/

Plans for Franklin County History Tour in the works

8 mins read
Carl Stinchfield of the Strong Historical Society, leads a tour of the Hammond Memorial House on Saturday.
Carl Stinchfield of the Strong Historical Society, leads a tour of the Hammond Memorial House on Saturday. The book he’s showing was published by the Forster Manufacturing Co. as a catalog of woodenware made with “select silver white birch.”
Hammond Memorial House
The Hammond Memorial House in Strong will be open as part of the History Tour set for June 6.

STRONG – After finding great success with the first Franklin County History Tour held last October, members of more than a dozen historical societies have united once again to coordinate plans for more tour dates this year.

It was about a year and a half ago when members of the Phillips Historical Society started talking about “ways to bring people in,” said Jane Stinchfield, curator of the Phillips museum. With museums across the county open at different and varying times, history buffs needed to make individual treks out to see each.

Then Allan Socea of the Phillips society thought up the idea of various historical societies picking a day to be open with the same hours. As an added bonus admission fees are waived on tour day.

“We thought maybe that would work,” Stinchfield said. With only six weeks before the tour date in October 2014, participating societies quickly put out the announcement. Despite little organizational time, the tour was a big hit.

“It was a cold, wet, windy day and we had a great turnout,” she said. “People who had never been before came.” Often those visitors returned because there is so much to see, she added.

This year, the first tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 6. The second tour date is Oct. 10, also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. As of now, 15 historical societies and museums are participating in the History Tour. Road signs will be displayed to direct those on tour.

Those embarking on the self-guided driving tour across Franklin County will be offered a wide range of stories unique to each town, home-grown memorabilia and will find out about the interesting characters who made these towns what they are today.

In Wilton, the G.H. Bass shoe factory and a large collection of antique farming, shoe-making and blacksmithing tools are on display at the former Bass Boarding House downtown. Temple’s history, based in farming and logging, is depicted in an impressive collection of photographs and documents at the Town Office on Route 43 and the 1811 well-preserved Red School House on Intervale Road, one of the oldest in the state, is a tour highlight.

Rangeley’s Historical Museum, once the Rangeley Trust Co. bank building now listed on National Register of Historic Places, on Main Street holds memorabilia that spans from 1880 to 1929. That era includes the famous sporting camp history and, uniquely, a collection of eggs, including a passenger pigeon egg. There’s also the relatively new Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Oquossoc that contains a treasure trove of Maine’s outdoor heritage.  On June 6 at 11 a.m. the dedication of a new boat monument will be held. Also on the tour is Maine Forestry Museum on Route 16 which features the history of logging and the loggers.

The Phillips Historical Society house on Pleasant Street is one of the oldest in the county’s collection, built in 1832. The house is jam-packed with interesting artifacts and collections. A short distance away on Bridge Street, the Sandy River-Rangeley Lakes Railroad Museum offers the distinction of having the oldest two-foot gauge railroad in Maine. On view are restored cars, a roundhouse and railroad memorabilia. The train runs along a half mile of rail through the woods.

The New Vineyard Historical Society headquarters on Lake Street holds the interesting stories of local families who settled here from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Included are the town and Porter Lake histories. Madrid, offers its carefully preserved Madrid Village School House, with one of the very few two-story outhouses in the country. The historic Reeds Mill Road Church is also open to tourists.

Kingfield’s famous Stanley Museum on School Street, home to the innovative Stanley twins and their sister, well-known photographer Chansometta Stanley is on the tour. Steam cars, photos, violins, furniture and history is on display. The society’s Wilson home on High Street full of Victorian era furnishings and detailed woodwork will be open too. Nowetahis American Indian Museum in New Portland will make for an interesting stop. Native artifacts from several countries, with an emphasis of Maine’s Abenaki, is on exhibit.

The Farmington Historical Society is opening its doors at the Titcomb House, Octagon House and North Church, where this town’s history is told with photographs, documents, antiques, house and church tours. Further south, Livermore Falls’ Maine Paper & Heritage Museum, located on Church Street is also on the tour. Two centuries of paper making is on display, along with the rich heritage of the local families who worked at the mills.

On Saturday morning, several members of the historical societies around the county held a final planning session then toured the Strong Historical Society’s Hammond Memorial House on Main Street. The house, which is on the planned tour, was built in 1873, carefully preserved and has an impressive collection depicting Strong’s history. Mill artifacts include a collection of toothpick and other small wooden implements produced at the Forster Manufacturing Co. that made this little town at one time “the toothpick capital of the world. The home features period furnishings, exhbits and displays that take the viewer back in time.

Society members picked up posters and rack cards with a tour map included to take back to their town to distribute. Dot White of the Jay Historical Society said there was interest in joining the tour and there may be other societies wanting to join in.

Stinchfield said one of the best things about the tours is that the historical society members “get together and get to know each other,” she said and and added, “It’s amazing what these little towns have.”

Part of the Strong Historical Society's collection includes the Strong School's band uniforms, trophies and more.
Part of the Strong Historical Society’s collection includes the Strong School’s band uniforms, trophies, desks and more. The colorful snowflake was once displayed in town during the holidays.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

5 Comments

  1. Indeed, a super idea. Our area historical societies are first-rate museums and their contents show us the past that has shaped who we are. Kudos to all those who so meticulously maintain the artifacts of our history.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.