Kennebec Historical Society

05/27/2026

KHS Schedules Spring Book Sale for May 28 and 29

The Kennebec Historical Society plans to host its spring used-book sale at its headquarters, 107 Winthrop Street in Augusta, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29.

Since the February book sale, which netted the society $810, KHS has refreshed its inventory with hundreds of used hardcover and paperback book donations. Hardcover books cost $2 each, and paperbacks are available for $1 apiece. There will also be a wide selection of DVDs and audio CDs, a table of specialty books, some artwork by a KHS member, and a few puzzles, which will be priced as marked.

Come browse and discover new reads at unbeatable prices while supporting the society!

05/21/2026

Here is the video from May 20, 2026, with Dana Murch.

05/03/2026

The Kennebec Historical Society’s May Presentation: “More Amazing Stories from the Annals of a Maine Family.”

Belfast author and genealogist Dana Murch is back speaking for the Kennebec Historical Society with more of the amazing stories he has discovered while researching the history of the Murch family of Maine, including stories of dog catchers and sleigh rides, gold mining and Buffalo Bill Cody, the Civil War and the Homestead Act, Mayflower connections, and a Maine family on the move. Featured is the story of a little girl from Gardiner, Maine, who traveled the country from coast to coast in the 1860s.

Murch was born in Caribou and grew up in Clinton. He retired in 2011 after a career as a dams and hydropower regulatory specialist at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and has been happily doing genealogy ever since. He is a 13th-generation Mainer and multiple Mayflower descendant and has published books on his maternal and paternal ancestries. He is currently researching and writing the definitive history and genealogy of the entire Murch family of Maine.

The society’s May presentation is free to the public (donations are gladly accepted) and is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at the Augusta City Center, located at 16 Cony Street in Augusta. For details, call Scott Wood, Executive Director, at 207-622-7718.

PHOTO INFORMATION

1 - Red Oak Woman (clipping) SOURCE: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, March 15, 1925

2 - Mayflower II (SOURCE: The Mayflower Society)

3 - Hydraulic Mining for gold (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

05/02/2026

The Kennebec Historical Society April 2026 Program:
“The Tale of Two Families: Sand Hill of Augusta Absorbing the Brunt of World War Two”

In the spring of 1941, as war clouds loomed over Europe and Asia, two neighborhood boys from Sand Hill, Fred Cummings Jr and Roger H. Gagne, enlisted in national military service. Cummings would see service as a Marine Armed Guard aboard the USS Hornet as it launched the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo and fought the Battle of Midway. He did not survive the War. Gagne would serve in the U.S. Army as a Coastal Artillery observer during the Battle of Corregidor. Taken prisoner, Gagne would survive three years and three months as a slave laborer in a Japanese prison camp in Manchuria until liberation in 1945.

Cummings and Gagne were both neighborhood boys together on Sand Hill during the depression. Lipman will document, through letters and memorabilia, what the fortunes of war, through the military service of these two boys, imposed upon their families, the Sand Hill community, and the City of Augusta itself.

The April Lecture is a fuller development of an article written by Harvey Lipman that appeared in the 2026 January-February issue of the society’s Kennebec Current.

An executive in the seafood import trade, Mr. Lipman, who grew up in Augusta, prepared for further study at Hebron Academy, taking his bachelor’s degree in Government at Bowdoin College in 1975. A collector of first edition Maine regimental histories of the Civil War, Mr. Lipman is past Vice-President of the Civil War Roundtable of the Merrimac (Newburyport, MA.) and now the newly elected Treasurer of the Joshua Chamberlain Civil War Roundtable in Brunswick, Maine. Following a different academic interest whilst living west of Boston, he assisted Professor Curtiss Hoffman of the University of Massachusetts with research to identify Native American stone structures in Middlesex County. He is credited with discovering the largest turtle icon known to date in the Commonwealth. In addition to his own contributions to the Kennebec Current, the society’s newsletter, members will remember articles about Mr. Lipman, his restoration of the Boston Cane to the Town of Manchester, and Native American stone structures that Mr. Lipman also discovered here in Kennebec County. Most recently, Mr. Lipman has been named as a Board Member to the Friends of the Maine State Museum. He looks forward to the reopening of the Museum in October 2026.

