Events at Member Institutions

A show and tell on the treasures owned by area historical societies, the Wilson Museum and the Castine Historical Society. This free event will be held at the Castine Historical Society's Mitchell Room in the Abbott School. For further information on the event, please visit castinehistoricalsociety.org or call the Castine Historical Society at (207) 326-4118.

Did you know that Lewiston’s famous Basilica is crooked? Once you hear this talk, you’ll never see the basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in the same way!

Alice Bisson-Barnes is returning to her hometown of Lewiston to share the hidden story of the Basilica’s construction, focusing on the contributions of architect Noel Coumont who has been blamed for the bend in the building.

Her talk, "Peter, Paul and Noel: Why Lewiston's Basilica is Bent," will be held at Museum L-A on Tuesday, June 19th, 6:30-7:30 pm. It is free and open to the public.

“Who else do you know built a crooked church?”  Bisson-Barnes asks. “I know a genius who did right there in Lewiston. The man was maligned but he was a genius.” She will share stories about how the Dominicans worked, their battles with the bishops, their humanity, and their enormous contributions to the Twin Cities.

Bisson-Barnes now lives in California and has retired from her career as a civilian contracting officer with the United States Navy. She is thrilled to come back to her hometown and share a story that means so much to her.  “Historians continuously erroneously write that he was fired because the church is bent,” she says. “I show, using historic photos, how Noel built the church precisely where it is now because that was where the Dominicans wanted it way back in 1906.” 

Bisson-Barnes will offer a lively and informative presentation with a playful spirit. “I am bringing with me from California something that has never been seen before by humans anywhere—not even by myself!” she says.  Join us on June 19th to figure out the mystery.

Museum L-A is located in the Bates Mill Complex at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston, Maine.  Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm.  Special tour requests and large group tours outside of these hours are available by appointment.

For more information, please contact info@museumla.org or call 207-333-3881.

This summer, Museum L-A is honoring artisans throughout Maine in its new gallery exhibit “The Lost Art of Handiwork”.  For years, Museum L-A has been collecting the history of the ancestors of our community, preserving the mementos of their hard work, ingenuity, and creativity. Many of the pieces in the collection are handcrafted items, including an embroidered baptism set, hand forged golf clubs as well as personally designed wood, stone and metal weaving hooks. These represent a traditional history of making things in our community that has almost been forgotten.

The public is invited to attend the free opening reception for the exhibit on Wednesday, June 13 from 5:30-7:00 pm. Throughout the evening, visitors will be able to meet and talk with the crafters about their work that is on display as well as watch demonstrations of real-time weaving and embroidery by local groups and community members. 

“The Lost Art of Handiwork” will be on display in the Museum L-A gallery from June 14 – September 15. Throughout the duration of the exhibit, crafting events and workshops hosted by Museum L-A will be available for the public to attend.

The Castine Historical Society 2018 season's exhibit focuses on Mary W. (Molly) Dewson and Mary G. (Polly) Porter and their 50-year partnership that spanned an era of progressive change. Their causes reverberate in the daily news today. The exhibit explores Molly's role in 1930's American politics and looks at other Castine women who devoted their lives to public service, politics, and marriage equality. Exhibit schedule and hours can be found at castinehistoricalsociety.org. 

June 9 –Peter Hagerty, Porter, farms with horses - tilling, haying, logging. He is author of “Out Watering Horses”. Joint with Soldiers Memorial Library at Great Ossipee Museum of Hiram Historical Society, 20 Historical Ridge, Hiram, ME 04041. FMI 2076254762.

The Maine Innovation Expo celebrates creativity, spirit, ingenuity and innovation in Maine. It brings local and state-wide businesses together with talented students to showcase the wide range of innovative work and play across the state. 2018 will be second year of this event, following a successful and well-attended pilot year in 2017. 

Exhibitors and entertainers come to the Bates Mill to show their inspiring work. The event is both fun and educational, with interactive activities and exhibits for all ages. There is no cost to attend, though we will have online registration available in advance.

The Expo provides a platform to connect generations, inspiring our young to explore careers that will strengthen our community and state. Many Mainers believe that their children need to leave the state to get a good education and a good job in the fields of science, technology, design and manufacturing. The Maine Innovation Expo shows families the organizations, schools, and businesses who do exciting work right here in Maine.

LOCATION: Museum L-A, Bates Mill Complex, 35 Canal Street, Lewiston, Maine

TIME: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

COST:  Free admission

CONTACT INFO:  207-333-3881 or info@museumla.org

Visit www.museumla.org for more information!

