Events at Member Institutions

Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Time: 5:30 pm

Preregistration is required for those attending via Zoom at castinehistoricalsociety.org. No registration is necessary if you will be attending in-person.

A talk on Portland’s African American meeting house and its ties with Castine by Pamela Cummings, Board Chair, Abyssinian Meeting House. Via Zoom and in-person at Emerson Hall, 67 Court St., Castine.

The Abyssinian Meeting House, a National Historic Registry site located at 75 Newbury Street in Portland, was built in 1828, and was the historical, religious, educational, and cultural center of Portland’s 19th-century African American community. It has a unique tie to Castine as one of its founders, Abraham Niles, was born, raised and educated in Castine before moving to Portland to continue his career as a sailor. Cummings will talk about the history of the Meeting House and its ties to the Underground Railroad. Because of its easy access by rail and sea, Portland developed as one of the northernmost hubs of the Underground Railroad, the last stop before legal freedom outside the country. When the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, it allowed slave owners and their agents to track down freedom seekers in the North and return them to slavery. Portland’s black and white activists reacted, providing safe houses and helping to organize escape routes to England and Canada. Despite the trepidation of some members, The Abyssinian Meeting House was closely associated with the Underground Railroad and with local abolitionist activity. Leaders and members of the Abyssinian Church actively participated in concealing, supplying, and transporting refugees from slavery, as recounted in slave narratives and oral traditions. The Portland Union Antislavery Society, founded in 1842, was one of several grassroots movements advocating for the abolition of slavery in the South. The founding meeting was held at The Abyssinian Meeting House. One unpublished memoir also refers to a fugitive slave being concealed in the meeting house itself. 

Thursday, June 29: “Castine: Occupation, Accommodation, Collaboration, and Treason in the War of 1812", 7:00 p.m. Hosted by the Castine History Partners, this talk by Dr. Joshua Smith focuses on the 1814 British occupation of Castine with stories of traitors, smugglers, and spies. Via Zoom and in-person at the Wilson Museum’s Hutchins Education Center, 112 Perkins St., Castine.

Preregistration is required for the zoom session at https://www.wilsonmuseum.org/events/castine-war-of-1812-2023

Date: Thursday, June 22, 2023

Time: 7:00 pm

Preregistration is required for this Zoom event at castinehistoricalsociety.org.

A talk via Zoom on Castine’s African American Jackson family by local author and historian, Georgia Zildjian.

During this talk, George Zildjian will explore the legacy of a life-long African American resident of Castine, Mary Tyler Jackson (1850-1917). This remarkable woman’s story forms the center point of a fascinating two-generation family saga. Orphaned and alone at just 14, Mary persevered through the often incongruous circumstances of her youth, becoming a beloved member of her community. Join us as we chart the journey of Mary Jackson’s life and her impact on the living history of Castine.

Date: Thursday, May 18, 2023

Time: 7:00 pm

Preregistration is required for this event at cstinehistoricalsociety.org.

A talk via Zoom on the hidden stories of Castine’s African American population from enslavement to the early 20th century by CHS Executive Director Lisa Simpson Lutts.

The stories of Castine’s African and African American citizens have largely been ignored in the written histories of the town. Over the past few years, staff have researched the archival records to uncover these hidden stories. Attendees will learn about the earliest enslaved people who worked in Castine, as well as the stories of free black families who lived and worked in Castine while raising their children.

Thursday, May 4: “The Place Justice Initiative: A Statewide Truth-seeking and Historical Recovery Initiative of the Permanent Commission”, 7:00 p.m. A talk via Zoom by Meadow Dibble and Erika Arthur of Maine’s Place Justice Project. Preregistration is required at castinehistoricalsociety.org.

Who gets memorialized through place names, statues, and historical markers is a strong indicator of a society’s values and its dominant sense of collective identity. The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations has launched a Place Justice Project that seeks to engage Wabanaki and Maine communities in examining a wide range of commemorative practices to better understand and respond to the ways in which racialized and Indigenous populations are represented in or absent from the narratives inscribed on our natural and built environment. Whose memory is visible and celebrated, and whose has been erased or misrepresented? How do the politics and practices of public remembrance and forgetting continue to impact our communities today?

Date: Thursday, April 20, 2023

Time: 7:00 pm

Preregistration  is required for this event at castinehistoricalsociety.org.

A talk via Zoom on three centuries of Maine’s Black history by historian and journalist Bob Greene.

