Along with lighthouses and rocky coastlines, Maine is home to some amazing architecture. There are even castles in Maine for you to explore! You can even stay in a Maine castle (the Norumbega Castle), or just visit these Maine castles for the history and the views.
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Castles in Maine
Castles in Maine run the gamut from small towers (Battie Tower) to enormous Gilded Age buildings (The Turrets).
Maine castles tell the history of the area they are located in whether they are local wealthy families (Gardiner Castle, Castle Tucker), to local benefactors (Mann Castle, Ogunquit Memorial Library) to new industrialist money (Norumbega Castle).
Which of these 10 Maine castles will be your favourite?
Norumbega Castle
The enchanting estate of Norumbega Castle welcomes visitors with its dark, stony exterior and artistic features which are starkly juxtaposed with the bright, welcoming interior of the house.
Built in 1886, wealthy inventor Joseph Stearns wanted to recreate the castles he saw in his travels in Europe. Through the gothic touches, protruding turrets, and decorative stained glass, this “stone castle by the sea” will transport you back to a bygone era.
The name Norumbega refers to a famous Viking settlement that was supposed to have been located somewhere in the area.
Today, the castle serves as a four-star bed and breakfast, the Norumbega Inn. Guests can stay in one of the unique rooms or suites. Soak in the property’s impressive panoramic view of Penobscot Bay from the terrace, or take a break in the tranquil garden.
Book a stay here to fully experience one of the most beautiful castles in Maine, and indeed among New England castles.
Address: 63 High St., Camden, Maine, 04843
Mann Castle (West Paris Library)
Just like the Oliver Ames Library in North Easton Massachusetts, the Mann Castle was always designed to be a library that looked like a castle complete with archways, a tower and a parapet. The Mann Castle is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The West Paris Library was built exclusively of local fieldstones gathered from local fields, giving the structure its typical gray, medieval look. It is a sight to be admired and the original oak door and distinctive archway only add to the building’s character.
In 1926, the library and the land on which it sits was gifted by Lewis M. Mann in memory of his son Arthur to the West Paris Library Association. Even as the library continued to grow and an addition was created to house the influx of books, the castle-liked design was never lost.
Address: 226 Main St., West Paris, Maine, 04289
Ogunquit Memorial Library
In the charming seaside resort of Ogunquit, there is another library built in 1898 by summer residents from Pennsylvania in the style of a small stone Romanesque Revival castle. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Address: 166 Shore Rd, Ogunquit, ME 03907
Another cool castle Maine has is the Ogunquit Memorial Library (Image credit: Liz West)
The Turrets
Imagine going to work every day in a castle. Well, that dream is a reality for some of the lucky folks who work at College of the Atlantic.
Along the Bay Harbor shore, you’ll find The Turrets at the College of the Atlantic, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the area’s last standing Gilded Age structures, the French Chateau-style building was constructed in 1895 by Bruce Prince, the architect who designed the famous Chateau Frontenac in Quebec.
The Turrets was a wedding gift from J.J. Emery to his bride. J.J. Emery made his money in the chemical industry as well as a real estate developer.
Emery’s wedding gift of a castle must’ve made up for the fact that he was decades older than his 18 year old bride. When Emery died, she remarried a younger son of the British aristocracy who would summer with her at the Turrets. After all, a Maine castle is better than no castle.
The Turrets was sold to the College of the Atlantic in 1973, which uses it today as administrative and academic offices for the college.
Address: 105 Eden St, Bar Harbor, ME 04609
The Turrets, College of the Atlantic, is a Maine Castle built during the Gilded Age (Image credit: Jonas Lowgren)
Gardiner Castle
Also known as Oaklands Castle, this 19th-century Gothic Revival mansion was designed by architect Richard Upjohn for Robert Hallowell Gardiner, grandson of Dr Sylvester Gardiner, founder of the town.
Gardiner Castle is made of local granite stonework to resemble an English manor House.
The stone was white granite from nearby Hallowell, a highly prized building material at the time. For example, Hallowell granite was used for the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth Massachusetts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Still owned by the Gardiner family, the castle is not open for visitors. The exterior though is a beautiful sight though to behold on the Kennebec River.