"Go and set the world on fire" was St. Ignatius of Loyola's famous call to the Jesuits to preach the gospel to the far corners of the world. Fr. Sebastian Rale followed the call of his order's founder and left France in 1689 to give his life to caring for the souls of native Americans. This he did for thirty years in a small mission village amidst the Abenaki people far up the Kennebec River. The village was called Narantsouack (i.e. Norridgewock.)

But this peaceful mission was not to last. In those few decades, Fr. Rale’s little village got caught in a blaze of controversy that ended in the mission being burned by a Massachusetts militia and its pastor being shot.  Joseph Moreshead, a seminarian for the Roman Catholic diocese of Portland, will discuss the origins of this conflict between Fr. Rale, the New England colonists, and the Abenaki people and how competing interests among the three parties led to such a tragic end.

Joseph Moreshead is a native of South Portland, Maine and a current student at the Catholic University of America, studying to be a Catholic priest in Maine.  A graduate of Cheverus High School and Fordham University, Moreshead was educated for eight years by Jesuits like Fr. Rale.  After extensive research on the Jesuit Relations, he led a pilgrimage to Fr. Rale’s grave last August.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and classical language.

The Kennebec Historical Society’s May Presentation is free to the public (donations gladly accepted) and will take place on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church located at 41 Western Avenue in Augusta. ​ 

When it comes to quirky energy, Augusta has it in spades!  A capital city with a schizophrenic personality, this little town by the Kennebec sits in one of the most beautiful valleys in all of Maine.  Filled with gossipy neighbors, charming merchants, down and out vagabonds and smartly dressed bureaucrats, there’s no other place in the state that can quite match it.  A small town with big city issues, and hearts bigger than the sturgeons that splash along its waterfront; it’s a place both simultaneously confident and insecure.  Self-aware enough to know its limitations, but clueless enough to fully realize its potential, it remains the last place in Maine that has yet to be claimed by hipster and tourist, alike.  This book is your guide to everything that makes Augusta so …Augusta. From a calendar of local holidays to a profile on area neighborhoods to really weird history, as well as personal stories from local movers and shakers, this is your glimpse into one of the most intriguing places around.  So welcome to Augusta, the best little city in New England. Seriously.

Michael Hall is the Executive Director for the Augusta Downtown Alliance, a member of the Main Street Maine program. A native of Florida, Michael moved up to Augusta in the winter of 2016 to realize his goal of working in a historic, urban setting.  With a Bachelors in History from Centre College, a Masters in Communications from Rutgers University and a Masters in Architectural Conservation from the University of Edinburgh, Michael feels fortunate to live and work in an environment where he gets to utilize all three of his degrees.

A big fan of Maine, and an even bigger fan of Augusta, Michael takes full advantage of everything both places have to offer including the mountains, coast, rivers and lakes.  In his spare time, Michael enjoys reading Stephen King novels, getting out on the water, working with his Board of Directors and volunteers and socializing over a beer.

The Kennebec Historical Society’s April Presentation is free to the public (donations gladly accepted) and will take place on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. at the Viles Arboretum located at 153 Hospital Street in Augusta. ​ 

Have you ever wanted to learn how to digitize and scan historical documents, but were not sure how to go about it?   This is the subject of workshop being offered at the Lincoln Memorial Public Library in Dennysville on Wednesday, April 11 from 10 a.m. to twelve noon.  Al Churchill, Esq., will be demonstrating how he has preserved thousands of documents and images for the St. Croix Historical Society using a simple flatbed scanner and portable computer.   In addition to preserving a digital copy, using simple Adobe applications, older texts have been rendered legible and searchable.  “The process is relatively simple,” says Churchill, “it is largely a matter of getting used to it.”  While the seminar is designed for local historical societies and archivists, the public is welcome to participate, space permitting. 

The workshop is free, but participants are asked to register by Friday, April 6^th, by contacting Colin Windhorst at cjcw@myfairpoint.net, or calling 726-3905 with any questions

Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums

New England Regional Conference, Spring 2018

Sharing Preservation and Presentation of New England History

April 13, 14, 15^th -- Central Maine 

at Freeport Historical Society's Pettengill Farm, the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore, and the Vaughan Homestead in Hallowell

To Register and for the Conference Schedule: visit

http://www.alhfam.org/event-2779123

For more information email:ashellenbean@strawberybanke.org