Long before Maine became known as Vacationland in the 1890s, Wells beckoned promoters and guests from the inland cities of New England. During the 1850s and 1870s two grand hotels, complete with entertainment centers, accommodated these visitors. By 1885 the hotels had been destroyed by fires, but they were replaced with smaller boarding houses and private cottages. Beginning with the wealthy mill owners and industrialists and then expanding to include the working class, Wells' tourist industry has thrived for more than a century. Summer visitors have experienced Wells' multitude of natural...

Wells has a history as fascinating as it is long. Blessed with tremendous natural resources, this enticing place attracted native people and then European fishermen and traders long before Edmund Littlefield established the first permanent mills on the banks of the Webhannet River in 1640. Wells incorporated in 1653 as Maine's third town, and since then more than thirteen generations of New Englanders have nurtured their families by reaping the waves of the Atlantic or toiling on the furrows of their farms. The early settlers were independent Yankees striving to make a living, but they...