Bicentennial Lecture

Abbott Room

This lecture will be live streamed on the YouTube Page What Do We Want History to Do to Us?: Maine's Bicentennial and Commemoration A presentation with Liam Riordan, Professor of History, University of Maine. This illustrated presentation and discussion explores Maine’s long statehood process that culminated in 1820 with separation from Massachusetts. That struggle engaged […]

“Forged by Fire, The Creation of Bay View Street Following the 1873 Conflagration”, presented by the Belfast Historical Society

Abbott Room

Megan Pinette, historical society president, will present the creation of Bay View Street in response to the massive fire of August 24, 1873.The fire swept the waterfront, pushed southward by strong north winds, until it destroyed fifty-three dwellings and thirty-three commercial properties. In response to the displacement of so many families, the city laid out […]

The Changing Industrial Waterfront: 1980 – 1990 with Megan Pinette

Abbott Room

“The Changing Industrial Waterfront: 1980 – 1990” is the topic for the Belfast Historical Society meeting at 7:00 pm, Monday, July 25. Grain Mill Storage, Belfast Waterfront Megan Pinette, historical society president, will present the changes to the Belfast harbor and waterfront during the decade which saw the end of the poultry industry. One of […]

CANCELLED “The Boston Boats” presentation with the Belfast Historical Society

Abbott Room

The SS Belfast THIS PRGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED. “The Boston Boats” is the topic for the Belfast Historical Society meeting at 7:00 pm, Monday August 29, in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library. Judith Frost Gillis, Orrington Historical Society president, will present a history of four of the steamships which plied the waters […]

“Photographing Belfast’s Waterfront- Then and Now”, Belfast Historical Society Program

Abbott Room

“Photographing Belfast’s Waterfront- Then and Now” is the topic for the Belfast Historical Society meeting at 7:00 pm, Monday, September 26, in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library. Liv Kristin Robinson, lead curator of the photography show which was on exhibit at Waterfall Arts June 18 to August 29, 2021 will lead the […]

The Republican Journal: past, present, and future

Abbott Room

Join Republican Journal and Belfast Historical Society and Museum staff in a trip through nearly two centuries of newspaper history. We will discuss the evolution of the Republican Journal (est. 1829) over the decades and review notable issues and stories over the years. We’ll also travel through Belfast’s streets and learn about the different sites […]

Belfast Historical Society Presentation

Abbott Room

Your Father Fears New England Will Be Depopulated: Belfast and the Rush to California Jan Eakins, a cultural historian who has researched, written, taught, and lectured on Maine in the West for more than two decades, will present the histories of some of the people who caught California gold fever early and hard. The bark Suliote cleared […]