Abyssinian Meetinghouse

Meet your local guide, a history lover who will bring the stories and facts from Portland’s past alive throughout the tour. Starting in front of Andy's Old Port Pub on Commercial Street, walk through the cobble stone streets of the historic Old Port, downtown, and waterfront areas.  Some of the locations that may be featured as part of the tour include the lobster statue, the home of Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow, the Eastern cemetery, the Abyssinian Church, and more. Your tour will finish on a sweet note with a local treat.

Wind through the brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets of Portland's Old Port and working waterfront on this guided walking tour. Immerse yourself in the rich story of the 19th-century Black community in the East End neighborhood. The group will include no more than 15 people, so there's plenty of room to interact and ask questions. My name is Dugan Murphy and I am locally-raised public historian. Meet me at Portland's oldest church to begin our journey back in time. Discover the monuments, places of business, and civic institutions where Black Yankees drove the economy and organized for political power. The air here still lingers with the notes of sea shanty songs, the crackle of rope from cargo hoisted aboard ships creaking in the waters of Casco Bay, and the myriad accents of Black sailors arriving from the Caribbean and Canadian provinces. Head to the East End neighborhood to see the homes of Black sailors and stevedores that served as stations on the Underground Railroad. Admire the churches where Black families have worshipped, celebrated, and learned together from the 19th century up to the present day. Step on granite cobblestones crooked with age that once saw footfalls from national heroes like Frederick Douglass. Learn how Maine's earliest colonial settlements could not have survived without Black insight, skill, and labor. Uncover the story behind the enslaved Black maid who abolished slavery in Maine during the Revolutionary War. Discover the exceptional figures who shaped Portland and the State of Maine over more than 400 years of Black leadership. I employ printed images of the past, together with expert storytelling, to bring the past to life. You'll hear stories that other tours omit. A portion of every ticket sale will help fund the restoration of the Abyssinian Meeting House, the third-oldest Black church still standing in the United States. End your tour at Eastern Cemetery, one-half mile from where it began. I lead unforgettable jaunts through my hometown, telling an inclusive, empowering, and surprising constellation of tales you won't hear on other tours. Maine Historical Society made me their official tour partner in 2023.