Object of the Week: Highlighting the LCHA Collections

Ash Hole – Every house should have had one! Several years ago, while a mason was repairing one of the huge chimneys at the Pownalborough Court House, which accommodates six fireplaces, he remarked on this small hole in the bottom left angle of the cooking fireplace in the original kitchen, saying that it was clever of them to be sure …

Object of the Week: Highlighting the LCHA Collections

Samuel Goodwin’s Table When the Canby’s auctioned off the contents of the Pownalborough Court House before the property transfer to LCCHA few objects remained behind. One of the most important of these in terms of its historical association is the gray painted table putatively owned by Major Samuel Goodwin. He was one of the lesser Kennebec Proprietors but was also …

Lincoln County Historical Association misses summer visitors, but looks to the future

Just as many stores, restaurants, and other businesses have fallen victim to the dictates of the Corona virus, museums and historic sites including three that are maintained by Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA) remain closed to summer visitors. In a normal year, volunteer docents would share stories of these buildings to show how history intertwines with the heritage of this …

Object of the Week: Highlighting the LCHA Collections

When is a blanket chest not a blanket chest? When it’s a “six-board chest.” With a lock. And with a “till.” These boxes were strong, sturdy, and hard to steal—unlike the small metal or wooden lock-boxes of the day. People ask why we have a “blanket chest” in the tavern. Well, it was just right—plenty of room for the valuable stock of the tavern, like brandy or a fine wine. …

Object of the Week: Highlighting the LCHA Collections

Embroidered Samplers “The First Efforts of an Infants Hand…” A sampler is the result of a young girl’s effort to learn sewing and embroidery stitches – making herself a cloth tablet reference for her future handwork.  Several years ago, the Collections Committee presented a display of samplers held in the LCHA collections titled, “The First Efforts of an Infants Hand…”  …

Lincoln County Pilgrimage Officially Postponed to 2021

Unfortunately, the global pandemic has led LCHA and the Lincoln County Commissioner’s Office to postpone our Bicentennial “Lincoln County Pilgrimage,” which was originally scheduled for mid-August. We had been working on this initiative for nearly a year, and had more than ten organizations and nearly twenty sites throughout the county ready to organize and host open houses of historical sites; …

Waterville Creates Features the Pownalborough Courthouse

Waterville Creates, a nonprofit that enriches lives and grows the creative economy by supporting and promoting high-quality, accessible arts and cultural programs and institutions visited Dresden this week to check out the art, architecture, and Maine history at the Pownalborough Court House. Check out the video of their visit on the Waterville Creates Facebook page.

LCHA Offers Interdisciplinary Lessons for Students at Home

The Lincoln County Historical Association (LCHA) Education Outreach Program offers nine Lesson Resources for students and educators. These lessons are geared to American Colonial and early 19th century history. The topics, which offer an interdisciplinary approach to sharing history, cover the subject areas of Art, English, Math, and Social Studies. Background information and work sheets that make up each lesson …

Remembering John Reinhardt

John Allen Reinhardt, 80, former president of the Board of Trustees of LCHA, died Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at Hawthorne House in Freeport, Maine. Born in Evanston, Illinois, John graduated from the University of Illinois and earned a master’s degree in voice from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He subsequently served 23 years in the U.S. Navy. Music, flying, history, …

LCHA and the Maine Bicentennial

By Louise T. Miller, Education Director of Lincoln County Historical Association Maine turns 200 in 2020. Bicentennial commemoration events have already kicked off across the state, with countless more planned throughout the year. LCHA will be actively involved in these commemorations in several ways. We will have a float in the statehood parade in Lewiston/Auburn in May. Ryan LaRochelle, LCHA’s …