I love a good roadside attraction! Couldn’t pass by this larger-than-life ship captain, without stopping for a selfie!
Here’s a bit of local history: In 1968, one year after the Brown’s Wharf Inn opened, the owners placed the 25-foot, fiberglass, rebar and cement statue, now known as ‘Captain Brown’, beckoning visitors into their business. This iconic structure has stopped traffic for more than a half century.
So what inspired the owners to place a fisherman at the entrance? During a family trip to Strasburg, Pennsylvania, they spotted a giant statue of an Amish man, which spurred the idea to create a similar concept back home in Maine. They hired the same artist, Rod Shutt, who had designed similar figures for Walt Disney World in Florida. He built the statue in his shop in Pennsylvania, and shipped it to Boothbay on a flatbed truck. The statue is relatively low maintenance these days, just receiving a fresh coat of paint every 5 years.