Collinsport - A fictional town where the hit 1960s Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows was set. It is believed by some fans that the village of Collinsport was loosely based on Bar Harbor, Maine. Other fans feel that the town is based on Essex, Connecticut, where early exterior shots of the show were filmed.Others feel that Stonington, Maine was the inspiration.
Collinsport is a small, coastal fishing village located in Maine, about 50 miles - 80 km southeast of Bangor. The village is, according to the TV documentation, north of Frenchman Bay. This might make it located in any one of several spots from Winter Harbor to Sorrento to South Gouldsboro. The train makes regular runs from Boston, and brought Victoria Winters to town, one stormy night. The local newspaper, The Collinsport Star is published daily. Population has never been confirmed but is enough to support a cannery and keep the Collins family living in high style.
Isaac Collins crossed the ocean in a small sailing ship in 1690 and landed in Frenchman Bay. He eventually found a small harbor nearby and started building what would become the town of Collinsport. The town prospered throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but suffered greatly during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Only the influx of summer visitors and artists during the 1950s and 1960s kept the town from going under completely. Recently the local fishing fleet has been hurt badly by the over-fishing of the Grand Banks.
