Photos by Mimi Bigelow Steadman
Walking on Newbury Neck Beach in Surry, I spied a small, brightly colored object tucked among the old blocks of quarried granite that line the sand’s inland boundary. It was a rock, about an inch in diameter, painted green with a tiny golden sun—a cheery sight on a drizzly morning last September. The discovery seemed an apt metaphor for exploring Surry itself: A bit hidden away on the northeastern edge of the Blue Hill Peninsula, the town slowly reveals its subtle charms.
Pugnuts Ice Cream Shop—one of Surry’s sweetest charms—originally drew us here. We took a short detour off Route 1 just west of Ellsworth, and spotted the whimsically named shop’s pink-framed windows bearing a cartoonlike, curly-tailed pug that offered an irresistible invitation to enter. I’m so glad we did, as I’ve never had better gelato. According to co-owner Eric Treworgy, the shop’s 19th-century building was once the Surry General Store. He hopes the spirit of that old store lingers in the ice-cream parlor, with customers discussing local happenings over a sundae or cone, just as they once would have done around a pickle barrel.
Treworgy’s ancestral family of ship captains might have been among those chewing the fat, as they settled here in the 1800s. It was a prosperous era for Surry, with more than 50 vessels, including 15 schooners, 10 brigs, and five barks, launched by the town’s shipbuilders. By 1870, local businesses were producing goods for the clothing, building, and shipping industries.
The old general store is one of several surviving public buildings erected in the village center during those flourishing days. We found another just up Surry Road. Built in 1828, the Old Town Hall is today home to the Surry Historical Society. Topped with a square belfry and small steeple, it looked more like a church to us. In fact, for about four decades, it functioned as both a municipal facility and a place of worship—so much for the separation of church and state.
A short distance to the south is the Old Surry Village School, built in 1872. After welcoming the town’s youngsters for 80 years, it served as the firehouse for three decades in the late 20th century. In more recent years, the structure had deteriorated dramatically, and demolition was being considered. Thankfully, the Old Surry Village School Preservation Group came to the rescue and, following a several-years-long rehabilitation, the schoolhouse’s doors reopened in 2019. Today, the little white-clapboard structure houses a museum and space for community meetings and events.
Diagonally across from the school, we turned south onto Newbury Neck, a narrow peninsula that dangles between Morgan Bay and Union River Bay and forms Surry’s eastern boundary. When we arrived at Newbury Neck Beach, we pulled over for a walk on the long arc of pebbly sand. Across the water, we could see the peaks of Acadia rising on the southeastern horizon, their denim-blue silhouettes dolloped with silver clouds.
A short distance farther down the road, we stopped at Bay View Cemetery, where many graves date from the 1800s. Despite the town’s good fortune in that era, Newbury Neckers were mainly hardscrabble farmers, hunters, and fishermen. Wandering among lichen-encrusted headstones, I paused at several that gave loved ones’ ages at death not just by years, but also by the months and even days they’d survived past their last birthday. It seems eking out a few more months and days was an achievement worth recording.
We ran out of public road near the southern tip of the neck and took it as a sign that it was lunchtime. At Perry Long’s Lobster Shack, near the top of the neck on the eastern shore, we settled at a picnic table partway along a massive dock that extends out over the water. Noticing its rugged construction and still-blond beams, I remembered reading that the previous pier had been reduced to a pile of lumber in 2024’s ferocious winter storms. It was impressive that this small business had recovered and rebuilt so quickly and so well.
Happily sated with lobster and crabmeat, we returned to Surry Road and Pugnuts for some sweet sustenance: two delectable scoops of coffee crunch gelato. Just beside the shop, we followed a short road down to the town wharf, set on a narrow stretch of water at the head of Patten Bay. It seemed a less than ideal place to launch sizable vessels, yet one of Surry’s several shipyards did just that from 1839 until 1873, when the schooner Joshua Grindle became the last to slide down the ways here.
Today, a large granite sculpture of giant swirls dominates the spot. The compelling piece is one of 34 in the Maine Sculpture Trail, which stretches along 300 miles of the downeast coast. Created by Jo Kley, it’s titled “Wave Sounds.” In that tranquil cul-de-sac, we heard no waves. Yet I imagined the sailors on Surry-built ships did hear that siren song, luring them from this quiet little town to faraway seas.
