Free admission for local residents at Historic New England properties

Did you know that if you are a resident of Wiscasset, you can take a tour of Castle Tucker and Nickels-Sortwell House for free when the houses are open to the public? Well, it’s true. Both houses are open seasonally from June 1 until mid-October. If you want to purchase tickets in advance for a specific tour, please call the office at 207- 882-7169 to do so. OR, you can just show up for the tour you would like to attend. Tours are on the hour, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday – Sunday through Oct. 13. Free admission includes your immediate family, and does not apply to programs. Visiting relatives and friends will be charged regular tour rates.

If you are a resident of Dresden, you can visit Bowman House for free. The house is also open seasonally from June 1 – mid-October. Tours are on the hour on Thursdays, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 .pm. through Saturday, Oct. 12. If you want to purchase tickets in advance for a specific tour, please call the office at 207- 882-7169 to do so. OR,  just show up for the tour you would like to attend.

Bowman House tells the stories of Jonathan Bowman, his family and the servant and enslaved people who worked for them in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. From 1961 to 2016, entrepreneur, antiques dealer and artist William Waters meticulously preserved and restored the house, recreating the world of Jonathan Bowman including bringing numerous original Bowman pieces back to the house. Hear about how he did this while making his home in a beautiful 18th century mansion.

Castle Tucker tells the stories of the Lee family for whom the house was built and the Tuckers who bought it in 1857. The unique mansion is filled with the original furnishings and decoration of the Tucker family who lived here for over 140 years.

Nickels-Sortwell House tells the story of the Nickels family for whom the house was built, the Turners and other owners who ran the house as a hotel for eighty-four years and the Sortwells, who bought the house as a summer home in 1899 and loved and cared for the house until 1957. The tour is a walk through time from 1807 to 1957. Wiscasset residents also get a reduced price ($5) for the Nickels-Sortwell House Christmas program, held during Wiscasset’s Holiday Marketfest, Dec. 6-8.

Come see and hear about how New Englanders of the past worked, lived and loved in ways both the same and different from today. For more information, visit https://www.historicnewengland.org/visit/homes-farms-landscapes