Meeting Dates
Sep 28 '06
Minutes for September 28, 2006
Present: Su Ripley, Cathy Orne, Rebecca Townsend, Ruth Bryant, Roslyn Strong, Suzanne Carlson, Jo Cameron, new member Phyllis Grigg, guests Alison Carver and Rose-Marie Ballard
Earlier, Mrs. Mary Brewer, publisher of BR and WN, had come to donate a rare greeting card found by her mother in her family's home in East Boothbay. It features a picture of Fort Edgecomb and an eight-verse poem about the fort. Unfortunately, Mrs. Brewer could not stay for the meeting.
The first order of business was to elect a slate of officers. All current officers were re-nominated in their present positions: Sue Carlson, President; Ros Strong, Vice President; Ruth Bryant, Treasurer; Jo Cameron, Secretary; Rebecca Townsend, David Cole and Madine Nichols, Trustees. Secretary Jo Cameron voted in favor of the slate on behalf of all members. Dues were subsequently paid and new member Phyllis Grigg welcomed to the Society
The Secretary's minutes of May 25 were approved with minor corrections.
The Treasurer reported a current balance of $3,018.94, which still includes $1,775, the remainder of Rose-Marie Ballard's fee for the historic architecture survey. Ruth plans to renew the MOCA membership for five years for $20.00. She has not been receiving postage bills from people doing mailings or correspondence.
President Sue Carlson gave a report of a Damariscotta River trip taken by Edgecomb's Comprehensive Plan Task Force on Bob Brown's boat. A similar jaunt for the EHS along the Sheepscot is being planned, perhaps for the coming spring. Bob Ring's boat Sashimi, which seats 14, was mentioned as being chartered and insured. We will need to establish the cost/person and find a knowledgeable tour guide. Perhaps we could invite Westport Island historians along.
Baptist Cemetery Memorial Day: Several members attended this celebration and were impressed by the Deck House students' tending of this abandoned cemetery, and the research done by Nick Slovak on the veterans buried there. Further research might compare George Chase' list of cemetery burials, housed at the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta, as well as Katherine Chase Owens' 1820 census names and historical materials recently received by the Town. Jo said the fate of this cemetery is still up for grabs, but very likely there will be a warrant item for the 2007 Town Meeting proposing that the Town accept responsibility for it.
Architectural Survey: Rose-Marie is waiting for development of one more roll of film. Her rough count of structures recorded is 220 with 10+ done later on. She passed around some photographs from Town tax records for members to try to identify. One on Payne's Hill, once owned by Candace Sawyer, Rebecca said, used to be called the "York House," but it is now owned by Chuck and Becky Benton. Another, ascribed to Donnelly, Jo said had been demolished by Neil Ames, who also took down the home of Abby and Rosie Dodge, which may have been an 18th century structure, but in very bad condition. Others were the home of Nathalie Lawrence Brown, the Spurgats' Italianate house, and a former post office "in the City," which we agreed had been owned by the Robinsons. Rose-Marie recommends the Adirondack-style cabin at Poole's Landing, which has its original furnishings, as worth further study. She said that the Eddy Road and Clifford Road each have clusters of historic styles. She has included as "endangered" the Baptist and "Ancient" cemeteries. It was suggested that pictures of any "unknown" houses be put on the EHS page of the Edgecomb website.
Sue asked if the records gave any information about the builders and craftsmen. We learned that English settlers, many from East Anglia, preferred to work in wood, using masonry only for details like fireplaces, chimneys.
Rose-Marie suggested that the report's acknowledgment and dedication be to Nick Dean. The motion was made, seconded, and the vote was unanimously in favor.
Rose-Marie said her objective was to identify all historic structures 50 years old or older. Not only will this information be useful to EHS, but to the Task Force in revising the section of the Comprehensive Plan on History, Archaeology and Scenic Vistas. It will provide information on early settlement patterns, identify candidates for the National Registry of Historic Places, and other endangered resources. It will help to increase residents' awareness of Edgecomb's history. The original of the report will be housed at the Maine Preservation Commission's office. One copy will be kept by EHS and another in the Town Hall's vault.
The meeting was then turned over to Alison Carver of Pemaquid Harbor, an artist and illustrator who has been working with Nick diPaoli and others at the continuing dig at Fort Pemaquid. She showed us her poster of costumes promoting this summer's Guns, Militia and Furs exhibit at Fort William Henry, then her sequence of reconstructions of the palisaded Fort Charles, based on written descriptions of the period, one by Cotton Mather. This early fort was destroyed by Indians in the 1670s. Then in 1692, Fort William Henry was built of stone, and its design enclosed the large rock from which the 1677 Indians had shot their flaming arrows. Her work drew from designs and descriptions by an army surveyor, Colonel Romer, a German.
However, Alison went on, the original Fort William Henry was easily destroyed by the French later in the 1690s because it was poorly built. The colonials made the mistake of using the nearby beach sand, which being full of salt, deteriorated the concrete mortar.
The Pemaquid Historical Society is hoping for new excavations. Sue asked if they had considered using ground-penetrating radar, which can identify underground anomalies. We spoke of other early sites, such as the Newport Tower in Rhode Island (subject of Longfellow's poem, "The Skeleton in Armor") or Mystery Hill in Salem, New Hampshire, said to have been visited by Scotsmen in the 15th century.
Following Alison's presentation, we discussed her methods and technology. She uses Sue Carlson recommended Sketch-Up, a graphics program designed "by architects for architects," <but she recommended also ; Alison uses Adobe Dimensions and Adobe Illustrator for her work .
Sue presented Jo with two cards featuring Fort Edgecomb which the heirs of Wilhemina Thomas had given her. Jo plans to have more made for use in correspondence for EHS.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Joanna M. Cameron
Secretary