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Museums and History The region's history spans 12,000 years of Native American habitation, including the Abenaki mission site associated with Father Sebastian Rasle at what is now Old Point in Madison and the Pilgrim Fur Trading Post site on the east bank of the Kennebec River in Augusta where beaver and other pelt were exchanged for European trade goods. Today, an annual ³First Light Native American Festival² in Athens, Maine, and Waterville's annual ³Voices of the Kennebec Festival² bring together representatives from Maine's contemporary Indian Tribes. Benedict Arnold followed the Kennebec River north on his ill-fated attempt to capture Canada in 1775. Thousands and thousands of Irish and French Canadians used the Old Canada Road (now a scenic byway) section of Route 201 during the 19th century to find seasonal or project employment and later to make the Kennebec Valley region their home. And until the 1970's, as many as 4,000 cords of wood at a time would be floated in great drives down the Kennebec from the northern forests to the saw mills down river. Source: Kennebec Valley Tourism Council www.kennebecvalley.org

For more information on museums, history, and more, including hours and contact info, please visit the Kennebec Valley Tourism Council site at: www.kennebecvalley.org

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