Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, York Co., Maine

Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, York Co., Maine

938 Post Rd

Wells, Maine 04090

(207) 646-4775

https://www.wellsogunquithistory.org/

The Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit in Maine is on Route 1, a heavily traveled road during the summer. Most people don't expect to see a historical society in a church, so they are surprised when they discover that fact. My husband and I have been members for close to 20 years. My husband has quite a few local ancestors and relatives, but I have none. The library has holdings for all the New England states, and I believe the complete set of TEG (The Essex Genealogist) journals. The inclusion of a museum in the church is a benefit.

Table space was limited because the archivist was working on an exhibit. Seeing those items was a bonus.

The rooms below were in the process of being painted and prepared for the new historic exhibits.

Bryce Waldrop, the administrator, showed me a copy of an original photo taken when the church had a memorial service shortly after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Looking at the back of the church. 

Front hallway, and door to the right. However, to enter the Historical Society, the door is at the back of the church.

The Google map shows the Historical Society at the bottom of the map.

Waves and Furrows (December 2019) is the name of the newsletter for the Society. I'm sharing an old page because I love the Harbor Candy Shop in Ogunquit, and I wanted to share a bit of information. (If you are in the area, I suggest you stop in for some candy.)

Wishing All those in the Military a Very Merry Holiday Season

The 45-year old Christmas Day dinner menu has been a long-cherished memento from my Army days. Look over the wonderful foods we were served at Fort Belvoir, Virginia on Christmas in 1974. I wonder if the military still serves delicious food on this day. Many blessings to all the servicemen and servicewomen who are spending Chrismas far from home.

I decided to research the commanding officer, Lloyd B. McCabe. A picture of his tombstone may be seen at Arlington National Cemetery.

Fort Belvoir is 4 miles from Mount Vernon and about 16 miles from Washington, D.C.

Lewiston Public Library, Lewiston, Maine

Lewiston Public Library

200 Lisbon St.
Lewiston, Maine 04240

https://lplonline.org/

(Under the Library Service tab, you will see Genealogy and Library Services listed. I've included the library images of these sections below.)

In September, my husband was anxious to use the Lewiston Library because he has ancestors from the area. Since it is in the center of the city, and on a major corner, I was worried about parking, but we got a spot right in front, however, to enter, we had to walk to the opposite side of the library. (Photo of entrance is at the end of this post.)

Main reference desk, from this location we were guided upstairs to the genealogy area.

Facing the Reference desk, the genealogy room is on the right. On the left side is a lovely computer room. Several librarians working there knew their holdings.

My husband signing in.

The knowledgeable staff member looking up something for my husband in the genealogy room. Three photos below were taken in this room. There is an archives area but is off-limits to the public. The librarian did retrieve some material for Bill.

The reference area computer room, next to the genealogy room.

Plenty of books on the 2nd floor.

Entrance to the library. The street below is Lisbon Street (sliver of library shown on the lower right side).

The original library has the green roof, and the new addition has the white roof.

Genealogy

Trying to track down branches of your family tree? Our local genealogy collection has many sources of information to help. The following are just some of the sources we offer. Please also see our Lewiston History resources. The Maine State Library also has a great collection of genealogical materials and services.

Materials (books & electronic files)

• Genealogy Reference Print Material: Listing of our in house materials.
• City directories beginning in 1883. Available upon request at the Reference Desk. Our physical collection has a gap from 1897 to 1931. A number of the directories in this span are available on Ancestry.com, accessible from within the library building.
• Cemetery records for 30 area cemeteries. List and map of Lewiston cemeteries. Here are the Maine Franco-American Genealogical Society’s cemetery records for the area.
  • St. Peter and Paul Cemetery records: 1870 – 1992
  • Riverside Cemetery records: 1805 – 1996
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery records: 1884 – 1999
  • 26 Smaller Area Cemeteries (dates vary)
  • Lewiston Burials: 1922-1934 (city clerk’s records)
  • Lisbon Burials includes:
    • St. Cyril & Methodius
    • St. Ann
    • Mt. Calvary
  • Maine Old Cemetery Association record for Kennebec County
• Marriage records
  • St. Peter and Paul Marriages: 1869-1970
  • Lisbon Marriages includes:
    • St. Cyril & Methodious
    • St. Ann
    • Holy Family
  • American-Canadian-Marriages: 1599-1984 14 Mb file
• Other records
  • Lisbon Baptism records includes:
    • St. Cyril & Methodius
    • St. Ann
    • Holy Family
  • Androscoggin County Naturalization Records 1931-1944
  • Ancestors of New England Families: Surname List; Marriages from Canadian Parishes with American Descendants

Online Services

We offer Ancestry.com (in-library use only) and Heritage Quest for online genealogy searches. Both are excellent and comprehensive resources. Learn more on the Genealogy Digital Services page.

