Freeport Historical Society - Freeport, Maine

Harrington House · 45 Main St.
Freeport, Maine · 207.865.3170

Historic Plant Medicine Workshop and Picnic

Saturday, June 9, 12 pm

Pettengill Farm

Come join us for a workshop and picnic featuring guest lecturer Hannah Peterson at our Pettengill Farmhouse property.We will be discussing the use of local medicinal plants in the Colonial period and how they can be used in our lives today. Her workshop will cover the variety of ways plants were used here in Maine—as food, as medicine, as dye, for personal hygiene, and how they were prepared. She will provide hands-on examples of plants, dyed fabrics, and tools. We will also prepare a small historical meal over an open fire, and our c. 1800 National Register Pettengill Farmhouse will be open for viewing. Guests are welcome to bring picnic essentials such as blankets and bug spray and are encouraged to explore the 140 acres of fields, woods, apple orchards, and salt marsh. All ages. Sign up required.

$15 nonmembers $12 members, $5 for children.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Exhibit Opening: Blacksmiths& Storekeepers: Freeport Village Crossroads of Change, 1770-1920

Opening Reception Wednesday, May 23, from 5–7 pm 

Exhibit runs May 24 through December of 2018. This new exhibit will highlight and interpret changes in Freeport Village over a century-and-a half beginning with the earliest landowners and developers, a blacksmith and store owners, and ending with the multi-store blocks and smithies that dominated the village at the turn of the 20th century. The exhibit runs May 24 through December of 2018. All are welcome, please join us!

 

 

 

 

3rd Annual Plant Sale

 

Saturday May 19, 2018 at the Harrington House

Get a head start on your spring gardening! Purchase annuals and perennials from our own plant sale. This is a fundraiser for our gardens. Please consider donating a few of your perennials to our sale. Drop off on the porch May 17th and 18th. Thank you for your support for our downtown oasis! Baked goods to be sold by the Freeport Woman’s Club.

 

 

ANNUAL MEETING AND TRIBUTE

Sunday April 29, 2018 5:00-7:00pm
South Freeport Church

Join us for a reception and a brief business meeting. We will be presenting our annual awards and honoring three influential Freeport historic preservationists: Vicki Lowe, Mary-Eliza Wengren, and the late Sally Rand. Our volunteer of the year will be named along with the preservationist of the year. We will also be launching our Historic House Marker program and highlighting selected homes. Light refreshments provided.

Sign up encouraged.

Maine Before the Pilgrims Lecture by John Butman

March 29, 2018 at 7pm Freeport Community Library

Join us for a lecture given by John Butman. John will be discussing his new book New World, Inc.

“There was a lot going on in America long before the Pilgrims arrived on Cape Cod in 1620—and some of the most important action was in Maine. Starting in 1602, the English organized many voyages of discovery, exploration, and settlement to Northern Virginia, as New England was then called. They came in search of gold, sassafras (which was thought to cure everything from headache to diarrhea), timber, fish, fur, and promising settlement sites. They developed relationships with Indians and also betrayed them. George Popham, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Captain John Smith, Squanto—these names may be familiar to Mainers, but their stories have largely been forgotten. They touched Maine at Cape Elizabeth, anchored off Monhegan, sailed through Casco Bay, and settled on Sabino Point (as they called it). This is the story of Maine’s role in how America was developed—largely as a commercial enterprise, not as a religious haven—in its earliest years.”

John Butman is an author, editor, and collaborative writer whose work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, The Nation, and other publications and has been featured in the New York Times, the Economist, and media venues around the world. His previous books include Trading Up: The New American Luxury, a BusinessWeek Best-seller, and Breaking Out: How to Build Influence in a World of Competing Ideas.

 

 

Freeport Revisted Part 2. Come and Share your Memories!

Due to the great interest generated at the Freeport Revisited event on February 24th, the Freeport Historical Society will host a part two. This will be an opportunity for you to share your memories of living around Main Street Freeport during the 50’s through the 70’s. Join your fellow neighbors as we share fond experiences of growing up in Freeport in a fun, informal, friendly setting. Please come with your favorite story and any pictures you may have. Saturday, March 17th, 2:00 – 4:00 at 45 Main Street, Freeport. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held on Sunday, the 18th, same time.

Archaeology on Main Street

Archaeological dig at the Freeport Historical Society, 45 Main Street, with the Maine State Archaeologist Leith Smith. Its purpose it to discover the artifacts and history hidden in the ground of our Main Street property before our upcoming construction project.

This is your chance to be part of a dig.

