Thank you to the citizens and town for the continued support of the Warren Historical Society. Without this support we would not be able to promote and preserve the history of the Town of Warren. Every day there is a new revelation from the past and how it has influenced the present day Warren. 2017 has seen its share of changes in our Town of Warren. This has been a year of transitions and change for all of us. From music to potlucks and informative talks we have gathered together and learned more about our community from the past to the present. We are seeing more people becoming interested in our history. Thank you to the Warren Historical Society Board and the Warren Field and Garden Club for maintaining and preserving the integrity of the Campbell House. It is with gratitude we acknowledge all the volunteers and their efforts in the management and maintenance of the Historical Society. Thankfully we have groups of young people such as the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts who donate their time and efforts to help us to offer community projects such as the Veterans Supper to the public.
This past year the Society lost one of its most ardent supporters "Dick" Ferren who passed away on June 10, 2017. Dick and his wife Audrey were members of the W.H.S ever since the seventies. They worked diligently in the preservation and promotion of the Campbell house. We will miss him and his boundless energy. One of the most recent goals Dick had for the Campbell House was the renovation of the garage into a learning center. We hope to use the generous monetary gift from the Ferren's to establish the Ferren Education Room with a dedication in the month of May 2018. The goal for the next two years is to make the garage not only a display area but also a heated meeting room which can be used year round by members and community groups.
Curator's Report on Acquisitions in 2017 Dick & Audrey Ferren of Warren donated a nail puller. Mr. Cecil Clark of Cedartown, G A donated a color post card dated 1914 of Alewife Fishing on the Georges River. Mr. Don Dickinson of St. George, ME donated a black & white postcard dated 1910 of the Georges River Mill Houses sent from George W. Walker to Charles Parker. Also, three color postcards of View from the Bridge looking upriver, Alewife Fishing & the Warren Trolley Station. Sandra Overlock of Warren donated a book written by Roger Moody, Camden, ME "The County of Knox, Maine - a Governmental History 1860-2015"
Barbara Brusila of Warren donated a bible owned by Adolphus J. Cushman dated 1856. He carried this bible throughout his Civil War service. He served in the 6th Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Joel Ackerman of Lamoine, ME donated a color photo of Gertrude & Frank D. Rowe, photos of the Frank D. Rowe home at 108 Patterson Mill Road in Warren, genealogy information on the Bowes family. Gertrude Bowes Rowe's family history. Also, newspaper articles concerning Warren news 1943-1963. Mr. & Mrs. J. Robert Phillips of Warren, M E Patricia Libby of South Warren donated a high chair that belonged to her great grandmother Laura Lermond Copeland and was used by the Copeland family at the Copeland farm in South Warren. This chair may date to the 1870s. Also, provided was genealogy information on the family.
Mr. Fred Webel of Bristol, ME donated two hooked rugs made by his mother Ella W. Webel (1899-1979). She was a talented artist and rug hooker who drew her own patterns and hooked intricate tapestries and rugs. One is a Currier & Ives scene called " Hunting,Fishing & Forestry Scene" and the other rug is a red floral. Also donated was a notebook with photos of her other rugs and the story of her life. Mr. David Grant of Warren donated a wood handled device for binding books.
Sharon Chadwick of Warren donated a pair of men's white & tan saddle shoes ca. 1940s that belonged to her grandfather Benjamin Barbour of the BenEva Farm on Middle Road. Also, three jelly jars from the S.S. Pierce company in Boston ca. 1930s and one 1930s Pic-PAC container for picnics. It is an insulated container made to carry Mason jars used by her grandmother Eva Barbour.
Eileen Howard of Waterville, ME donated two black & white post cards (Eastern Illustrating Co. Belfast, ME). One of the bridge in Warren village and one of Hotel Warren. Also, an undated black & white photo of students in front of the Libby School, located in North Warren.
Susan Starrett Meklin donated one off white dress blouse with a lace collar and one dark blue shirtwaist jacket with a lace pleated front and a hand stitched liner with stays. This outfit is late 1800s.
Karin Larson Historian report:.
It's been a busy spring and summer for me. I have been slowly making progress on organizing items at the Campbell House. I have WW I and WWI I items in one box and some of Dr. Campbell's items and Warren Grange items organized. .Another ongoing project is digitizing our photo collection. 1 am continuing to scan photos of people from Warren families.
This summer I have been reading through old Warren scrapbooks and typing up indexes of the news articles in the books. Having the indexes will make finding Warren history easier. The oldest scrapbooks in our collection are from the 1880's and 1890's. Some interesting news headlines from late 1890's and early 1900's.
- 1897 Warren residents want a public library building
- Population of Warren is 2,069 by 1900
- November 23, 1898 Tiger Engine Company dedicates hall
- 1899 Electric cars from Thomaston arouse little or no interest in Warren
- 1900 Extension of electric railway to Warren
- 1902 Warren Trolley line in operation July 1st fare 15 cents
- 1902 Woolen mill employees outing to Crescent Beach
- September 1901 President McKinley memorial services
- 1904 Election of Teddy Roosevelt
- February 27, 1904 Georges River Lodge Knights of Pythias dedicate hall. The building cost $5,500 and building of hall began in August 1903 and completed 1904
- 1906 The new superintendant of schools Dr. Norton to replace Tena McCallum
I am also continuing my transcription work. 1 transcribed more John U Cutting letters and a Congregational Church Sunday school student attendance notebook from 1858. We received a donation of postcards which belonged to Florence Maloney Geyer of Gushing. Several of the postcards are from towns in Maine and other states. I transcribed the postcards with messages on them.