Lewiston History

We have historical & genealogical resources on Lewiston, Androscoggin County, and Maine. The non-genealogical materials are detailed below; please see our Genealogy page for those resources.

Lewiston Newspapers

Evening Journal, Daily Sun, & Sun Journal

Lewiston’s first newspaper, The Evening Journal, was begun in 1861. The Daily Sun started publishing in 1896. These two papers combined in 1989 to become the current paper, The Sun Journal. We have the complete print runs of all three papers on microfilm. The microfilm can be browsed here in the library by anyone. However, it is not indexed or searchable by keyword.

 

Google Newspaper Archive

Google has scanned and indexed many, but not all, of these newspapers. Those archives are available from anywhere:

• Lewiston Daily Sun
• Lewiston Evening Journal
• Sun Journal (1988—2002)
• Sun Journal (2002— )

Other Local Newspapers

Also on microfilm, we hold the complete print runs of:

• The Maine Times (1968 – 1976)
• Le Messager (1880 – 1968)

Lewiston Collection (digital resources)

Our Digital Archives has over 5000 images of historical Lewiston/Auburn, as well as 10,000 references to various topics in local media during the past 150 years.

• Lewiston History Database & Digital Archives
• Scanned high-quality Maps of Androscoggin County and its towns.

Lewiston Collection (physical materials)

The Lewiston collection is an amazing collection portraying the history of the city through various documents such as:

• City and County Directories
• Bates College Theses
• The Franklin Company papers
• scrapbooks
• personal accounts
• reports & records of organizations

Browse the Lewiston Collection

Related materials

• Flood Information pertaining to Lewiston. This documentation is kept and made available per FEMA requirements.
• The extensive Maine Collection has more materials related to all portions of Maine.
• Franklin Company Collection
• “History of Androscoggin County,” 1886,  Online version from A gazetteer of the state of Maine, by Geo. J. Varney (also available in print form in the library). 

Dublin Public Library, Dublin, New Hampshire

Dublin Public Library

1114 Main Street

Dublin, New Hampshire 03444

https://www.dublinnhpubliclibrary.org/

The entrance through the original door takes us past the 1900 rooms then into the new addition. On this day, the weather was warm, so the door was open.

For many years, I thought about visiting this library, on scenic route 101, but it was often closed when I drove by. Then it was under the construction, which seemed to take a very long time. In August 2019, we made a special trip to visit the library and a few surrounding towns. In looking over the webpage history, I read, "1999: The town voted to build the library addition at a cost of $684,885; at least $214,885 was to be raised privately. The addition to the present library was completed by 2000." I'm not sure when the building was completed.

I loved the new ceiling, handcrafted by a local craftsman, who happened to be at the library and talked to my husband for over 30 minutes about his ceiling. The beautiful ceiling is in the old section. As you can see the new section below is very plain.

New Hampshire shelves, labeled, but still empty. This is why I was unable to see any genealogy or local history material. There was a group of volunteers working in this room on the Saturday we were there.

Reference area.

New computer station area, in the new addition, with the original stone wall behind the desks. I always wanted to see the original library, and I pretty much did, as you'll see by the photos below.

Reference desk, looking unto the new room, and the photo below is facing the front door.

No computer used for checking out books! I was quite surprised, but apparently, this system works for them.

Card catalog unit by the front door.

Lovely reading room, three photos.

In Memory of

Horace Putnam Farnham M.D.

Born in Salem Mass. 1824

Died in New York, N.Y. 1886

Erected By His Wife.

1900

Another nice reading room, in the new section. The room faces the Yankee Magazine Publishing Company, see below.

My blog post showing inside Yankee Publishing Company.