The Boothbay Register has gained access to some of the most secretive spots in the Boothbay region that few people, outside of Barbara Rumsey, know about. Some of these hideaways are right out in the open; others are so secret, the NSA probably doesn't know about them (yet).

Underground bunker

Nestled next to the Boothbay Region Greenhouse is a doorway that might just lead you to the underworld.

When Kitty and Bob Boyd first purchased the property in 1982 they noticed the odd bunker and believed it to be part of an old foundation. While the dark and musty hideaway looks as though it might store decomposing bodies, the bunker has made an excellent cellar to store tulips and daffodil bulbs during the winter.

Most people don't notice the subtle door built into the hillside, said Kitty Boyd. Although she does admit that when classes visit it on field trips, many kids find it scary.

 “I don't think I have ever stood in the very back of the cellar before,” Boyd said. “It's very creepy.”  

Written in stone

The Boothbay peninsula is bordered by the town of Edgecomb to the north. While the road signs on Route 27 and River Road clearly mark where Boothbay stops and “the rest of the world” begins, there are actually two stones that mark the borders of the east and west side of town.

This is one of the stones found by the banks of the Damariscotta River. Etched on the top of the stone is “E/B.”

No one knows who put them there.  

Boothbay bear cave  

Where Boothbay meets East Boothbay there is remote ice pond that feeds into Meadow Cove. The pond remains nameless on most maps. On the eastern border, a dramatic cliff rises from an overhang large enough to house a family of bears.

Capacious and comfy with mossy walls, this hideaway could make a plush pad for a childhood runaway. Perhaps Edward Snowden could find asylum here. Tea party members wishing to secede from the U.S. government are also welcome, just watch out for Mother Bear.  

When it rains, it pours

Barters Island is known for a lot of strange and beautiful things. When the rain falls fast and the water rises, a waterfall can be heard roaring beneath the East Side Road.

The sound comes from an old mill house foundation that funnels fast moving water to the Back River.

Unfortunately the Boothbay Register couldn't capture the waterfall in all its glory; but rest assured, the next time we receive a deluge of rain, the cascades will come in full force.   

Survival by stone

Before the invention of tractors, supermarkets and video games, life was tough. Families of preindustrial Boothbay built sprawling stone walls to house their livestock and border their farms.

About a quarter mile from the only public dirt road left in Boothbay, rest the ruins of an old farmstead. The woodsy setting casts eerie shadows on the stone cellar hole, and large corrals scattered around the plot.

Huge piles formed from where the oxen hauled the stones to clear the land, to raise the crops to feed the family. This was the routine, from sunrise to sunset.

So be happy we live in world where anything is accessible to us with the push of a button. Nowadays who's got the time to plow a field when we could be updating our Facebook profile? “Totes not plowing a field. Microwaving yummy corn dog FTW.”  

Notable mentions: A garden unicorn in Bayville; and a stone ledge my dad told me resembles a breaching sperm whale, except it doesn't look like a sperm whale. It looks like a rock. 

Warning: The Boothbay Register does not recommend searching for the secret spots, because they may or may not be located on or near private property.