Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our image of the past and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history. From its early settlement in the 1600s to the present, the area known as "the Port" and "the Cape" has typified what it means to live or vacation on the Maine coast. Kennebunkport is a study in contrasts: fishermen work the sea while tourists fill Dock Square in search of art, "lobstah," and steamers; fish shanties dot the shore of the Cape while estates and luxury hotels dominate Ocean Avenue; sailboats glide serenely through the harbor while carnivals take place on the Kennebunk River. It is this variety of people, places, and events that has always made Kennebunkport one of the most dynamic and vivacious communities on the Northeastern seaboard.