Did you know that Maine’s Black history goes back to at least 12 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock? The history of the Pine Tree State includes many Black builders, farmers, fishermen, ship captains, educators, and more whose lives have often been forgotten or ignored. In fact, the first doctor in Maine may have been a Black man, and the nation’s first Black lawyer practiced in Portland after passing the bar. The Castine Historical Society will host historian Bob Greene, who will explore and celebrate this often hidden side of Maine’s history.

Julia will do a reading of new and published poetry followed by a Q&A session. Free with a suggested donation of $10.00

Julia Bouwsma, Maine poet Laureate, will do a reading of new and published poems, followed by a Q&A session. Julia lives off-the-grid in the mountains of western Maine, where she is a poet, homesteader, editor, teacher, small-town librarian, and Maine’s current Poet Laureate. Bouwsma is the author of two poetry collections, Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018) and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017), both of which received Maine Literary Awards for Poetry Book. Other honors include the Poet’s Out Loud Prize (2016-17), the Cider Press Review Book Award (2015), and residency fellowships from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Monson Arts (Monson, ME), Annex Arts (Castine, ME), and Storyknife (Homer, AK). She currently serves as the Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, ME and teaches in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington.  Tickets are free with a suggested donation of $10.00. 

Register https://www.rufusportermuseum.org/event-details/readings-and-q-a-with-maine-poet-laureate-julia-bouwsmaHERE

Welcome to Painted Floorcloths. Using designs inspired by Moses Eaton and other 19th Century stencil artists, this class is suitable for beginners or those who have limited experience with stenciling. For more information about Moses Eaton: https://www.mbhistoricdecor.com/uploads/1/0/1/6/101615892/moseseatonstencils.pdf

Participants will be creating a 2' x 3' floorcloth to take home. All materials will be provided to complete the project. The Instructor  will share a bit of history on the use of floorcloths and decorative stenciling in a brief presentation.

Cost = $80.00

Date = Saturday April 29th

Time = 10 AM to 4 PM

Location = Stevens Brook Elementary School Art Room (Frances Bell Drive, Bridgton)

Maximum per Class = 8

• Please bring a hair dryer (if you have one) to expedite drying time!
• Bring a bagged lunch to eat
• If class is full, please email staff@rufusportermuseum.org so that we can start a wait list for a second class.
• Instructor: Peg Puza
• When you arrive, park in the back of the building and walk to the front and come to the Art Room door, marked A4. There will be signs to show you where to go.

Register HERE

Would you like to learn the art of North American rug hooking?

June 11, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Bridgton, The Rufus Porter Museum or Art and Ingenuity 121 Main St, Bridgton, ME 04009, USA

Would you like to learn the art of North American rug hooking in an easy going, relaxed environment that encourages modern interpretations? 

Join us for a one session hooking class to get started on our 6" x 6" mug rug pattern using your choice of available patterns! 

Session will include: Introduction to hooking including some history of the craft, an overview of styles, how to choose hooking wools and other materials, tools, rules (there are very few), tips, and tricks, and getting started on our projects. Finishing instructions will also be demonstrated! 

Materials included in the price of the course are: hook, 12" hoop, 6" x 6" pattern hand drawn on linen rug foundation, all wool needed to complete the pattern (you choose your own colors!), printed instructions, ongoing access to the instructor for questions after class, new friends, and a new craft!

Lunch included. $95.00

 I hope you will join us for this fun class!

Register HERE

Have you ever wanted to go to the Arctic? Dr. Paul Andrew Mayewski, an internationally acclaimed glaciologist, climate scientist, and polar explorer, has led over 60 expeditions throughout the remotest polar and high elevation reaches of our planet and lived in the Arctic for nearly two years.

On Monday, February 13 (6 pm), Dr. Mayewski will share insights from his award-winning research and extensive experiences in the Arctic focusing on the significant impact this apparently isolated part of the globe has on the rest of the world, especially as it is warming two to three times faster than the rest of the planet.

This presentation is free of charge and can be attended in-person or virtually. If attending virtually, please register in advance of the program via the registration link on the Wilson Museum’s calendar of events: https://www.wilsonmuseum.org/events/the-role-of-the-arctic-in-a-warming-world.

The program is part of the Arctic: Changes in a Northern Climate segment of the Wilson Museum’s Connecting to Collections program series made possible through the generous support of Bangor Savings Bank.