Press Release

WHAT: Colonial Pemaquid to be featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America Weekend”

WHEN: Sunday, July 26

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site is expected to be featured this Sunday morning, July 26, on ABC’s “Good Morning America Weekend.”

The state historic site will be a part of a segment on the Pemaquid Peninsula for the GMA feature, “A Weekend Window to ...” The feature shows video footage of scenic places around the world. Past segments have included Rocky Mountain National Park, Ashville, N.C., and the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

Commissioner Patrick McGowan of the Maine Department of Conservation was interviewed earlier this month by GMA producer Kari Pricher for the segment on Colonial Pemaquid. The interview took place in the historic Fort House, built in the last quarter of the 18th century. Commissioner McGowan was interviewed in the period parlor, which is decorated in an early 1800s style.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about Colonial Pemaquid for GMA Weekend, and I hope the segment will give viewers a sense of the important connections to the past that can be made here,” Commissioner McGowan said.

Colonial Pemaquid is a state historic site owned and managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands, under the Maine Department of Conservation. The Friends of Colonial Pemaquid, a non-profit organization, assists in the conservation and interpretation of the site.

The historic site recently was completed with the acquisition of a small parcel of land already determined to be rich with historic colonial artifacts and building remains. The parcel is expected to undergo archaeological excavation later this summer.

The site was home to American Indians going back 1,000 years and later became a colonial fishing outpost for the production cod that was sent back to England. It now contains Fort William Henry, a replica of the 1692 fort once built on the point; Fort House, a restored Federal-style home dating to 1790; a colonial village site, including stone building foundations; a burial ground that is thought to be the site of burials for settlers dating back to the original British arrival in the 1620s; and a museum that has exhibits on American Indians and numerous colonial artifacts, including tools, coins and pottery.

For more information on Colonial Pemaquid, go to: http://www.parksandlands.com

For more information about the Friends of Colonial Pemaquid, go to: http://www.friendsofcolonialpemaquid.org/

For information on Good Morning America Weekend, go to: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/