Old Town, Maine: Canoes, the Penobscot Nation, and Life on the River

Just north of Bangor, on the banks and islands of the Penobscot River, sits the small city of Old Town. Its story is inseparable from the river: it is the home of the world-famous Old Town Canoe, the neighbor of the Penobscot Nation, and a place shaped for centuries by the water that runs through it. Here is a closer look.

A City on the Penobscot

Old Town lies in Penobscot County, on Marsh Island in the Penobscot River, just above the towns of Orono and Bangor and on the edge of Maine’s Great North Woods. The river’s rapids once powered a string of sawmills that cut the millions of board feet of spruce and pine floated downriver each year, and later great paper mills. Set off from neighboring Orono and incorporated in 1840, Old Town grew into a busy mill city of around 7,500 people, its fortunes always tied to the Penobscot.

The Penobscot Nation and Indian Island

Beside Old Town, in the middle of the river, lies Indian Island — the home and seat of the Penobscot Nation, a federally recognized tribe of the Wabanaki people who have lived along this river for thousands of years. In fact, the city takes its name from the historic Penobscot village that once stood here. Today the Penobscot Nation Museum on Indian Island shares the tribe’s history and living culture, including its renowned tradition of ash-splint and sweetgrass basketry. The island is also remembered as the home of Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot who became one of the first Native Americans to play Major League Baseball.

Home of the Old Town Canoe

Old Town’s most famous export grew directly from this place. The Old Town Canoe Company, founded in 1898, was inspired by the Penobscot Nation’s centuries-old birchbark canoes — and it employed many Penobscot craftspeople in its early years. Its beautifully made wood-and-canvas canoes were shipped around the world and became a byword for quality on the water. More than 125 years later, the company still carries the town’s name, now building canoes and kayaks for a new generation of paddlers.

Paddling and the Outdoors

Fittingly for the birthplace of a canoe legend, Old Town is a paradise for paddlers. The Penobscot River offers everything from calm, easy stretches to lively rapids, with bald eagles and ospreys wheeling overhead. Nearby Pushaw Lake is perfect for peaceful flatwater canoeing and kayaking, and the Hirundo Wildlife Refuge protects wetlands and forest full of beavers, otters, and more than two hundred species of birds — a wonderful place for a quiet paddle or a walk.

Festivals and Community

Old Town keeps its river spirit alive with community celebrations. In summer, Riverfest brings canoe races, live music, and fireworks to the waterfront, while the winter SnowBall festival features snow sculptures, skating, and sledding. Just next door, the University of Maine in Orono adds a lively college-town energy to the whole area.

Exploring the Penobscot Valley

Old Town sits at the heart of the Penobscot region. Just downriver lies the city of Bangor, while upstream the river points the way toward Baxter State Park and the North Woods. Like so much of Maine, this is river country — and our own town of Winslow, on the Kennebec, shares that heritage, with its colonial-era Fort Halifax standing guard over the water since 1754.

Frequently Asked Questions