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Colby College

Home of the Mules

Colby-Hume Center

Colby-Hume Center

Men’s and women’s crew are fortunate to row out of a beautiful boathouse at the Colby-Hume Center located on Messalonskee Lake.

Only seven miles from campus, the 10-acre parcel of land has 550 feet of shoreline on the lake, and the property was given to Colby in 1991 by Dr. H. Alan Hume and his wife, Dorothy. It is also home to woodworking and blacksmithing shops used by students for popular courses during Jan Plan. Dottie is often seen walking the beautiful land with her dogs, Buffy and Belle.

"The Colby-Hume Center provides our student-athletes not just with access to Messalonskee Lake, a spectacular place for training and racing, but also with a chance to be a part of Alan and Dorothy Hume's vision of a place where everyone associated with Colby could enjoy some of the beauty that Maine has to offer. They opened their home to generations of Colby rowers, students, faculty and staff, and that generosity, that collaboration, is part of what makes Colby and the Colby-Hume Center, special."

  • Stew Stokes, Head Coach of Rowing 
Stew Stokes

The state-of-the-art Papadellis Family Erg Room, new with the rollout of the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, has doubled in size from the training room in the original athletics facility.

There are 38 new ergometers with plenty of bright, airy space for Colby rowing to train in a safe and healthy environment. The room was designed to accommodate the training needs of the program and can be used by the full Colby community during open hours. The Papadellis Family also funds an internship for Colby students who have an interest in pursuing a profession in coaching.

erg room

In the early spring season, Quarry Road Trails serves as the program’s temporary training site. 

Messalonskee Lake usually thaws by mid-April, so for the first four to six weeks of training, Colby rowing use the docks at Quarry Road to train on Messalonskee Stream. 

This partnership between Colby and the City of Waterville offers storage for the boats in Quarry Road's snow-making building, and enhances the surrounding community’s access to water and outdoor recreation throughout the year.

oars
crew sunset
crew boats

For GPS Directions:

  • Colby-Hume Center
  • 35 Bayberry Lane
  • Sidney, Maine 04330