Norway Historical Society

10/09/2026

You still have an opportunity to see Maine's only copy of the 1776 Dunlap Broadside today or tomorrow. It's quite an honor that Norway Memorial Library was chosen to be the Oxford County exhibit site. Viewing times can be reserved on the Maine Historical Society's website.

10/08/2026

A couple years ago, someone rescued five big boxes of scrapbooks, clippings, documents and photographs from the trash. The boxes contain nearly 70 years of history of the former Stephens Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. The Auxiliary played a very important part in the growth and success of our small-town hospital and we are grateful this history wasn’t lost.

Retired archivist Angela Todd has generously volunteered to sort, organize and preserve this mountain of documents for us. She will be busy for some time. Here is one of the artifacts Angela found. Did anyone attend the Auxiliary’s annual charity ball?

09/10/2026

Don't forget our Marigold Tea Room on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm, during the Norway Arts Festival. Our annual fundraiser will offer a slice of homemade pie, a scoop of ice cream and a cold drink for $5.

We also must tell you we are having our own charming art show. Late in the school year last spring, we hosted third graders from the Rowe School for a program about changes on Main Street over the years and how history has shaped the Main Street they know. We asked the kids to look around on their walk back to school and draw a picture of any building that interested them. Boy, did they deliver. Naturally, the Opera House and the Town Clock were a common theme, but they weren't everyone's choice.

We've put their drawings wherever there is empty space. If you come in for pie, be sure to look at Main Street from a third grader's viewpoint.

09/08/2026

If you missed our program in August, we're happy it will be reprised at the library.

Two weeks from tonight!

Please join us as we remember Norway’s early history and honor the Revolutionary War veterans whose courage and service helped shape both our country and the beginnings of Norway.

Presenters: Brad Cummings and Dennis Gray of Norway Historical Society

Program Highlights include early land grants and purchases, veterans who settled in Norway, graves in local cemeteries, and place names recognizable today. There will be a “guess the weight of the cannonball” contest for a chance to win a copy of Woody Holton’s book, “Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution.” The cannonball, believed to be from The Battle of Bunker Hill is now a Norway Museum and Historical Society collection item and will be on exhibit at the Norway Memorial Library in September and October along with other early Norway artifacts.

09/06/2026

This is one of a several special programs leading up to the exhibit of the Dunlap Broadside at Norway Memorial Library in October.

Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Meaning: The Declaration of Independence 1776-2026

A Discussion of "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written" by Walter Isaacson

Facilitated by Ashley Towle, PhD, Professor of History and Women & Gender Studies, University of Southern Maine

Thursday, October 1, 2026 from 6:30-8:00 pm

Isaacson’s 80-page book focuses some of the most famous lines in American history, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” and how they’ve endured and evolved since 1776. The book aims to inspire reflection on shared values and to frame the 250th anniversary of our Nation as a celebration of unity.

The first 30 registrants will receive a free copy and custom discussion guide. This program is supported by a grant from the Maine Public Library Fund

08/29/2026

It will be pie time in two weeks.

The Norway Maine Arts Festival is Saturday, Sept. 12 and that means our Marigold Tea Room will be open from 10 am to 2 pm. Our annual fundraiser will offer a slice of homemade pie, a scoop of ice cream and a cold drink for $5. Stop by our meeting room to sit awhile and have a treat!

08/21/2026

We are still working on the mystery of the lions-head violin. This photo was taken during Norway's bicentennial parade in 1986. Can anyone tell us who this gentleman is?

08/18/2026

Our next program is right around the corner! Join us for a trip back in time to Colonial Otisfield!

08/04/2026

Did you know that a number of Revolutionary War veterans settled in Norway? There are some fine old Norway names among them - Pike, Hobbs, Upton, Shedd & Ames, for example. We'll talk about some of them in our program next Tuesday the 11th. Please join us in our meeting room at 7 pm.

07/22/2026

Following up on our July 20 post about the lion’s head violin/fiddle, the mystery deepens a little. In addition to the reprinted photos of Mellie & Emma Dunham that were tucked into the violin case, there was another negative, also in a Lensdale Studio envelope.

We scanned it into a digital photo and here it is. This gentleman appears to be a World War II-era soldier, posing for a formal portrait. We have no idea who he is. Do you? Why is his negative with Mellie & Emma? Is this your father/grandfather?