Address: Oaklands Farm Rd, Gardiner, Maine, 04345
Beckett’s Castle
If you’re looking to add a haunting experience to your trip, don’t miss Beckett’s Castle. This eerie Cape Elizabeth manor is famous in the area for being haunted by the former owner and writer, Sylvester Beckett.
The Gothic-style castle was designed and built in 1874 by Beckett himself and was constructed using local fieldstone. Beckett’s Castle is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the most recognizable features of the home is the massive three-story tower – which supposedly helped guide ships coming into Portland Harbor. So a castle/lighthouse hybrid.
Relatively small, Beckett’s Castle is only 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and about 2000 square feet. The property is situated atop a bluff on the rocky coastline with stunning views of Casco Bay. This fact could explain why when it was last listed, the asking price was around $3.35 million.
Although it is a private residence, this mansion is well-deserving of driving by to admire.
Address: Singles Road, Cape Elizabeth 04107
Mount Battie Tower
Built in 1921, Mount Battie Tower is a World War 1 memorial using stones from a grand hotel that once stood on the site. Designed by a summer resident, Mount Battie Tower is a copy of a tower found in Newport Rhode Island.
Like Castle Craig in Meriden Connecticut, Mount Battie Tower offers fabulous views in a park setting.
The tower is a part of Camden Hills State Park which is located north of Camden. The 5,710 acre park is popular with nature lovers and leaf peepers who come for the beautiful fall foliage. You can drive up Mount Battie or hike to the top of the mountain.
Address: Mount Battie Road, Camden Maine 4843
Mount Battie Tower, a Maine castle, located in Camden Hills State Park.
Casco Tower
Casco Tower is all that remains of a 1903 summer resort built like a castle which burned to the ground in 1914. Casco Tower was built of stone while the rest of the castle was built of wood and went up like a matchbox.
Casco Castle was buuilt by a man who whose real business was a trolley railway called the Portland & Brunswick Railway. He also built resorts to encourage city dwellers to get out and about in Maine using his trolley railway. Synergy and all that.
Casco Castle was a destination on his trolley from Freeport. A further lure was that this castle in Maine came complete with an amusement park.
Sadly, trolleys were NOT the wave of the future and people preferred getting around in cars.
The stones for the tower came from clearing the land to build the wooden castle. The tower rises 185 high, a monument to a bygone time and one man’s entrepreneurship.
Address: Castle Road, South Freeport
Casco Castle Maine no longer exists except for this stone tower. (Image credit: Paul VanDerWerf)
Castle Tucker
Castle Tucker (Wiscasset Maine) is the oldest of the Maine castles. Built in 1807 by Silas Lee, the elegant property is situated on a hill overlooking the Sheepscot River.
It’s probably just a mansion, but the owners called it a castle. Going by the principle that a man’s home is his castle especially if he thinks it is, we have included Castle Tucker on this list.
Local rich kid, Richard Tucker, Jr. bought Castle Tucker in 1858 for his young family. Tucker Senior had made his money in shipping (tactfully described as “shipping goods from New England and Charleston, South Carolina, to Europe via Liverpool “, i.e., the triangular trade involving enslaved peoples).
Castle Tucker was given to Historic New England in 1997 by a member of the Tucker family. The castle now operates as a museum and allows visitors to learn about what life was like for the Tucker family who once lived there.
Learn about the daily lives and hardships of the prominent shipping family at this castle in Maine, and how the home managed to stay so true to its time over the years. The entire estate serves as a sort of time capsule, bringing us back to the 19th century.
Tours of the Castle Tucker Maine run on weekends from June through October.
Address: 2 Lee St, Wiscasset, ME 04578
Castle Tucker Maine is now a museum run by Historic New England. (Image credit: Jimmy Emerson, DVM)
Old Post Office in Augusta Maine
Libraries masquerading as castles? Been there, done that.
A castle in Maine that was really a courthouse and post office? Now that’s different.
Augusta Maine has a courthouse/post office that was built to resemble a stone castle in 1890. Built of Hollowell granite in the Romanesque Revival style, the post office has all the bells and whistles of a castle – winding staircase, arches and a tower.
No longer used as a post office since the 1960’s, the building is now known as the Old Federal Building. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its now used for commercial purposes.
Address: 295 Water St., Augusta, ME 04330
A government building resembling a castle, Maine is full of quirky things!
Map of Maine Castles
For your trip planning purposes, here is a map of the Maine castles mentioned above.
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