BOOTHBAY REGION HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P.O. Box 272, 72 Oak Street Boothbay Harbor, ME
04538-0272
Tel: (207) 633-0820
Hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Review of Annual Meeting and talk
Web site contents - the latest newsletter is on-line
THE
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Boothbay Region Historical Society is located at the 1874 Elizabeth F.
Reed house (sketched above by Alden Stickney) and its grounds, Fullerton Park. Many of the furnishings in the house were Reed
family heirlooms. The society has traditionally represented the three towns in
the region: Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, and Southport, though Southport is now ably
represented by its own society. It displays local historical
mementos and houses documentary collections. The society is
governed by a board of trustees and has a part-time director. It is supported by
membership dues, book and map sales and donations. Among the benefits of membership are
newsletters and a reduction in the cost of purchases. We encourage people to consider
membership in the society and join the effort to preserve the past.
ACTIVITIES
Some of the society's activities: year-round tours of the exhibits,
talks and slide shows about local history, open houses and special events such as
temporary exhibits or book signing parties. The society provides monthly articles on local
historical matters to the local newspaper. Alternated between the articles are monthly
photos with extended captions. Since 1984 the society has reprinted two classic town
histories and has published four new books on Boothbay region history. It has also
published monographs on various topics.
EXHIBITS
The museum's seven display rooms contain artifacts and memorabilia
that reflect the region's colonial and coastal origins. The Fresnel lens from the Ram
Island Light in the front room catches the sun's rays and the imagination. Relics of
bygone vessels - the ship's bell from the five-masted schooner the Courtney Houck
and the wheel and compass from the ferry Richard T., later used on the excursion
boat Holiday, are reminiscent of seagoing days. Lobstering and fishing are richly
illustrated with pictures, boatmodels, nautical instruments, vintage traps and tools used
in the trade. An elegant model of the Gulf of Maine shows varying depths of water and
where fish were caught.
Tools tell the stories of early industries - a spokeshave for making barrels, saws and groovers for cutting ice, paraphernalia for making sails and milling equipment. Indian stone tools and arrowheads and prehistoric artifacts are evidence of life before the colonialists. Mingled throughout the rooms and halls are antique furnishings, china, paintings and photographs of long-gone buildings. Clothing from early times is displayed, along with a World War I uniform in mint condition. The collections are added to continually as descendants of early settlers empty their attics and bring in their treasures.
RESEARCH
and SERVICES
The society has many collections of
local primary and secondary historical documents to help visitors research their fields of
interest. The towns of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, and Southport are the principal areas
represented in the archives.
The collections include:
- More than 10,000 photographs of people, places, events and vessels
- A collection of local newspapers, 1876 to the present
- Topical clipping and history files
- Genealogy and graveyard files, family manuscripts, several thousand genealogy index cards
- More than 200 account books, diaries and logs
- Personal and business document collections
- Twenty-eight local oral history videos
- More than 150 maps, surveys and nautical charts
- Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor town reports, vital records and valuation records
- More than 200 books and periodicals
