About

Lake Life in the Rangeley Region owes much of its beginnings to "Angling," the primary attraction in the area at the turn of the 19th century. By the early 1900s, the town of Rangeley had become a small but thriving farming community with a growing trade in logging and timber. As time passed, the "Lakes Region" had gained a reputation in New England and New York, among Sport Fisherman, for the deep, cold, crystal-clear lakes and the abundance of enormous Salmon and Trout.

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​As the region's popularity grew, so did the need for accommodations, transportation, and amenities to support the growing demand. Northern railroads extended their service further west through the "narrow-gauge rail system," steamships dotted the lakes to take people to their destinations, and grand resorts, hotels, and sporting camps sprung up all around. The "Golden Age," as it was often referred to, had come to the western mountains of Maine. Vacationing in the region became popular as families escaped the big cities to spend their time "summering" at their favorite spot in the cooler and cleaner mountains.

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​Unfortunately, the onset of World War II would slowly bring an end to these grand times. By the late 1940s, the Lakes Region began to decline in "summering" vacations as people became more mobile and no longer content to return to one place for an entire season. The grand resorts, hotels, and sporting camps lost popularity as time passed. Eventually, by the early 1960s, they were all but gone or sold off.​

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Although the style of vacations in the region has changed and many of the "camps," as the seasonal structures are commonly referred to, have been converted to year-round homes, the area is once again a popular four-season destination for fisherman, boaters, hikers, leaf peepers, hunters, skiers and snowmobilers alike. There is still a small-town feel to it all, and many of the families that visit have done so for generations.​

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My Father-in-Law, Gary Priest, born and raised in Rangeley, has worked passionately for 50 years to research, document, and share the vibrant history of the "Lakes Region," the grand resorts, hotels, and sporting camps through a series of books that he has written. His passion for Rangeley and its history inspired my wife and me twenty-five years ago to buy our own "camp" and begin to create our own family memories and traditions.

 

We've founded Mingo Springs Clothing Co.® and created our signature "Mingo Greens" lake shorts to commemorate the past generations and help inspire the next generation to carry on enjoying everything that the Lakes Region has to offer.