Our Extensive Collections

WOW, Where to begin???
  • Ever expanding
  • Unique
  • Eclectic
  • Historic
  • Interactive
Seriously, it's hard to describe the things you'll find here as you explore the grounds of the Sail, Power, and Steam Museum.  

You can:
  • Trace the development of marine navigational devices, from the discovery of the rotation of the earth to her magnetic fields, from early devices like like hand held sextants (you can even use one to locate the museum on the shores of Rockland harbor) to demonstrations of radar and Loran.
  • Visit our Payson Boat shed and see small local vessels such as the Matinic Island Chipping Tray
  • Explore photos of the history of ship wrecks along the eastern seaboard (have you heard of the Portland Gale of 1898?  Over 400 persons and 150 vessels lost)
  • Check out our collection of working steam engines
  • Board our flagship vessel (on shore), the GEM of Penobscot Bay, and imagine what it is like to live aboard such a unique vessel
  • Watch the world as it turns beneath our Foucault Pendulum in our atrium entryway
  • Learn about the history of Rockland's vital Lime and Granite industries (there's a reason it was called "ROCKland")
    • THERE'LL BE A QUIZ!  Not really, but do you know where the term "In the Limelight" came from and how important it is to Rockland's industrial past?)
  • See how ships were built in in Rockland's hay day.  ANOTHER QUIZ QUESTION:  Did you know that Rockland was the fourth busiest port on the east coast at one time?  Only New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were busier!
  • Boats, boats, and more boats!

Trust us ... there's so much more to see at the Sail, Power, and Steam Museum, we can't possible list it all here. 
Come visit and see for yourself!