Between 1760 and 1790, more than 20 vessels were built on the Mousam River, most of them at the John Butland Shipyard, where the largest vessel weighed nearly 240 tons. Many of Kennebunk’s earliest settlers are buried nearby on the knoll to the left, including members of the Butland and Wormwood families, who lived and worked close to the river. During the late 1800s, the Kennebunk & Kennebunkport Railroad operated between Kennebunk and Lower Village Kennebunk on this abandoned line, now known as the Bridle Path.
