Learn about Maine’s maritime history at Sunday event in Bath

Maine Maritime Museum Hosts “Interco(a)stal Walk” to Spotlight Black and Wabanaki Maritime Histories

Bath, Maine – On Sunday, the Maine Maritime Museum will open its doors for a day‑long, free walking event called “The Interco(a)stal Walk: Reading Between the Ribs of Maine’s Maritime History.” The walk, organized by the Atlantic Black Box nonprofit in partnership with The Third Place, Bomazeen Land Trust, and the museum itself, will trace just under three miles from Bath’s North End Boat Launch to the museum’s main building, weaving together historical interpretation, poetry, music, storytelling, performances, and temporary installations.

The event is part of Atlantic Black Box’s larger “Walks for Historical and Ecological Recovery” (WHERE) series, which has already partnered with 14 Maine communities over the past two years to explore local histories in context with the surrounding landscapes. This year the focus turns to Bath, a city known for its shipbuilding heritage, and to the intertwined narratives of Black and Wabanaki peoples in the region.

“Through this project, we are really taking back those spaces and honoring our ancestors who lived in those areas,” said James Eric Francis Sr., Penobscot Nation tribal historian and art director for Interco(a)stal. “When I think about Bath and the lower Kennebec, Sagadahoc, in my lifetime there’s always been an assumption that there are no more Indigenous people there. That everybody disappeared with colonialism.”

Along the route, participants will encounter a series of interpretive stations that highlight the Kennebec River’s role as a Wabanaki homeland and a living ecosystem, as well as Bath’s ties to colonization, slavery, Atlantic trade, migration, labor, industrialization, ecological change, and resistance movements. The afternoon program will feature a shared meal with foods that reflect the histories encountered, as well as performances and an activation of a collective reimagining of the museum’s “Wyoming Evocation” sculpture.

The Wyoming Evocation is a skeletal, six‑masted schooner that evokes the 1909 Bath‑built ship Wyoming. Artists and researchers are installing temporary works on and around the structure, asking, “What realities should a monument to shipbuilding and seafaring reflect? Whose histories should be visible there?” The goal is to prompt visitors to rethink the narratives embedded in the museum’s physical landscape.

Luke Gates‑Milardo, director of exhibits and learning at the Maine Maritime Museum, welcomed the new audiences and fresh perspectives. “It’s exciting to see new communities visiting the museum and interpreting the land, archives, and collections through important contemporary lenses,” he said. “It’s bringing fresh life to the museum’s collection and site.”

The Interco(a)stal Walk was selected as one of ten projects in Monument Lab’s 2026 Re:Generation cohort, a national program that supports community‑centered approaches to rethinking monuments and public memory. The full‑day program has already reached capacity, but a separate afternoon‑only schedule is still open for registration at abbx.me/intercoastalafternoon. Participation is free, and the event is open to all ages.

Atlantic Black Box’s initiative builds on the success of its WHERE walks, which have brought people of all ages and backgrounds to explore the stories that shape Maine’s landscapes. By centering Black and Wabanaki maritime histories, the Interco(a)stal Walk invites participants to re‑imagine Bath’s past and present, encouraging a more inclusive narrative of the region’s maritime heritage.

For more information or to register for the afternoon program, visit abbx.me/intercoastalafternoon.