Speaker: Jane Schultz, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis

Frederick Law Olmsted was asked to head the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. Maine state relief workers were uncertain that federal benevolence was the best way to care for Maine's Civil War soldiers.

For the 2014 Olmsted Lecture, Professor Jane Schultz shows how and why Mainers resisted the sweep of a national relief structure, preferring instead to put the interests of the state ahead of federal bureaucracy.

Friday & Saturday, April 25 & 26, 12:00pm

Wadsworth-Longfellow House Tours during April School Vacation 

Looking for something fun and educational to do during school vacation week? Bring the whole family and enjoy a tour of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House at these special discounted rates. Tours start at 12:00pm, and are offered on the hour with the last tour leaving at 4:00pm.  

General admission $5; Children 12 and younger $3.  

Speaker and Guide: James Horrigan

James Horrigan, a Wadsworth-Longfellow House guide, kicks off the 2014 house season with a lecture that looks at the poet's lifelong interest in the supernatural. In addition to touching on reincarnation, astrology, numerology, automatic writing (featuring a poem of Longfellow's that can only be read with a mirror), and dowsing, James pays special attention to what one biographer called Longfellow's "rich dream life." The poet left behind fascinating accounts of dreams he had of Charles Sumner, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and many others.

The talk is followed by an open house until 2:00pm, during which lecture attendees are invited to tour the Wadsworth-Longfellow House at their own pace. James will tell the story of Charles O. Cole's portrait of Longfellow, and the dreams and mysticism that accompanied it.  

Free for MHS members; $5 for non-members. Click here to reserve your spot online.

Friday, May 2, 5:00 - 8:00pm

Exhibition Opening & First Friday Art Walk

Join us for the opening of From Slavery to Maine during the First Friday Art Walk. This Lecture Hall gallery show features letters, photographs, and newspaper articles that tell the story of a few of the former slaves who came to Maine in the 1860s.  

This is also the last month to see our exhibition This Rebellion: Maine and the Civil War, closing May 26. This Rebellion showcases a rich array of MHS's Civil War collections related to Maine soldiers' experiences during and after the war.

Saturday, May 3, 5:30 -11:00pm

An Evening in the 1920s 

Maine Historical Society's annual fundraising event

See details below! 

Lecture: African Americans & the U.S. Government During and After the Civil War  

Speaker: Chandra Manning, Associate Professor of History, Georgetown University
Reserve your space here.    

In partnership with Maine Humanities Council
Civil War Legacies in Maine: Statewide Civil War Symposium

Reserve your space here.     

Genealogy Research Trip to Boston

Reserve your space here.  

Note: this trip is dependent on filling to capacity; please share with your friends.