From Kittery to Calais, Maine’s coastal towns and cities are graced with 19th-century homes built by the state’s prosperous shipbuilders, vessel owners, and sea captains. In Brunswick, one of the most notable is the Captain George W. McManus House of 1858.
Strong-shelled and firmly cemented in place, barnacles shrug off even the strongest waves at high tide. Sharp-edged and closely clustered, they are a reminder that the sea is rough and therefore tend to be avoided. Their ubiquity means they also tend to be ignored—except by naturalists.