The Mysterious Speakeasies of Rockland, Maine

The Mysterious Speakeasies of Rockland, Maine

Photo by Kay Stephens

A Slide Talk April 1, 7 pm FREE

Lower Level fellowship hall of the People’s United Methodist Church in Union


In April 2014, the owner of 435 Main Street granted reporter and author Kay Stephens access to a dusty attic room in the building, before it was to be renovated. Graffiti on the hallway walls revealed the room to be a speakeasy, untouched for more than 100 years. Since then, on a quest to research scenes for her new novel, Stephens has set out to discover how Prohibition and bootlegging affected Mainers—Rockland in particular—between 1851, when Maine became the first state to ban the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages and 1933 when Prohibition ended. In her lively presentation, she will bring the past to life, focusing on particular speakeasies, medicinal workarounds and stories of Rockland citizens—some of whom defied the law successfully and others who failed miserably.

This is a side to Rockland you’ll never forget!