Orrington Historical Society

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Orrington, ME
Orrington Historical Society

The Orrington Historical Society researches and saves Orrington history from yesterday back to its incorporation in 1788.

For those who lend their family's history, OHS scans photographs and documents and returns them.

05/19/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

This program will be looking back to a time when family farms were the mainstay in our community. We have been able to find an interesting assortment of photos and written items that we have used in this program.
We still have people in town that can remember growing up in a town that moved at a slower pace. A place where you knew your neighbors and where many of your relatives lived nearby.
Please invite your neighbors, family and friends and join us at the same building that held so many meetings in the past.
Light snacks and time to visit follow our meetings.

05/18/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

Please join us for a look back at Orrington’s rural roots. Through all those years, farming was a constant in our history. The Historical Society has been incredibly lucky to have received amazing donations and have had a team of volunteers who manage to sort, store and display our Orrington treasures. Most of the material for this program came out of our Archival files. In fact, we will display a donation we received last week that ties in with this program.
We will be taking a quick vote to elect OHS offices and then will enjoy light snacks and time to socialize. Please invite family and friends to share a walk back in time.

05/16/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

This upcoming Historical Society program will be looking at Orrington’s Agricultural history. Stocks were sold, family run dairy farms, orchards, livestock dealers and more made up the tapestry of our rural town. Much of the materials used for this, and many of our past programs, have been generously given to us by families who have lived here for many generations.
Please join us for a look back at a time when the landscape was very different.
Following our meetings, we always offer light snacks and time to socialize.

05/15/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

This month’s program will be looking at parts of Orrington’s Agricultural history. And a huge section of that was our dairy and farming community. When you drive thru town, you can still get a sense of how deep our rural roots ran. Farm houses, pastures and hay fields, wood lands and old barns are the remaining land marks from days gone by.
People with Orrington connections have been incredibly generous with donations of family records and memorabilia and our programs come out of that generosity. This program is the same.
Please join us and invite your family and friends. After our meetings, we offer light snacks and time to socialize.

05/13/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

Orrington has had a rich history connected to family farms and this month’s program will be from the materials we found in our Archival files. A few more names that fall into that farming community are Perkins, Phillips, Ring, Sawyer, Wiswell and Zitaner.
We are always looking for photos, written materials, family history and any items that can go into our Archival files or as a display. Original materials can be photocopied and returned if requested.
We’ll also be taking a quick vote from Historical Society members for officer positions.
And after all that excitement, light snacks and time to socialize will wrap up the evening.
Please join us for a look back to our agricultural history and pass the word to family and friends.

05/11/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 p.m.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

This month we will be touching on the agricultural industry that has been an integral part of our town since the late 1800’s. Dairy farms dominated our landscape for many years and it definitely was a generational family business. Here are a few more names that may surprise you. Crook, Glidden, Gray, Hillier, Howard, Little, and Perkins were all involved with some aspect of the dairy business.
There were many other small farms scattered around town that we have on our lists. However, we also have very little in our archival files for most of them and we are always looking for any information that you may be willing to share with us. Family histories, stories, documents, and of course, photos!
After our meetings, we have light snacks and time to socialize. Please join us and invite your friends, family and neighbors.
How’s this for a typical summer day down on the farm?

05/07/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2026 6:30 - 8 p.m.
446 Dow Road

DOWN ON THE FARM

This month’s meeting will be two fold. We will be discussing the agricultural history of our Orrington families. Related to that subject, we are looking for more pictures of people, homes, written works or artifacts. We have lists of farms and businesses related to agriculture, but over the generations much of their personal history has been lost. We would love to see what you might have of interest! Luckily, many people have generously shared their family histories, but we are a greedy bunch, and we always hope for more! Please reach out if you think you may have items or papers of interest. Email [email protected].
Here’s a partial wish list of family farms or businesses tied to our agricultural history. More names to follow in future posts.
Badershall, Baldwin, Brastow, Brown, Clark, Brook Hill Farm ( Kingsbury), Clough ( we only have a picture of their milk bottle ), Gray, Kent’s, Lufkin and Nash Mfg. Co.
After the program, we’ll turn our attention to the annual officer elections. All O.H.S. members are allowed to vote.
Light snacks and time to socialize follow our meetings.

04/24/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Time traveling back to December 1, 1950 to a Junior Grange meeting was a great trip! The hall rang with lots of laughs and a fair amount of off tune singing. The “ kids” did a penny march around the room and had such good aim at the bucket, they made a whopping 32 cents!
To all of you that were such good sports and played your parts with abandon and humor, thank you for making this such a fun evening. And, of course, a big thank you to all of you that came to check out our presentation. It looked like you had as much fun as we did!
Volunteer Dottie Dunton England was the Master of Ceremonies and the author of this Junior Grange skit. Thank you , Dottie, you made this such a wonderful evening. We’ll be talking about this meeting for a long time.
Here’s a bit of what went on at our premiere showing.

04/21/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOMORROW, TUESDAY 21, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

This month’s program is a chance to see what the Junior Grange was up to on December 1, 1950. There were certain rituals and symbols that were involved and this group of 5 to 14 year olds seem to be struggling.
Volunteer, Dottie Dunton England has taken on the history of the Orrington Grange and has created this evenings fun program. Other Historical Society volunteers and a lot of good sports from the community, have been corralled into stepping back to her vision of that time. There’s a rumor that some of them may have found a new career path! We’ll let you guess who that might be.
Please invite friends and family who may not have heard about our program.
Light snacks are always available after our meetings and we’ve decided to add to the nostalgia with some family favorites from the 50’s. Oh yum.

04/20/2026

ORRINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2026 6:30 - 8 P.M.
446 Dow Road

There was once a time when the Grange was one of the largest and most active organizations in town. This month’s meeting will be looking back at December 1, 1950 when the Junior Grange was holding a meeting at their hall. Since this was the first meeting this group had attended, so it’s doubtful they were very well rehearsed. But since they ranged in age between 5 and 14, the adults in the room will cheer them on because no one likes to see a kid cry.
So come and make us happy and bring your family and friends to see a 1050’s Junior Grange in action.
We’ll be following their example and will provide light snacks with a few 1950’s culinary wonders. This will give us all something else to laugh at.

Address

PO Box 94 , 446 Dow Road
Orrington, ME
04474

Telephone

+12074787159

Website

http://www.orringtonhistoricalsociety.com/

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