November 2010

Its collections are available for consultation by its members and other interested parties. In fulfillment of its educational mission, the society presents public programs on relevant topics, publishes documents and the results of research, maintains an archive, a library and a museum, provides information and guidance to interested researchers, and collaborates with libraries, schools, and other organizations to carry out historical projects.

The museum contains artifacts from the Knapp, Stout & Co. company, including a blacksmith shop. It also has a variety of tools used in the lumber and stone industries, from muzzle-loading bunks to a rare up-and-down saw. It also has examples of the stonecutting performed in quarries. Additionally, it has recreations of the 1865 Louisville Post Office and a village jail.

The msueum's exhibits begin with the prehistoric settlements found in the area, moving onward to more recent settlements. It has an interactive exhibit on the Kraft State Bank Robbery. It follows the county's industrial development, from lumber and railways to Harry Miller, "King of the Race Car Builders". It also contains artifacts from Victorian life as well as folk art.

Beginning with the strikes of 1889 and 1890, the exhibition will touch on the cultural influences of the immigration population as well, including the Finnish community which played a prominent national part in creating the Finnish Socialist Federation, the Finnish Workers Federation, the Industrial Workers of the World and the communist party of the USA.
The museum also contains the collections of Mary Branca, a Superior resident who made custom dolls with authentic costumes. The dolls vary in their construction and design, some made from porcelain, others from a nylon or stockinet fabric. There is also a collection of artifacts from David Barry, a frontier and pioneer photographer helped preserve the pictorial history of the old West with photos of The Custers, military officers and enlisted men, military forts, the little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana, and also Buffalo Bill Cody with his Wild West shows.
Also contained in the museum are artifacts relating to Calvin Coolidge, as well as pyschographs, machines designed to read the bumps and ridges on the skull which told of the weak and strong characteristics of the personality.

KHS serves as the primary historical resource for Kennebunkport. The collection of documents and objects are available for research and exhibit use on a timely basis. The society also promotes educational and cultural activities for the benefit of the community. The highlight of the Society's collections is the 1853 Greek Revival Nott House. In the Spring of 1999, the Society celebrated the opening of the Pasco Exhibit Center.

Research through the archival records for genealogical, historical or other information, may be conducted either in person or by email.

A group of preservation minded residents are aggressively pursuing a $1.2 million fundraising campaign to purchase and restore Skyline Farm in North Yarmouth, Maine. The goal is to preserve the farmhouse, barns, indoor arena, outdoor riding rings and the original trail network. This is one of the few farms in North Yarmouth's village center with its original land which totals to 54 acres of fields and woods.

Skyline Farm is a community-based organization providing educational and recreational programs based on the role of horse-drawn transportation in the cultural, social and economic development of New England

Percival P. Baxter was governor of Maine from 1921 to 1924. When he passed away in 1969, Baxter left a trust of nearly 7 million dollars to ensure that park managers would have sufficient funds to maintain the park and continue to expends its regions. Today, Baxter State Park has grown to 204,733 acres. The Park is now a premier year-round destination for visiting outdoor enthusiasts. This site is a true Northern wilderness park, offering trails up Mt. Katahdin to the Appalachian Trail.

 This museum takes visitors through two centuries of history. 

Two floors of exhibits provide visitors with an entertaining learning experience. The exhibits in the museum include a 1850 natural environment with Ojibwe and Dakota summer lodges, a dairy barn, and the history behind Sam Pandolfo and the Pan Automobile Company. A children's gallery invites kids to participate in interactive hands-on activities. A variety of musuem films are shown in the Pantown theater.

In 1795, newly retired, General Henry Knox bade farewell to Philadelphia and moved his family to the newly built Montpelier in Thomaston, Maine. There, he had a hand in many of the emerging businesses in within the midcoast: He shipped timber, quarried lime, made bricks, experimented with agriculture, built a lock and canal system, built many roads, and got involved with land speculation. The elegant house he built at the head of the St. Georges River epitomized the dreams of the young republic. It compares favorably with George Washington's Mount Vernon and Jefferson's Monticello, and Knox made it the center of many enterprises in midcoast Maine, employing many citizens. Visitors are guided through this historic home, capturing the essence of General Knox and his lifestyle through the years.

These 2-foot gauge steam trains connected rural Maine with the rest of the world from 1879 until just before World War II. Shipping everything from passengers, farming goods, and lumber, these diminutive steam-powered trains served to strengthen Maine’s infrastructure and communication as a great improvement from the days of the rather impractical and weather-reliant horse-drawn buggy. The reign of the 2-footers thundering through Maine’s countryside lasted until the dawning of the modern era of paved roads, trucks, and private automobiles.

This exciting adventure appeals to all types of people looking to travel through the history of locomotion in Maine. After taking a train ride, visitors are encouraged to try some of the hands-on activities inside the museum.