Cemetery and Ghost Tours

Are you a history buff? Or maybe someone looking for fun in the Bangor area? Look no further than Downtown Bangor. The Bangor Museum and Center for History is hosting the Mount Hope Cemetery and Ghost Lamp Tours two days each month from June to October.


Mount Hope Cemetery Tours

Mount Hope Cemetery, 1836, is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States. The cemetery was designed, like Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, to meet the mid-19th century city dweller's desire for a romanticized rural landscape to escape to.

The landscape, built for the living, as well as the dead, is typified by ponds, grottos, bowers, and a variety of plantings among the tombs and monuments. Many of Maine's statesmen, military, and civic leaders are interred in Mount Hope Cemetery, along with some infamous characters whose legends still survive.


The tour starts at the Cemetery Superintendent's Office, 1048 State Street, Bangor, and takes you through the historical cemetery. $5 for non-members; Free to BMHC members and children under 12.

Tour Dates:

Saturday, June 19 at 10 am
Friday, July 2 at 5 pm
Saturday, July 17 at 10 am
Friday, August 6 at 5 pm
Saturday, August 21 at 10 am
Friday, September 3 at 5 pm
Saturday, September 18 at 10 am
Friday, October 1 at 5 pm

Ghost Lamp Tours

As you walk through Bangor, imagine yourself at the meeting of the Kenduskeag Stream and the Penobscot River in the 1800s—ships filling the river and the banks of the stream alive with activity. Taverns and brothels, shops, businesses, and warehouses vying for your business, and the nearby Bangor House hosting famous and infamous people of the time. Do you see presidents, gangsters, and ghosts as you tour historical Bangor?

The tour starts at the Waterfront Parking Lot, next to the Sea Dog Restaurant, and takes you on a journey through Bangor's history. $5 for non-members; Free to BMHC members and children under 12.

Tour Dates *

Tuesday, July 6
Thursday, July 22
Tuesday, August 10
Thursday, August 26
Tuesday, September 7
Thursday, September 23
Tuesday, October 5
Thursday, October 14
Thursday, October 28

*All tours begin at 7 pm

Bangor Museum and History Center is also looking for volunteers at the Thomas A. Hill House from June through September. Volunteers can work at the Hill House to greet visitors or as costumed tour leaders. You could also lead the Mount Hope Cemetery and Ghost Lamp Tours.

For more information visit Bangor Museum and Center for History's website.