Media
Awards
Best Walking Tour in Maine
Yankee magazine’s Maine Travel Guide features a list of top activities to enjoy statewide. In 2024, they recognized Portland by the Foot as the best walking tour in Maine.
#1 in Maine, #2 in New England, #12 in USA, Top 1% in World
Best of the Best Cultural & Historical Tours Awarded to Hidden Histories Walking Tour
Tripadvisor awards Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best to experiences and attractions with a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions over a 12-month period. Each winner has passed rigorous trust and safety standards. Fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor’s 8 million listings are awarded Best of the Best, signifying the highest level of excellence in travel.
News, Interviews, & More
Canadian Tourism
News Center Maine’s Akua Devall interviewed me in 2025 about the recent drop in visits to Portland by Canadians. Full story here.
Traveling Black Widow Visit
Charlotte Simpson, the Traveling Black Widow, took a tour with me in 2025. See her perfect Maine travel itinerary, which includes the Hidden Histories Tour.
Interview with ARC Maine
WGME CBS 13 had me on ARC Maine in 2025 to talk about Portland’s hidden histories. Full story here.
Interview with NBC New Center Maine
News Center Maine featured Portland by the Foot during Black History Month 2023. Full article here.
Interview with WMTW ABC News
I shared Portland’s Underground Railroad history on WMTW during Black History Month 2023. Full story here.
Allyshia Renay Visit
Allyshia Renay, New York travel journalist, visited Portland in 2022 and took the Black History Tour with Portland by the Foot!
Interview with WMTW Channel 8
For Independence Day 2022, I showed WMTW’s Norah Hogan some overlooked sites in Portland connected to American ideals like freedom and democracy. Full story here.
Interview with STRIVEcast
In 2022, I was interviewed by the folks at the STRIVECast! I talked about being a tour guide and, in the lightning round, even disclosed my favorite animal (you’ll never guess what it is!) and favorite joke.
Road to Taste Visit
Road to Taste visited Portland and took a tour with me in 2022. Check out their Weekend Guide for Portland!
Virtual Tour for Maine Conversation Voters
In 2022, I hosted a virtual tour for Maine Conservation Voters focusing on the Black and female figures who made history here.
Emily Reeves, student at SALT Documentary Studies at Maine College of Art & Design, interviewed me in 2022 about what it’s like to lead walking tours.
Print Stories
05.01.2024 | Yankee magazine | 2024 Maine Travel Guide: Best Restaurants, Hotels, & Things to Do
Maine’s best walking tour, according to Yankee magazine: “Historian Dugan Murphy makes poking around Portland quirky-good fun. A natural performer, he brings the past to life on two-hour “hidden histories” and Black history tours weaving through the Old Port, Waterfront, and East End neighborhoods. You’ll cover about 1½ miles and learn about Maine’s indigenous Wabanaki, European colonizers, women of note, and the city’s unsung heroes.”
06.23.2023 | Boston.com | The No. 1 cultural and historical tour in the U.S. is based in Salem, according to Tripadvisor users
From Boston.com: “Two other New England tours made the list of top cultural and historical tours in the U.S: Hidden Histories Walking Tour in Portland, Maine by Portland by the Foot and Freedom Trail, Small Group Tour of Revolutionary Boston by Hub Town Tours ranked No. 12 and No. 16 in the U.S., respectively. Check out Tripadvisor’s best travel experiences in the world for 2023.”
07.10.2022 | Mainer News | If Tourism Told the Truth by Dugan Murphy
07.06.2022 | Island Institute’s The Working Waterfront newspaper | Reviving Portland’s Unsung Historical Heroes
04.26.2022 | Bangor Daily News | New Walking Tours Reveal Portland’s Long Hidden Alternate History