A nearly 200-year-old lighthouse off the coast of Jonesport is the reason Log Jam Vintage exists as a physical storefront at all. Owners Jeremy Richardson and Miriam Davidson had already spent more than a decade selling vintage clothing online and out of a Portland space before they purchased Moose Peak Light in 2018, and opening a permanent Bangor shop in May 2025 became a way to fund the ongoing upkeep and restoration of that lighthouse. Every dollar of profit from the store, located at 8 Harlow Street on the corner of State and Harlow in downtown Bangor, goes toward maintaining the beacon, giving the shop a mission that sets it apart from a typical secondhand clothing rack.
The racks themselves lean hard into a specific era and aesthetic: menswear and womenswear from the 1990s and earlier that reflects a rugged, outdoorsy Maine sensibility, including a strong focus on vintage L.L. Bean pieces such as field coats, chamois shirts, wool sweaters, and classic outerwear built to hold up through a Maine winter. Shoppers browsing Log Jam Vintage are as likely to find a decades-old canvas hunting jacket as a flannel shirt or a pair of broken-in work boots, all curated with an eye for pieces that were built to last rather than mass-produced fast fashion. That focus makes the shop a draw not just for vintage collectors but for anyone looking for durable, well-made outdoor clothing with some history behind it.
Bangor’s downtown has seen its share of turnover in the secondhand and vintage retail space in recent years, and Log Jam Vintage arrived at the corner of State and Harlow with an already-established following built through years of online sales before the physical doors opened. The State and Harlow corner sits close to the middle of downtown Bangor, an easy stop for anyone exploring the city’s cluster of independent shops, restaurants, and the Bangor waterfront along the Penobscot River. The shop’s weekend-forward hours, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., reflect a schedule built around visitors making a weekend trip into the city rather than a weekday commuter crowd, though shoppers can always call ahead at (207) 483-7289 to check on current stock or specific sizes.
What makes Log Jam Vintage worth knowing about beyond its clothing racks is the story behind the name and the cause it supports. Moose Peak Light has stood off the Maine coast near Jonesport for close to two centuries, guiding boats through one of the more exposed stretches of Down East water, and its restoration is a slow, ongoing project that depends on outside funding rather than any government maintenance budget. By tying a retail business directly to that preservation effort, the owners built a shop where a customer’s purchase of a vintage flannel or an old Bean boot bag does double duty, supporting both a piece of Maine’s built history and, quite literally, a light that still helps guide sailors home. Shoppers can follow the shop’s ongoing arrivals and lighthouse updates through its active Facebook page and website.
Log Jam Vintage is a vintage clothing store in downtown Bangor, Maine, specializing in pre-1990s menswear and womenswear with a rugged Maine outdoor aesthetic, whose profits fund the restoration of the historic Moose Peak Lighthouse near Jonesport.
