Be watching for Margaret Adams Smith and her fellow tour guides from the Victorian era as Historic Tours opens a window into York Beach's fascinating past.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK BEACH - Have you seen the elegant Margaret Adams Smith making her way through the center of this seaside village with her parasol in hand?
If you haven't yet, you'll want to stop by Old Time Photos in York Beach, the departure point for the brand new Historic Tours of York Beach, where you can find Margaret and her fellow Victorian-era characters waiting to take you back in time.
The new tours are the brainchild of Gary Phipps, founder of the former Ghostly Tours in York Village, and Troy Williams, who ran the York Beach Cinema in the final years before it closed last summer.
Those waiting to take the tour are greeted by costumed guides who retell York's history from its earliest European settlers in the 1600s - and the many names York had before it was called York - all the way through to the late 19th and early 20th century.
Guides like Edie Nelson, who has adopted the persona of Smith as a 19th-century woman who traces her familial roots back to York but now lives "away" and summers each year in York Harbor, include local history buffs and performers. Each tour guide has created a character to share some of the York region's spooky stories, comic tales and historical facts during a quarter-mile tour that is appropriate for all ages.
"Everyone brings something special," Phipps said of the various guides, "and they are all knowledgeable."
Phipps explained that the idea for Historic Tours came about after Ghostly Tours ceased to exist. While Ghostly Tours focused on the spooky stories of York Village, Phipps said the new tours honor the history of York Beach in a lighthearted way that would be enjoyable for residents and visitors alike. There are some elements of York's ghost stories, as they are often requested, but those are not the focus of the tour.
"It's a little like time travel," Phipps said.
For Historic Tours, Phipps wanted to work with a partner, and approached Williams, who he knew both as a former York High School student and for his years of work at the cinema, to go into business together.
"Learning a lot about the history of both the theater and the beach, I thought this would be a nice idea, considering how much the beach is changing right now," Williams explained.
In fact, plans for the York's Wild Kingdom property, which has been under option for several years by Massachusetts developer Oscar Plotkin, were scheduled to be discussed just at the start of the Historic Tours, marking what may be another change to the York Beach area.
"There's so much history here, and so many people don't know anything about it," Williams said of the wealth of subject matter for the tours. "People are always asking me questions about the theater, and this is a chance to learn not only about the theater but the something about the entire downtown."
Did you know there was once a dance hall in York Beach known as the Great White Way? How about the "Comet" - a Victorian thrill ride that sent cavorters by railcar from Short Sands Beach into the chilly Atlantic waters? Have you sampled the healing properties of that ocean water - or purchased proper swimming attire for a Victorian holiday at the beach?
These are just a sampling of the anecdotes shared on the tour, and while the focus may be York Beach, there are also glimpses into the history of York Harbor, Scotland Bridge, Cape Neddick and York Village.
The tour even features a chance to try your hand at croquet in a contest that features a special treat: that famous saltwater taffy from The Goldenrod.
Phipps and Williams also noted that local businesses have been wonderfully supportive of the new tours, providing gift certificates for tour-goers to enjoy some of the favorite local shops and flavors of modern-day era York Beach.
Historic Tours is open Sunday through Thursdays, with tickets on sale at 4:30 p.m. and the tour beginning promptly at 5 p.m. Private tours for groups of 15 or more are also available - morning, noon or night - at each group's convenience. For more information, call Historic Tours at 363-0000.