The presentation, free to the public (donations are gladly accepted), is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, at Augusta City Center, located at 16 Cony Street in Augusta. For more information, call Scott Wood, KHS Executive Director, at 207-622-7718.

05/02/2026

04/13/2026

The Kennebec Historical Society April 2026 Program:
“The Tale of Two Families: Sand Hill of Augusta Absorbing the
Brunt of World War Two”
In the spring of 1941, as war clouds loomed over Europe and Asia, two neighborhood
boys from Sand Hill, Fred Cummings Jr and Roger H. Gagne, enlisted into national
military service. Cummings would see service as a Marine Armed Guard aboard the USS
Hornet as it launched the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo and fought the Battle of Midway. He
did not survive the War. Gagne would serve in the U.S. Army as a Coastal Artillery
observer during the Battle of Corregidor. Taken prisoner, Gagne would survive three
years and three months as a slave laborer in a Japanese prison camp in Manchuria until
liberation in 1945.
Cummings and Gagne were both neighborhood boys together on Sand Hill during the
depression. Lipman will document, through letters and memorabilia, what the fortunes of
war, through the military service of these two boys, imposed upon their families, the Sand
Hill community and the City of Augusta itself.
The April Lecture is a fuller development of an article written by Harvey Lipman that
appeared in the 2026 January-February issue of the society’s Kennebec Current.
An executive in the seafood import trade, Mr. Lipman, who grew up in Augusta, prepared
for further study at Hebron Academy, taking his bachelor’s degree in Government at
Bowdoin College in 1975. A collector of first edition Maine regimental histories of the
Civil War, Mr. Lipman is past Vice-President of the Civil War Roundtable of the
Merrimac (Newburyport, MA.) and now the newly elected Treasurer of the Joshua
Chamberlain Civil War Roundtable in Brunswick, Maine. Following a different academic
interest whilst living west of Boston, he assisted Professor Curtiss Hoffman of the
University of Massachusetts in research, identifying Native American stone structures in
Middlesex County. He is credited with the discovery of the largest turtle icon known to
date in the Commonwealth. In addition to his own contributions to the Kennebec Current,
the society’s newsletter, members will remember articles about Mr. Lipman, his
restoration of the Boston Cane to the Town Manchester and Native American stone
structures that Mr. Lipman also discovered here in Kennebec County. Most recently, Mr.
Lipman has been named as a Board Member to the Friends of the Maine State Museum.
He looks forward to the re-opening of the Museum in October 2026.
The presentation, free to the public (donations are gladly accepted), is scheduled to begin
at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, at Augusta City Center, located at 16 Cony Street in
Augusta. For more information, call Scott Wood, KHS executive director, at 622-7718.

04/02/2026

Last night at the regular City Council meeting, Mayor Hart recognized Annie Cough for her countless hours of volunteerism in Gardiner. Please join us in thanking Annie and congratulating her on her well deserved recognition.

Proclamation
Honoring Annie Cough
April 1, 2026

WHEREAS, Annie Cough is a lifelong resident of the City of Gardiner, having been born and raised in the community and educated at Gardiner Area High School and the University of Maine at Augusta; and
WHEREAS, Annie began her career of public service at the Gardiner Public Library and has continued that commitment through a long and distinguished career at the Maine State Library, earning the respect and admiration of patrons and colleagues alike for her dedication, curiosity, and exemplary customer service; and
WHEREAS, Annie has devoted more than two decades to preserving and sharing local history as a member of the Kennebec Historical Society, serving for many years as Program Chair and acting as a careful steward of Gardiner’s historic cemeteries, and advocating for dignity and respect for all who rest there; and
WHEREAS, Annie has demonstrated deep and ongoing respect for veterans by organizing volunteers to place flags on graves each spring, laying wreaths in December, and contributing her time and expertise to Wreaths Across America through the documentation and preservation of veterans’ histories; and
WHEREAS, Annie’s compassion extends beyond organized service into everyday acts of kindness—visiting those who are homebound or in long term care, delivering church bulletins, checking on neighbors, and strengthening community bonds through her daily walks and thoughtful conversations; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Patricia Hart, Mayor of the City of Gardiner, along with the City Council, do hereby proclaim that the 2025 City of Gardiner Annual Report is dedicated in honor of Annie Cough, in recognition of her extraordinary service, compassion, and lifelong commitment to the City of Gardiner and its residents. Furthermore, we declare Saturday, April 11th in the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six, as Annie Cough Day in the City.
Adopted this 1st day of April 2026, by the Gardiner City Council.

