Poland Spring: Summering in Fashion


The Mt. Kineo, Kineo, ca. 1915

The Mt. Kineo, Kineo, ca. 1915
Item 17483   info
Maine Historical Society

The glory days of the Poland Spring resort covered the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Thereafter, the tourism business changed decisively because of an innovation that first arrived in 1901: the automobile.

The auto gave guests greater mobility and freed them from long stays at one hotel. They could motor off to lake retreats in Naples, Belgrade, Rangeley, and Rockwood or to any of the many ocean hotels along the Maine coast.

The Rickers bought the Samoset Hotel in Rockland and Mt. Kineo House on Moosehead Lake to capture some of the expanded business.

Through the Ricker Hotel Company, the family also expanded southward to manage the Forrest Hills Ricker in Augusta, Georgia.

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