Maine: Finding my grandmother in Brunswick

I grew up knowing that Brunswick, Maine was where my grandmother went to work when she was only 12 years old and she worked there for 15 years. She came over 300 miles from her village in Quebec to help out her family. I found her on the 1900 census in Brunswick working as a weaver. It was inevitable that I would go in search of evidence of her time in Brunswick when I was going to be in the area.

There is nothing I love more than a beautiful bed and breakfast. I was invited to do a four day Inn tour in Maine that took us to Kennebunkport and Rockland. Since Al is retired, I decided that we should extend our trip and so we planned to spend two days in Brunswick, Maine. I chose The Brunswick Inn as our accommodation in Brunswick and it was a very good choice.

One of the first things I did was to look for the mill where my grandmother worked. The Cabot Mill is right at the end of Maine Street in Brunswick and as luck would have it, it is now the location of a very nice antique mall. I was able to find a few things of interest including a postcard from 1906 of the mill. It may be a little after the time when my grandmother was there but it was close enough to get my interest.

After spending more than an hour poking around the mall, we were ready to find somewhere to have lunch. I had heard good things about Frontier Restaurant which is located in the mill. Don’t however, expect it to be easy to find. The signing in this building is terrible. Luckily I found someone who was able to give us good directions.

It is well worth finding. It has a very industrial feel and if you are lucky you will have a seat that gives you great views of the Androscoggin River. The menu is eclectic in the best sense of the word. You might even say it is global. Certainly, you can find the flavors of a variety of countries. It is a hard menu to describe; there is everything from great salads, curried mussels, hamburgers and the best hand cut French fries we have had in a while. It the kind of place where you can eat every day and never get bored.

Bowdoin College has several museums on its campus which are worth a visit including an art museum and an Artic museum. Maine Street is charming and offers lots of shops for browsing.

Brunswick, Maine is a small town and while there are not endless things to do, there is certainly enough to warrant a day or two and maybe even a return visit. Keep in mind as well, that we are not outdoorsy and there are always tons of outdoor things to do in Maine.