03/18/2026

KHS will be closed to volunteers and the public this Friday, March 20.

Sorry for any inconvenience!

03/18/2026

The Kennebec Historical Society’s March Facebook Presentation: “History and Fate of the Clipper Ship Snow Squall”

The American clipper ship Snow Squall was a Maine-built merchant carrier that participated in the China Trade and Gold Rushes of California and Australia. It tangled with Confederate raider ships during the American Civil War and faced numerous roundings of Cape Horn, one of which helped bring about its end. Condemned in the Falkland Islands, the ship was eventually recognized as one of the last remaining representations of the clipper ship era, which brought about the incredible effort to bring Snow Squall back home to Maine.

KHS presenter, Charles H. Lagerbom received his BA in History at Kansas State University and MA in History and Archaeology at the University of Maine. He has organized shipwreck surveys in Maine lakes, sites from the 1779 Penobscot Expedition as well as the search for the 17-Century English galleon Angel Gabriel off Pemaquid. Two field seasons were spent in Antarctica as a glacial geology field assistant for University of Maine Quaternary Institute, now Climate Change Institute. He is author of Henry R. Bowers: The Fifth Man (1999); Whaling in Maine (2020) and Maine to Cape Horn: The Most Dangerous Journey (2021). His latest book The Hero Way: History and Science of an Antarctic Research Vessel is due out this winter. A 30+ year veteran teacher at Belfast Area High School, Charles is Social Studies Department Chair and teaches AP US History and an archaeology elective. He is also part of the Belfast Marine Institute (BMI) Floating Classroom, an initiative to get students out, in, around, on and under the waters of Penobscot Bay, for marine commercial, career and education opportunities. Charles “Chip” Lagerbom travels to and speaks on topics regarding Antarctica, Cape Horn, Maine whaling and New England colonial and maritime history.

Lagerbom’s presentation will be posted on the society’s page (www.facebook.com/KHS1891) on March 18, 2026. It also will be archived at the society’s headquarters for those who want to watch it later. For more information, call Scott Wood, the society’s Executive Director, at 207-622-7718.

Photo: First Slide of presentation
Photo: Charles Lagerbom (presenter)

02/18/2026

The Kennebec Historical Society’s February Facebook Presentation: “Re-Collecting Jim – James Matthews and His Journey from Bo***ge in South Carolina to Freedom in Hallowell”

This talk traces the life and afterlife of an enslaved man whose voice survives in an anonymously published slave narrative first printed in Maine in 1838. Long dismissed or left unexplored, Professor Susanna Ashton first identified his true identity as Jim and then as James Matthews. His testimony can be reassembled through careful attention to detail, place, and archival context. Beginning with Jim’s harrowing account of enslavement in South Carolina and his escape north, the presentation follows his arrival in Maine and argues that Hallowell became the final and most consequential site of his life. Drawing on abolitionist newspapers published in Hallowell, census records, poorhouse records, cemetery evidence, and his own testimony, Ashton demonstrates that Jim can be confidently identified as James Matthews, a Black man who lived his final decades in Hallowell and is buried there. Rather than offering a seamless biography, the talk reflects on the ethical work of historical recovery when lives are recorded unevenly. Centering Hallowell as both an abolitionist publishing hub and a place of refuge, this program invites the community to consider how local records preserve Black presence, suffering, endurance, and belonging, and why these fragments matter to history today.

KHS presenter Susanna Ashton is a Professor of English at Clemson University and a scholar of nineteenth-century American literature and slavery. She is the author of A Plausible Man. The True Story of the Enslaved Man who Inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and a specialist in authorship, and the testimony of a witness. She regularly writes and speaks for both academic and public audiences, with research focused on recovering the lives of formerly enslaved people through archives, newspapers, and local history, including work on James Matthews of Hallowell.

Ashton’s presentation will be posted on the society’s page on February 18, 2026. It will also be archived at the society’s headquarters for those who want to watch it later. For more information, call Scott Wood, the Society’s Executive Director, at 207-622-7718.

Photo: James Matthews Gravestone (courtesy of the late Sam Webber)
Photo: Susanna Ashton (presenter)