Archaeology Course— 4 sessions / 12 hours from Sept 26- Oct 5. (exact dates and times to be announced) Open to members of the public.

$50 for FHS members and $70 for non-members

Class size is limited to 8 people, ages 12 and up.

Archaeology Camp for Boy and Girl Scouts, tentatively planned for Oct 15. Stay Tuned for More information.

Hands-on Archaeology – Dig Day–Sunday, Oct 22, 12-4 PM. Come and dig, sift, observe, and learn about what we are finding on site.

Also visit our Archaeology Lab… The front parlors of Harrington House will be our designated work space for viewing, cleaning, processing and interpreting artifacts. Archaeological Education for all is the goal!   

 

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Ghosts of Freeport’s Past

Presented by: the Freeport Historical Society and the Freeport Community Players

Location: Old Parish Burying Ground (on Meetinghouse Rd, next to Wilbur’s Chocolate)

Ghosts of Freeport’s Past

October 26  
6:30 PM at the First Parish Church, 40 Main Street (Note location) on-line registration
7:30 PM at the Old Parish Burying Ground on Meeting House Road, on-line registration
 
October 27
 6:30 PM at the Old Parish Burying Ground on Meeting House Road, on-line registration
7:15 PM at the Old Parish Burying Ground on Meeting House Road, on-line registration
 
October 28
6:30 PM at the Old Parish Burying Ground on Meeting House Road, on-line registration
7:15 PM at the Old Parish Burying Ground on Meeting House Road, on-line registration
8:00 PM at the Old Parish Burying Ground on Meeting House Road, on-line registration
 
First Parish Church will be the venue for all cemetery tours that are rained out.

“Ghost Tours” are 45 minutes long led by the interred of the Old Parish Burying Ground. Our Ghost Host will give a brief history of the cemetery and introduce us to some of friends who are haunting the cemetery. Ghosts are portrayed by actors from the Freeport Players, in period costume who will “rise” to tell you stories about their lives.  Note: The event is more historical than scary, and is appropriate for school age children.

A Special Performance by our ghosts will kick off the event on October 26th at the First Parish Church at 40 Main Street

Tickets:  $12/$10 (non-members/ members) and $5 for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets: www.freeporthistoricalsociety.org or 207-865-3170

Thank you to our Sponsors and Supporters

Lead Sponsors

 

 

Orange Foliage Sponsors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow Foliage Sponsors

Bath Savings Institute

Brett Davis Real Estate

Casco Bay Ford

Lindquist Funeral Home

Historic Pettengill Farm Tours

Pettengill Farm Tours

July 19 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

$10 – $12

The Freeport Historical Society will offer guided tours of the historic Pettengill Farmhouse and grounds as a way for the public to learn more about this remarkable homestead. These tours offer a rare opportunity to view and learn about the house, which is generally open only once a year, on Pettengill Farm Day.  

Join Curator/Collections Manager Holly Hurd as she describes the history of the farm and saltbox, which was built about 1800 and has been sustained over generations without the modern conveniences of central heating, running water, or electricity.  The house resides on 140 acres that supported a saltwater farm and dairy, most recently by Mildred Pettengill and her brother Frank.

Participants can sign-up for a 90 min tour of the farm and house, which includes a viewing of the rare sgraffiti wall etchings of ships and marine life. The scheduled tours are as follows:

Wed July 19 at 6 PM – on line registration

Tues Aug 22 at 5 PM – on line registration

Fri Sept 15 at 11 AM – on line registration

Wed Sept 20 at 10 am – on line registration

Cost is $12 per person for the general public and $10 for FHS members.

Details:

Participants are required to register at least 24 hours in advance.  Tours require a minumum of 4 people and max of 10.  On-line registration or call 207-865-3170. If the tours need to be rescheduled due to rain or because of too few participants, those signed up will be rescheduled to another date or refunded.

Attendees meet at the gate entrance at the end of Pettengill Road (31 Pettengill Road), to carpool to the site. Un-registered guests are welcome to join at the start location, but they should first confirm that the tour will take place by calling 207-865-3170.

Please wear appropriate footwear for walking on uneven surfaces and bring along bug spray. If walking is difficult, participants can choose to remain near or in the house.

Tours are also available on request with a minimum of 4 participants. Contact Holly Hurd at library@freeporthistoricalsociety.org or call 207-865-3170 to schedule a time.

Special Thanks to our 2019 Sponsors

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LLBean Logo

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Taggart Construction

Bath Savings Insitution

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Riley Insurance