The postmarks date from 1900-1912. In May Jan MacDonald and myself met with Dylan Cookson who wanted information on the Warren Trolley for his Wooded Path Podcast. In June I received a genealogy request from Karen Dow of Rockport, Massachusetts.
She is helping her husband Robert Dow research a member of his family, Linus Jones in order to become a member of the Mayflower Society.
Karen wanted a marriage record of Linus Jones and Phebe Peabody of Warren, Maine. In the Vital Records of Warren, Maine I found Linus Jones married Phebe Peabody August 23,1821. I did more research for Karen and found Linus and Phebe Jones are buried in, the Newcomb Cemetery on Patterson Mill Road. Also Linus's brother Ichabod Jones lived at 1235 Eastern Road. The cape is past the
former Saab dealership on the right going up the hill on 131. Linus and Ichabod's father Freeman Jones lived across the street. Of Linus's children Mary and James lived in Warren, Oliver went to California in 1851 and William went to Stoughton, Massachusetts.
As you see I have been busy and work on ongoing projects as time allows. We have so many items in our collection to organize and do more research on. Warren has a rich history waiting to be fully discovered.
We are entering the Christmas season with its decorations, gifts, greenery, parties, trees, and of course? lots of choices of food. There will be church services, family gatherings, and many joyous occasions. Has it always been this way is our country? How did our early ancestors in New England celebrate Christmas? They didn't! The Pilgrims and Puritans of New England didn't celebrate Christmas day. They worked on that day. They didn't believe that the Bible set aside any Holy Days since the birth of Christ. All days were the same and thus in a sense all days were holy. They observed only Sunday which they regarded as the Sabbath. Their attitude was that Christmas did not originate as a Christian holiday. It was believed that the church centuries before had taken a pagan festival that was observed in December as a day for the Medieval church to observe. The pagan holiday was dedicated to food, drink, and revelry. Their problem with Christmas was not all theological. They remembered the days in England when Christmas was a day filled with excesses of revelry, gluttony, and drunkenness. This further caused them to be opposed to the day as a holy day. William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Plantation, writes in his Of Plymouth Plantation, December 1621 (updating some words and their spelling)
"One the day called Christmas, the governor called them out to work, as usual but most of this new company excused themselves and said it was against their consciences to work on the day. So the governor told them that If they made it a matter of conscience, he would spare them till they were better informed. So he led away the rest and left them; but when they came home at noon from their work, he found them in the street at play, some pitching the barr, and some at stoole-ball, and some at like sports. So he went to them and took away their implements and told them that was against his conscience that they should play and others work. I f they made the keeping of it a matter of devotion let them keep their houses, but there should be no gaming or reveling in the streets."
Christmas celebrations were harmed from 1659 - 1680 in the new world. It was made legal in 1680, but celebrations were frowned upon. It wasn't until the 1850's that observance celebrations were beginning to be held in New England. Soon after Clement Moore's poem A Visit from St. Nicholas or The Night Before Christmas was published in 1823, Christmas celebrations began to take place with a more secular flavor other than in New England. Santa Claus started to become the center of Christmas rather than the birth of Jesus. Alabama became the first state to declare Christmas a public holiday in 1836. Other states gradually followed
although the New England states held out until well into the 1850's. President Grant in 1870 declared Christmas a federal holiday.
This brings us to today. There is joy in gathering together with family. There is pleasure in giving of gifts to those who are special to us. It is the time of sharing. No matter how or what we do, we need to remember why we celebrate. It is the celebration of the birth of Jesus who came to be bom in Bethlehem. Luke 2:11 says it best: "For unto us is bom this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." By Howard Wiley
May you have a joyous and blessed Christmas. Historically speaking Warren does go beyond Main Street and we all want to encourage everyone to explore their neighborhoods and document their findings with observations and photographs. You can send your information to Warren Historical Society, PO Box 11, Warren, ME 04864 or drop it by the Campbell House. We usually have somebody available to open the house and give tours so just give us a call at 207-273-3154 We are having a membership drive and renewal as of this date. Membership is $ 10.00 per year for an individual. Couples are $18.00 per year. Sustaining Member is $25.00, Contributing Member is $50.00, Benefactor Member is $100.00, and a Business Member is $50.00. Please fill in the enclosed envelop and send it back to the Warren Historical Society PO Box 11, Warren, Maine 04864. We are limited in resources so memberships are very important to the survival of the Historical Society.
The goals of the Historical Society are to preserve records, documents, genealogies, artifacts and relics pertaining to the Town of Warren. This all happens only with the vision and help of the community and its existing groups and clubs. The Town of Warren has helped us out with a generous donation of monies which basically makes it possible to heat the Campbell House for the year.
Officers and Board Members:
Jan MacDonald, President
Howard Wiley, Vice-President
Bev Williamson, Secretary
Nancy Blake, Treasurer
Barb Larson, Curator
Zack Wyllie, Board Member
Diana Sewell, Genealogist
Karin Larson, Historian
Clayton Winchenbach, Board Member
Joan Winchenbach, Board Member
Sandra Overlock, Board Member