coast of Maine the trip would not be complete without stopping at Watchtide By The Sea.  A unique bed and breakfast with a huge dose of American history.

 Watchtide . . . by the Sea! invites you to experience the unhurried lifestyle along the midcoast of Maine.  This historic bed and breakfast inn on three-plus landscaped acres offers some of the finest accommodations on the Maine coast -- five comfortable rooms with private baths, tasteful period furnishings and accessories, and the sense of history that only a 200-year-old home can convey. 
          Each morning you'll awaken to a superb, creative multi-course breakfast served on our 60-foot enclosed sunporch as you watch a spectacular sunrise over the glistening waters of the bay.  new_sunporch.jpg (156444 bytes)Spend your day relaxing on  the sunporch or in our guest lounge, reading in our library, or strolling in our flowering gardens.  Venture out for sightseeing, visiting the many interesting galleries, museums, antique shops, parks and historic sites along the coast road, or sailing on one of  America's most attractive waterways.
          Less than an hour's drive from Rockland, Camden, Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park, the inn is located on Coastal Route 1 in Searsport, a seacoast town famous for its clipper ships and sea captains in the mid-1800s and today considered the antiques capitol of Maine.
          In August, 1794, Brigadier General Hanry Knox acquired the original deed to the Watchtide property.  General Knox, one of George Washington's most reliable aides during the American Revolution, was the new nation's first Secretary of War and is acknowledged as the founder of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.  After General Knox sold the property, well-to-do merchants and sea captains resided here until the Pettee family purchased it in 1901 and retained ownership for half a century.  One of the daughters, Frances Pettee, and three roommates from Wellesley College opened a tea house on the site in 1917 which evolved into the College Club Inn, one of the most popular stopping-off places on the Maine coast.  The inn hosted many notables, among them Eleanor Roosevelt who made regular visits with her entourage as she traveled the coastal route to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, where the Roosevelt family spent their summers.  In April, 2000, the College Club Inn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places   by the U.S. Department of the Interior.   A framed document certifying this recognition hangs proudly in the main entry hall at Watchtide . . . by the Sea!
          The present owners and innkeepers, Patricia and Frank Kulla, take great pleasure in continuing the tradition of hospitality established at the inn many decades ago.  Today, as in years past, they are welcoming guests to enjoy the warmth and special ambiance of a stay at this unique, historic bed and breakfast inn overlooking beautiful Penobscot Bay.