Peaks Island is the most populous island in Casco Bay, Maine. It is part of the city of Portland, and is located approximately 3 miles from downtown.

Year-round residents are first and foremost an island community, a group of neighbors who depend on each other for support and goodwill throughout the long winter months. The island is served by Casco Bay Lines ferry service, and is home to its own elementary school and library.After Memorial Day, the island turns into a bustling summer retreat with the return of the "summer people" and day-trippers who take the ferry out to walk or bicycle around the island. Bikes can also be rented at Brad’s Bicycle Shop on Island Avenue.

At 720 acres, Peaks is the second largest island in Casco Bay, of which there are over 211 (even though there are often reported to be 365, hence the nickname the “calendar islands"). With roughly one thousand year round residents, it's also the most populated: during the summer months, the population "peaks" at anywhere between four and six thousand. The island is approximately two miles long and one mile wide (at its widest point). If you keep to the shore roads it's about four miles around and can be walked easily in an hour or biked in 15 to 20 minutes.

In addition to TEIA, there are a number of other civic and public facilities that service Peaks Island and its residents. The Oceanside Conservation Trust of Casco Bay and The Peaks Island Preserve help preserve the natural beauty of this spectacular part of the country. The two Maine regiments, Fifth and Eighth, help remind people about the effects of war, and then there are restaurants, inns, markets, the health center, and other things that keep the Peaks Island community vibrant. Links for various amenities on Peaks Island are listed below a brief history of Peaks Island.

The island became a popular summer destination in the late nineteenth century, when it was known as the Coney Island of Maine, home to hotels, cottages, theaters, and amusement parks.

Hollywood film director John Ford (born John Martin Feeney) was known as "The Mayor of Peaks Island" because of his great affinity for the island and the fact that he vacationed there through the early 1960s, worked as an usher at the Gem Theater and was a deckhand on the Casco Bay Line ferries in his youth. Ford family members still live on the island.

Besides the Gem, which featured famous performers including the Barrymore family, two other summer theaters were located on the island. One, the, Pavilion, opened in 1887, is said to be the first summer theater in the county. The Greenwood Garden Amusement Park sported the Greenwood Garden Playhouse.

George M. Cohan tried his productions out at the island's theaters before taking them to Broadway. Circa 1908, D.W. Griffith was torn between continuing to appear in plays produced at the island's playhouses as he frequently did or heading to Hollywood. Jean Stapleton's first professional appearance in the summer of 1941 was in a production at Greenwood Garden. Martin Landau also made his professional stage debut in a 1951 production of "Detective Story" at Greenwood Garden where for several seasons he was a resident cast member.

Most of the hotels were lost to fires over the years. The Gem Theatre was destroyed by fire on September 7, 1934. 17 buildings burned to the ground on June 2, 1936, including the new Union House Hotel. The only original hotel structure remaining on the island is the Avenue House, which has been converted into condominiums.

During World War II, the island was home to a large military defense installation, including the largest structure, Battery Steele, which housed two 16 inch (406 mm) guns.

Links to Peaks Island Attractions

• Peaks Island Community Calendar
• Peaks Island Information
• Additional Peaks Island Information
• Peaks Island FAQs
• Portland Information
• Oceanside Conservation Trust of Casco Bay
• Peaks Island Land Preserve
• Fifth Maine Regiment Museum
• Eighth Maine Regiment Memorial Association
• Maine Island Kayak Company
• The Inn on Peaks Island