THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OF WELLS AND OGUNQUIT
PRESERVING THE PAST FOR TWO MAINE TOWNS
Event Calendar
Visit our Video Archive for recordings of previous programs and events.
Gender in Colonial New England and New France
Saturday March 25, 2023
1:00 pm at the Meetinghouse
Members $10, non-members $12
Click here for tickets
Join us at the Meetinghouse on Saturday, March 25, at 1:00 pm as author and historian Ann Little discusses gender in the colonial era in both New England and New France. Professor Little will also speak about how assumptions in the modern era about women and girls make it difficult to research this field of study.
Little is the author of The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright, a story from early Wells, Maine. The story of Esther Wheelwright is an odyssey that brings us through colonial era Maine and the complex relationships between colonists, Indigenous people, and European powers vying for control of northeastern North America. Professor Little illustrates this journey by following young Esther from her life in Wells to her time with the Wabanaki and eventually her entrance into the Ursuline Convent in Quebec.
Tickets will be available at the door. You can also click here to buy tickets ahead of time. We hope to see you on the 25th!
Slavery in Maine: The Prince Project
RESCHEDULED: Saturday April 1st, 10am at the Meetinghouse
Members $10, non-members $12
Click here for tickets
For Black History Month we are pleased to present a talk on the history of slavery in Maine by Vana Carmona, This will be a fascinating journey into a difficult part of our history and the challenges faced when trying to uncover the stories of enslaved persons in Maine and New England.
Vana Carmona founded The Prince Project, a database of over 2000 people of color who lived in Maine prior to 1800. She began this research eight years ago when she discovered that several of her ancestral New England families had enslaved people of color and were also complicit in the slave trade itself. Because of her grandmother’s interest in genealogy and history, she had always known she was descended from a number of early New England settlers. But, like most, no one ever mentioned the role they had played in enslaving kidnapped Africans.
In addition to her research on Maine’s Black history, Vana is a docent/guide for several historic sites in the Portland area, including Maine Historical Society and Spirits Alive (Eastern Cemetery). Eastern Cemetery is the oldest public burial ground in Portland, Maine, and has two sections of African American graves. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts (focusing on Medieval History) at California State University/Sacramento.
Tickets will be available at the door. You can also click here to buy tickets ahead of time. We hope to see you on April 1!
Millenium Granite Quarry Tour
Spring 2023 - Details coming soon
Join us for a fascinating tour of the Millenium Granite quarry on (where else?) Quarry Road in Wells. High quality granite has been mined for centuries in this area of Wells and can be found in many important structures, including the Pentagon and the Statler hotel in Washington, DC, and the Tiffany and DePinna stores in New York City.
Learn about the rich history of Wells quarries and see how Millennium Granite Quarry & Stoneworks provides superior uncommon soft-pink granite and other fine stones to architects, landscape architects and designers across the country.
Mornings at the Museum
Children's Programs
Last year we started something new at the Meetinghouse: a children's program called Mornings at the Museum. Kids enjoy a fun morning of stories, activities, a scavenger hunt, and a craft to take home. And it's free!
We are closed for the winter but will reopen in April, with more children's programs on the way. Stay tuned for the details!
Sponsored By
Woodies in the Cove
August 2023, Date and time to be announced
Our 2022 show was a big success and we're already looking forward to next year! In the meantime, we encourage you to visit our sponsors and thank them for their support. The Woodies show is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we couldn't do it without our generous sponsors. Click here for the list of sponsors!
Warrior Sports Through the Years
At the Meetinghouse, date to be determined
Join us as we team up (pun intended!) with the Wells High School Alumni Association to present a fun and fascinating program tracing the history of school sports in Wells and Ogunquit. Do you have any photos, stories, or newspaper clippings that you're willing to share for the program? If so, please contact us. Thank you!
