World Traveler Signpost
Photo: Boston Public Library
From the intersection of Routes 5 and 35 in the Oxford County village of Lynchville, Norway, Paris, Denmark, Naples, Sweden, Poland, Mexico, Peru, and China are all reachable by car within an hour – well, except for the more far-flung towns of Peru and China.
Yes, these are towns in Maine rather than foreign countries, and they all appear on a signpost erected in the 1930s as a publicity stunt to attract tourists. According to local legend, a fellow named James C. Chute from Naples was on the board of directors of the Maine Publicity Bureau when it occurred to him that there was gold in all the internationally-named towns in the area. He had a chat with a cousin of his who was a supervisor for the Maine State Highway Department and hatched a plan for a roadside attraction that has, ever since, done its job: people come from far and wide to have their photo taken with the sign, and sometimes even to steal it.
The first time the sign was stolen was in 1952. It wasn’t the last. Over the years, the entire signpost or specific location names have been stolen. The Maine Department of Transportation replaced the entire signpost in 2007 with a new one fortified with steel. The old signpost, circa 1995, was donated to the Maine State Museum. It will be on display at the museum when it reopens in the fall of 2026.
Author: Stephanie Bouchard
