HANCOCK – A crowd took refuge in the brand new Lois C. Johnson Historical Museum and Hancock Historical Society headquarters last Friday on a rainy evening to celebrate the building’s grand opening.
They listened to music performed by students from the Monteux School of Music, walked through exhibits and gathered for an opening ceremony before listening to a presentation by the history professor at the University of Maine, Liam Riordan.
A red ribbon originally intended for an open-air inauguration ceremony hung on the wall behind the speakers during the ceremony’s opening speech.
Bob Foss, a member of the Hancock Historical Society, recognized the town’s ancestors.
“It is in their honor that we are building this building,” he said.
He said the museum will be a haven for researchers who can take advantage of the vast historical collections, many of which were assembled by the late Lois Crabtree Johnson, the museum’s namesake. Johnson’s ancestors helped found Hancock, and she has remained the keeper of town history by compiling genealogical records for more than 25 Hancock families. She also helped form the Hancock County Genealogical Society, later donating 76 of her notebooks filled with her research.
“His spirit lives,” Foss said.
Myrna Coffin, a member of the Hancock Historical Society, presented Sanford Phippen, the founder of the society, with an award recognizing his work with the society since 1979. She also presented Robert Clements, 93, the oldest citizen of Hancock, the Boston Post Gold Headed Cane.
Myrna Coffin presents Hancock’s oldest resident, Robert Clements, 93, the Boston Post’s golden-headed cane at the grand opening of the new Hancock Historical Society and Lois C. Johnson Historical Museum on Friday, July 9.
American photo of Ellsworth by Rebecca Alley
The new building, located on Captain Bill Road, was built in 2019. The grand opening has been postponed due to the pandemic.
An initial donation of $ 100,000 kicked off fundraising efforts for the facility, which received funds from 92 different donors, two grants and a fully funded endowment of $ 25,000.
The project has garnered support from the community, said Alan Gray, including the Monteux Music School, which donated land for the site of the museum.
In addition, the project received approximately $ 65,000 in awards and assistance from local contractors including Viking Lumber, Hammond Lumber and Parker Lumber, Gray said. Viking Lumber gave the building its exterior cladding.
During Riordan’s presentation on Maine’s bicentennial, which continues to be recognized a year after the state’s official anniversary due to the pandemic, the professor and historian made connections between life today ‘hui and the introduction of Maine to the state over 200 years ago.
This includes the current racial and historical calculation of the citizens of Maine – and the United States as a whole – faced, including relations with the Wabanaki tribes and Maine’s history with slavery.
Riordan explained that Maine became a state in 1820 as part of an agreement commonly known as the Missouri Compromise, which granted Maine anti-slavery state status when pro-slavery Missouri was introduced. Riordan noted that the deal would be more appropriate namely the Maine-Missouri crisis.
At the congressional level, Riordan said five of the seven delegates representing the district of Maine (which was still part of Massachusetts) initially opposed becoming a state at the expense of the expansion of slavery in Missouri.
Locally, from 1792 to 1819, at least six votes were held on whether Maine should separate from Massachusetts, Riordan explained. Residents of greater Hancock County voted largely against independence for Massachusetts, which could have been partially influenced by the region’s trade ties with the mother state, Riordan said.
