Ellsworth, Maine – February 15, 2011 – Today, The Ellsworth Historical Society announces its first ever webpage at www.ellsworthme.org/ellshistory/
Terri Weed Cormier – Co president of the society was pleased to make this announcement and said “This webpage marks a transformative experience for the society’s long history. This represents the next major step ahead as we continue to expand our community outreach and make more people aware of the society’s goals and continued preservation of our building and archives. We could not have done this without the help of John and Allison of MDI Web Design who offered their services to us as well as the webhosting at Ellsworthme.com and Ellsworthme.org who have been wonderful to work with in helping us achieve this goal”
The Ellsworth Historical Society evolved from a meeting held in 1978 of interested members of the community to save and protect our history. An item in the Ellsworth American invited those interested in forming a local historical society to meet at the First Congregational Church. The attendees decided to meet again and the first meeting of the Historical Society was held on May 22, 1978.
Since that time the society has been collecting the history and memorabilia of Ellsworth and serving the local community in preserving and sharing our local history through exhibitions and local outreach.
The Society and the Ellsworth Historic Preservation Commission joined forces to preserve the Old County Jail from demolition in 1980 and after working with the County Commissioners office an agreement was made that the building was a fitting place for the society and in 1980 a lease was signed that allowed the society to finally have a home. The first meeting was held in the Old County Jail in June 1981. The building was officially transferred to the society with the signing of the deed in 1998.
Restoration of the interior of the building started at once and with local help from area businesses, groups, and concerned citizen’s work began to restore the interior of the beautiful brick Queen Anne Revival Building that was built in 1886. The building now houses the society’s collection of Ellsworth history, with displays and changing exhibits from the society’s collections. The museum is open on Thursdays and Saturdays in July and August free of charge.
In 2008 the building was named to the National Registry of Historic Places. The announcement was made by Earle Shuttleworth Jr., President of the Maine Historic Commission which submitted the nomination. The front of the building was a former residence for the jail warden and his family, and the back contains 14 small cells on two floors. A dividing wall between the two sections once allowed the warden to monitor inmates through two small wickets that are still in place today.
The Ellsworth Historical Society is an all volunteer society that is dedicated to preserving the history of Ellsworth for future generations. Membership is open to all and we look forward to growing more in our local community, continuing to collect and preserve local history, and to helping others know the history of our home town we hope that everyone will visit our new website and join us to show your support. For additional information please email us at ellsworthhistory@yahoo.com or write to us at The Ellsworth Historical Society PO Box 355 Ellsworth, Me 04605
No comments:
Post a Comment