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Contributing editor Mimi Bigelow Steadman lives on the Damariscotta River in Edgecomb.
If you go to Surry
On the water
Surry harbormaster Bill Caddoo advises that Patten Bay offers very well protected anchoring sites; Contention Cove, at its entrance, is a little more open. Morgan Bay, he says, doesn’t have a lot of water at low tide. A quick walk from Pugnuts, the town wharf and adjacent launching ramp in the upper reaches of Patten Bay are accessible at half-tide and higher, depending on the boat. Caddoo also notes that Perry Long’s Lobster Shack has a few rental moorings for transient yachts, and tie-ups are permitted at its dock. There are no yacht services in Surry. Captain and commercial fisherman Linda Greenlaw, of The Perfect Storm fame, offers private, six-person cruises, lobster/eco tours, oyster tours, sunset tours, and a pirate adventure on a fleet of four powerboats and one sailboat. She also does night-sky tours with an astronomer aboard. Greenlaw is also an oyster farmer and a best-selling author. In addition to picking up cruise guests at two spots in Surry, she partners with Asticou Charters in Northeast Harbor.
Eat
Sit at a table on the long, covered dock at Perry Long’s Lobster Shack and enjoy views down Union River Bay over to Mount Desert. Indulge in fresh-off-the-boats lobster in various presentations, including rolls, lobster grilled cheese, and cheeseburgers topped with lobster. There’s a good selection of menu items from both sea and land, plus some irresistible homemade desserts. Don’t leave town without tasting the memorable ice cream and gelato at Pugnuts Ice Cream Shop. Co-owners Eric Treworgy and his husband, Karlton Holmes, bring creativity to their 27 flavors, with such favorites as spruce-tip gelato and frost-heave ice cream. They are masters at their craft, having studied ice-cream making at Penn State and gelato making in Italy.
Do
Above the red door at the Surry Arts and Events Barn, a faded wooden sign reads “Surry Opera Co.” It’s a clue to this shingled old barn’s remarkable backstory. Walter Nowick, an accomplished pianist and music teacher, began presenting summer chamber music concerts with his students here in 1965. Two decades later, he formed the Surry Opera Company, which performed locally and in Washington, D.C. Nowick was inspired to arrange for his company to perform in the Soviet Union, sparking a cross-cultural exchange that continued for years. This remarkable man died in 2013, but the barn still rings with music during an annual summer season of performances. Also a Zen master, Nowick founded the Morgan Bay Zendo, located just up the road. A Buddhist meditation hall, it welcomes people to practice meditation and study the tenets of Zen.
Shop
During the summer months, potter Vivian Pyle forms beautiful wheel-thrown and hand-built porcelain vessels, trays, and lamps at VKP Studio on Newbury Neck. She also produces ceramic tiles and glass mosaic murals and backsplashes. Surry’s modern-day General Store stocks a head-spinning assortment of hardware, home and garden tools, home accents and décor, and more, including a wide selection of suspenders. Surry Gardens, a large, well-known greenhouse and nursery, carries a broad selection including perennials, vegetable and herb seedlings, roses, trees, and shrubbery. It also offers full landscaping services.
Paddle & Hike
Bordering the northwestern edge of Surry, narrow, 8-mile-long Toddy Pond is a beautiful spot for paddling. A public launching ramp is located just off Route 1 in East Orland. If you plan to fish, note that you must have a Maine fishing license. The Activity Shop in nearby Blue Hill offers daily and weekly rentals of kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards. One of Blue Hill Heritage Trust’s properties, Surry Forest’s 2,100 acres of wetlands and woods encompass more than 9 miles of old logging roads that are popular for walking, running, biking, and cross-country skiing. The central loop is 3 miles long. BHHT’s 58-acre Furth-Talalay Wildlife Sanctuary has two miles of trails, all of which are short and mostly easy. Just to its south and linked by a trail, BHHT’s Carter Nature Preserve offers 3 miles of walking trails through the woods and along the shore at the head of Morgan Bay. BHHT’s Patten Stream Preserve comprises 41 acres with two easy to moderate streamside trails, both less than a mile long.
