By Julie Senk
From the July/August 2020 issue of Maine Homes by Down East
To stay at Sprucewold was “to realize for the very first time the utmost zest of life,” or so a 1940s Maine tourist brochure promised. Nestled on Boothbay Harbor’s Spruce Point peninsula, the retreat initially comprised a 1920s log lodge and cabins that attracted city dwellers seeking a rustic escape while enjoying dancing in a cocktail lounge, dips in a saltwater swimming pool, and meals in a dining hall.
When the lodge burned down in 1931, its annex became the colony’s centerpiece. A nod to the Adirondacks’ sprawling, late-1800s “Great Camps,” this lodge has horizontal-log construction, a stone chimney, and a full-width recessed porch supported by rough-hewn logs. The dining hall, with a birch-log interior, was also created after the fire by enlarging a guest cabin.
When the colony’s cabins were sold into private ownership in the 1960s, the lodge and dining hall continued to operate as a separate business until closing their doors in 2014. Today, “Sprucewolders,” as the cabin owners call themselves, still enjoy a convivial summer community. The current owner of Sprucewold Lodge, meanwhile, has been pursuing plans to reopen the hotel and restaurant.
