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.
Diary of the Revolution:
The John Littlefield Journal
Special Exhibit - April to December 2026
While we have thousands of objects, books, and artifacts in our collection, surprisingly few are from the Revolutionary War period. One exception is the John Littlefield Journal, one of our most significant colonial period pieces, and this year you’ll be able to view its Revolutionary reflections up close. The journal passed from John Littlefield to his son, and then down through the generations for decades before coming to the Historical Society. Its collection of notes, reflections, and military summaries provide valuable insight into a local person’s view from the home front to the battlefield and back home. It’s a moving journey. We hope you'll stop in and share it with us!
Women of '76: The Untold Story of the American Revolution
Summer 2026
Details Coming Soon
Step into the untold story of the American Revolution. Rita Parisi of Waterfall Productions creates a powerful solo theatrical performance of *Women of ’76* — a riveting and richly costumed journey into the lives of the real women who witnessed, chronicled and, in some cases, changed the course of the Revolution.
Meet voices rarely heard in the history books:
– Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, the German noblewoman whose vivid journals capture the chaos of war.
– Prudence Wright, the Massachusetts patriot who led a militia of women to capture Tory spies.
– Nancy Hart, the fearless Georgia frontierswoman who faced down a band of British soldiers — and won.
– Mary Gould Almy, a loyalist diarist whose moving firsthand accounts documented the siege of Newport.
– Mary Katharine Goddard, the courageous printer and publisher who issued the first printed Declaration of Independence to include the names of the signers.
Rita Parisi, an accomplished actress and playwright, has been touring original solo works for over 20 years. Since founding Waterfall Productions in 2005, she has brought history to life for audiences throughout New England and beyond. A proud member of SAG-AFTRA, her work has been seen on film and stage, including features at the Boston International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.
The Last, Best Hope:
The 250-Year Struggle for the American Experiment in a Divided Federation
with author Colin Woodard
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 - At the Meetinghouse
Details Coming Soon
Colin Woodard is a journalist and writer who lives in Portland, Maine. Woodard argued in his award-winning book, American Nations, that there’s never been one America but rather several Americas, each with its own, centuries-old ideals, values, and religious and cultural heritage. Thrown together in an accident of history, these regional cultures have fought over the meaning and purpose of the U.S. federation, testing Americans’ commitment to securing the natural rights and ideals in the Declaration of Independence. Since American Nations first appeared in 2011, Woodard has continued to develop this theme in later books such as American Character (2016), Union (2020), and Nations Apart (2025).
Program details will be coming soon. Please check back here or contact us for more information.
Woodies in the Cove Car Show
Saturday, August 8, 2026 - 8:30am to 2pm
974 Post Road (US Rt 1) in Wells, Maine
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Join us for the annual Woodies in the Cove car show, our biggest fundraiser of the year! The show starts at 8:30 am at 974 Post Road (US Route 1) in Wells, followed by a Woodies parade at 2 pm through Wells and Ogunquit and into Perkins Cove. Admission is free for spectators. Visit our Woodies in the Cove page for more details.
Those Damned Yankees
with author Ray Deptula
Fall 2026 - At the Meetinghouse
Details Coming Soon
Join us as author Ray Deptula talks about his fascinating two-book historical fiction series which skillfully blends a riveting narrative of the Revolutionary War with a compelling personal story. Book One (A Dog Before a Soldier) introduces us to Jack Halliday, a young Englishman who finds himself in a foreign land fighting a war he doesn't understand. Book Two (Can't Find My Way Home) chronicles Jack's struggle to survive the war and get back to the woman he loves.
Ray Deptula is a native of Wells, Maine, and a graduate of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine. He spent 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter pilot and a political-military officer. Ray is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, with a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. Those Damned Yankees is the first novel Ray has published, having conceived of it while taking a Revolutionary War elective at the Naval War College.
Program details will be coming soon. Please check back here or contact us for more information.