Coopers Mills, Maine -
Elmer's Barn of Junk and Dead Things

This is a not-to-be-missed antique and oddities collection near Augusta, ME. Elmer is on the taciturn side, so be prepared to wait for his answers to your questions.

The barn has several levels crammed with all manner of worldy goods (and some that appear 'other worldly'...). You'll find tools you don't recognize, books, crockery, bric a brac, household and kitchen items, memorabilia, collectibles, hand made items, curiosities. There seems to be no end to the spaces and hideaways where you can browse. Need chairs? Doors? Shutters? They're there and organized by the dozens. Bottles? Old veggie tins? Lace? It's all there, sometimes in huge quantities or complete with contents.

Elmer doesn't haunt you the way some shops do, you're free to meander for hours -- and it took us two hours just to get once around. You can not love old things and leave here empty-handed! [Ranger Rob, 12/31/2011]

Elmer's Barn is a wonderful place to visit and browse. I have been there many times with my sister, and we always come away with "treasures." Down on the main floor of the barn, presides Elmer himself, a wonderful old Maine country man full of information for the seeker of the unusual.

On the upper floor presides his wonderful daughter Ivanna, who is so helpful in finding things you are looking for, and sometimes those you aren't. This floor contains individual spaces for consignees to put in their "stuff" and sell it for a commission.

If you've not been there, this is an experience. If you don't like it, you shouldn't go and be negative afterward about it. Elmer's has been a long time tradition in this town and so is Elmer. We love him. [artgal, 08/04/2009]

I visited recently and found it to be nothing more exciting than a large barn of moldering antiques, overpriced and rotting, with a crotchety (and not in a charming way) proprietor. A typewriter without keys marked at $50 is just depressing. If you're looking for a bathroom, a long meandering series of signs and tape on the floor lead you to an "out of order" sign that has been up for years. [Liz Coffey, 09/02/2005]

Oft recommended by New Englanders, this junk haven -- a big barn of dusty antiques -- offers three floors of dimly lit piles of old packaging, furniture, household appliances. Elmer's Barn is like the attic of a crazy person, though no one item is particularly shocking. Other than a few mounted game heads and cattle skulls, we didn't notice any dead things.

Elmer Wilson is a middle-aged guy who sits behind the cash register and doesn't say much. There is a chunky roughly carved wooden version of him on the first floor. Elmer's Barn has been in operation for twenty-five years. Brochure proclaims, "You got to visit Elmer's Barn" and "Not liable for any accidents or injuries." We visited in 2001; but it appears Elmer's is still in operation. [Roadsideamerica.com Team, 07/19/2005]