Cushing is a water community on the Muscongus Bay peninsula
Cushing sits on a spruce-lined peninsula where the St. George River opens into Muscongus Bay. This stretch of Knox County shoreline is known for tide-scoured coves and long views of open water. Fewer than 1,600 people live in this community of winding roads, working wharves and salt-box farmhouses. Art lovers know the place for the shingled Olson House, the 14-room farmhouse that inspired Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World” and later paintings. “This is rural Maine on the water,” says John Blouin, Realtor with Vallee Harwood & Blouin Real Estate. "You won't find much commercial development. Most commute about one hour away to Augusta for practical everyday needs."
Cape Cod and ranch-style homes on acreage
Most houses stand on multi-acre unfenced lots surrounded by fields and farmland, with a median sales price of $435,000. Housing choices range from 19th-century Cape Cods with center chimneys to 1970s ranch-style dwellings built when the peninsula first drew summer residents. Waterfront parcels on Maple Juice Cove and Broad Cove lead local prices, while inland properties trade more modestly and often include outbuildings or small orchards.
Garden and shore studies at Cushing Community School
Cushing Community School earns a B-minus on Niche and serves kindergarten through fifth grade with project gardens and shore studies. Grades six through eight attend Oceanside Middle School in Thomaston, rated C-plus. Oceanside High School in Rockland also earns a C-plus and offers marine trades electives alongside Advanced Placement courses.
Cross Cushing Preserve and Olson House visits
Outdoor time centers on small preserves and tidal access points. Cross Cushing Nature Preserve offers a 2-mile loop through mossy fir forest to a plank bench overlooking Maple Juice Cove. Good Neighbors Park, maintained by a local nonprofit, has picnic space and a seasonal boat ramp on the St. George River. The Olson House opens for guided tours from late spring through early fall, allowing visitors to walk the same pine floors Wyeth painted for nearly three decades. Saltwater anglers cast for mackerel and striped bass from granite ledges, and autumn brings waterfowl hunters to the bay’s outer islands.
Fales Store and Thomaston Main Street dining
Daily errands begin at Fales Store, a one-pump market turning out pizza slices, coffee and basic groceries beside the volunteer fire station. Larger lists require an 8-mile drive north to Thomaston’s Main Street, where Thomaston Café serves breakfast plates and baked goods, Station 118 grills burgers and wings in a converted freight house, and Thomaston Grocery stocks full produce and meat counters. Specialty shops in Rockland, another 5 miles beyond, cover hardware, books and marine supplies.
Route 97 links to U.S. 1 and regional airport
State Route 97 winds north to U.S. 1 in Thomaston, placing Rockland’s shipyards and art museums 15 minutes away and the county seat of Rockland Harbor even closer by water taxi. Knox County Regional Airport in Owls Head sits 16 miles from the peninsula for Cape Air flights to Boston, and Concord Coach Lines buses depart Rockland daily for Portland and Bangor. Local roads remain uncrowded, and most residents count travel time in minutes rather than miles.
