BHSM News

Flag Quilt from the Civil War Era Sping 2011 | 1864 Flag Quilt
In 1864 a group of Belfast ladies made a bed quilt and sent it to the Armory Square Hospital, a Union Army hospital in Washington, D.C. The purpose was to recognize and honor those who had fought to preserve the Union. We know this from an account written by Augusta Quimby Frederick in 1917 who, as a much younger woman, had worked on the quilt. The names of the women who worked on the quilt are inscribed on it, along with patriotic messages, poetry, the names of battles and more.

On Friday March 11, almost 150 years since it was stitched, the quilt returned to Belfast. In late February the Museum received a telephone call from a woman in Montana. She related how her mother, more than 30 years ago, had saved the quilt from a burn barrel and kept it safely stored. She offered to return it to Belfast and of course we gratefully accepted. The quilt is in fairly good condition, considering its age, but restoration is necessary. Read a recent Bangor Daily News article [pdf] about this tremendous gift.

Another welcome addition to the collection came from Robert White, a descendant of the White Family of Belfast, with his donation of a model of the ship Comet, built in the 1850s at the White & Connor yard in Belfast. Included in the case with the Comet is a much smaller model of a pilot schooner. Mr. White also donated a bound volume of early Republican Journals and an autobiography of James C. White.

April, 2008 | BHSM Chosen by AASLH
In a few years, thousands of history museums and organizations across the country will benefit from a new national program to be tested by the Belfast Historical Society and Museum in Belfast, Maine. The Belfast Historical Society and Museum has been selected as one of six New England museums (and 45 nationally) to participate in a pilot project for the development of national standards for small–and medium–sized history organizations. The program, titled “Standards for History Museums and History Organizations”, is being developed by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), headquartered in Nashville, TN.

Articles

October 28, 2011 | A Bangor Daily News article about Belfast's important role in the Civil War, recounted by Megan Pinette, the BHSM Museum Director. Article [pdf]

September 29, 2009 | Article about the architectural walking tour (Sept. 26) of the 2009 season, including great photos of the historic homes on topic. Article [pdf]

Belfast Historic House PlaqueHistorical Society Updates

Your Old House

The Belfast Historical Society has partnered with Ould Colony Artisans of Farmington, Maine to make house plaques. The cost of $72 includes shipping and membership in the Society. This is an attractive product and the company has made historic house markers in communities throughout New England.

This offer is for everyone, not just houses in the Historic District. The Museum may be able to help you date your house and identify the original owner. A sample house marker can be seen on the Museum building. Download the order form [pdf].