Vanceboro, Maine Historical Society

05/25/2026

The story of the Vanceboro Methodist Church is, in many ways, the story of Vanceboro itself. The beautiful historic Carpenter Gothic style parsonage bears witness to the people who built this once vibrant border community. The building is in need of a new roof and other repairs. Please consider supporting this work. We will offer updates as we receive them.

Vanceboro Methodist Church, 1900 The story of the Vanceboro Methodist Church is, in many ways, the story of Vanceboro itself. Though the earliest church documents were lost in a 1989 fire that dest…

05/21/2026

We’re thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a Maine Community Foundation Community Building Grant—a wonderful opportunity to strengthen our community together. This grant will play a vital role in bringing our vision to life, with a special focus on completing the MacDonald Railroad Museum.

05/05/2026

🚂 Railroad Building Update! 🚂

What a wonderful weekend of progress at the MacDonald Railroad Museum building! A huge thank you to our volunteer team — Mark Hyland, Faye Luppi, Alaine Peaslee-Hinshaw, Christopher Hinshaw, Stevie Zuppa, and Curty Scott — for all their hard work on the interior. David Florence also lent a hand and the crew loved seeing Donna Beach Wright, Billy Grass, and Harvey Day, who stopped by to check on the progress.

A special shoutout to Jeanie Crandlemire Hogan, who treated everyone to her famous family recipe Shredded Wheat rolls for lunch — a true labor of love! (Psst... the recipe is in the VHS Cookbook — grab your copy!)

We are also deeply grateful to Stevie Zuppa, former president of the Alna Maine Railroad Museum, who donated Maine Central RR magazines featuring news about Vanceboro and Lambert employees. What a treasure for our collection!

This community makes everything possible. Thank you all! 💙

04/28/2026

Please join us in congratulating one of our own. Colonel (Ret.) Herbert “Bill” Vernon – Legendary Game Warden of the Year https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/maine-game-wardens-announce-2025-awards-recognitions/268908

04/21/2026

Can you identify these Vanceboro High athletes? The 1929 girls basketball team and 1930 boys football team.

04/12/2026

This photo of the yard was labeled by the late Gary Beers, a good friend of VHS. In the upper left he's typed "don't recall." Could this be the freight shed? Any other bits of information are welcome!

03/29/2026

Another Vanceboro school photo, this one from 1929. Grateful to to have names so carefully documented.

03/21/2026

Phil Crandlemire added this photo in a comment under the 1905 baseball team postcard we posted and we want to be sure everyone sees it.

V.H.S. HOCKEY TEAM 1928 (Only lost one game)
Back Row, L to R; (Sub.) Vance Johnston, Don Crandlemire, Earl Crandlemire, Don Vernon (Sub), Theron Crandlemire;
Front Row: Roland Tibbetts, Hubert Vernon, Hermon Armstrong (Pres).

Check out our website page with sports photos through the ages: https://vanceborohistorical.org/sports-teams/ Did you know Vanceboro also had a football team? And if you have family photos you'd like us to add to the website, feel free to post below.

03/16/2026

Vanceboro was once quite a baseball town. This postcard was made from a photo taken in 1905 and sent from Ardie Goodwin in Vanceboro to former teammate Ora Brown in Lowelltown. It reads: "Dear Friend: This picture was the one that Mrs. Cummings took, and, as Chet and I have been making some postals lately, I thought perhaps you would like one. It is [not] overly good, as it is among our first work. Hoping that this will find you in good health and spirits, I remain your friend, Ardie Goodwin" Ora Brown is second row, center, in bowtie and striped shirt. Perhaps a version of this postcard lives with descendents of other team members?

03/04/2026

Thank you to the McAdam Railway Station for documenting this historic tragedy.