Skowhegan History House Museum & Research Center

10/21/2025

Check it out! We're thrilled to share that one of our images on the Maine Memory Network was featured in the October 2025 issue of Maine Connection! This spotlight helped bring the story of Maine's Shoemaking Industry to life in a more vivid and engaging way. Maine Connection is published by the Maine Historical Society.

Shoemaking has long been a cornerstone of Maine's economy, identity, and brand.

09/17/2025

📣 Last Chance Alert! This is your final week to see Living Legacy: Remembering Louise Helen Coburn at History House before we close for the season!

📅 Open Thursday & Friday, September 18–19 🕙 10am – 4pm

Come explore the life of Louise Helen Coburn—poet, botanist, philanthropist, and founder of the History House. Step into history and celebrate a remarkable woman who helped shape Maine’s cultural heritage.

Don’t miss your chance to connect with local history before our doors close for the season!

09/04/2025

On Friday, September 5, we will open at Noon instead of 10am. We apologize for the inconvenience. Call or email us to make an appointment for research or for a tour of the historic house and exhibition on Louise Helen Coburn.

Open Noon to 4pm on Friday, September 5, 2025.

08/27/2025

We may have missed posting on International Dog Day yesterday, but rest assured—dogs are proudly represented in our collections! From heartwarming family pet portraits to playful toys, charming paintings, and even vintage business ads, these loyal companions have brought joy across generations.

Pictures:

-Painting with a close-up of a boy and a dog. Painted by Helen Miller Coburn, circa 1880.
-Photograph: Bernard Roberts Currier with a cat and dog, circa 1924
-Stuffed toy owned by Lois Patten Palmer, daughter of Roland T. Patten, circa 1910
-Photograph: Ernest Hebert with his dog Buttons, 1927
-Photograph: Mr. and Mrs. Nahum S. Steward with Paul Steward and baby Sandra Steward with their dog “Pal”, 1927
-Postcard advertising for J.A. Morrisette clothing store, featuring Buster wearing a cape, circa 1905
-Dog License dated 1896 issued for Hattie Marble’s 3-year old mixed pub named Carrol that allows the dog to “run at large” for one year.

08/20/2025

We are closing this Friday at 12:30pm instead of our usual 4pm. Apologies for the inconvenience, but we are open on Thursday, 10am - 4pm, and will return to our regular schedule next week.

08/08/2025

Stop by our table at River Days today! We will be there from 2pm to 4pm, with some mystery artifacts, old-time photos, log drive videos, and more!

Free family fun!

🌊 Skowhegan River Days is back Friday, August 8!
Celebrate our beautiful Kennebec River with a full day of activities—river paddles, fly casting demos, a community art walk, live music, local vendors, food trucks, and the Paddling Film Festival at sunset 🎥🛶🎶

Some activities require registration—including the Bites & Sites Food Tour—so don’t wait!

📅 Plan your day and register now:
👉 runofriver.org/river-fest/schedule

🙏 Big thanks to our lead sponsor, Skowhegan Savings Bank, for making this event possible!

08/07/2025

It's opening day at the Skowhegan State Fair! Step right up and celebrate 207 years of tradition at the nation’s oldest consecutively-running agricultural fair. The Skowhegan State Fair is more than a summer tradition; it’s a living landmark that’s been delighting generations since before Maine became a state.

We hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane.

Images:
Membership Ticket to the Fair, 1925
The Midway, circa 1965.
An Agricultural Exhibit, circa 1920.
Horse Pulling Contest, circa 1955.
The Skowhegan Fair at Night, circa 1955.
The Midway, circa 1979.
Badge for Cattle Superintendent Ralph Weston, circa 1910.
Postcard. The Midway, circa 1955

08/06/2025

Fair fever is in the air—just like it was in the 1940s! This poster, with its depiction of the Roxyettes R***e, a touring offshoot of New York’s famed Radio City Rockettes, dates to the 1940s. Producer George Hamid, known for his ownership of the Atlantic City Steel Pier and other entertainment venues, brought Broadway flair to local fairs. His productions featured leggy chorus girls direct from New York City. Back in1940, Skowhegan Fair officials doubled the size of the track stage just to accommodate the shows!

In those days, publicity relied on print media, radio for news, and posters placed around town and nailed to utility poles to advertise the fair. A pair of these particular posters were stapled to a corner of a barn in Starks, located conveniently on a bend in the road such that a poster on each side of the corner gave motorists a clear view of the poster as a “billboard”. In exchange for annual permission to use the barn as billboard space, the owners were given tickets to the fair. The poster is now part of the History House collection thanks to the generosity of museum member Ernie Hilton.

The Skowhegan State Fair starts tomorrow - a tradition since 1818!

07/25/2025

"A pioneering woman in her time, Coburn emerges as a courageous leader for the ages in this new examination of her life..."

Thank you Bob Keyes for the nice write up in the Colby Alumni News about our latest exhibition!

Living Legacy: Remembering Louise Helen Coburn is on view at History House until the end of September. Visit us Tuesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and explore the life and legacy of one of our community’s most inspiring women. We'd be honored to share her journey with you!

https://alumni.colby.edu/honoring-a-colby-pioneer/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLwg29leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkHrzjk3_y9LEqDriBtPhNCIEY_Lc3x2Sp1InAjYSw6lmqu9v_uDqZP6_vYg_aem_BgossnrZI9akMOKRXkaCow

A new exhibition highlights the importance of Louise Helen Coburn, the College’s second woman graduate

07/17/2025

Lake days are legendary, but History House? That’s next-level cool (literally—we’ve got AC!). Come chill with history, Tuesday through Friday, 10am to 4pm. You bring the curiosity, we’ll bring the cool.

The postcard below depicts St. John's Day at Lakewood, circa 1910. Spectators along the shore watch two young people wearing bathing suits wrestle on a floating dock. Nearby is an older man in a canoe.