Vanceboro, Maine Historical Society

08/30/2026

So many comments on this beautiful video from people wondering why Vanceboro exists with so few people. Why is there a border here? We've encouraged them to check VHS out and learn what makes this town so unique.

08/12/2026

The Maine Historical Society is touring its rare 1776 Dunlap copy of the Declaration of Independence to each of Maine's 16 counties this summer and fall. The Tides Institute in Eastport is the site for Washington County and the Dunlap copy will be exhibited on the first floor of the main building on Friday, August 28, 10 am - 6 pm and Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. Following the closing of the exhibition, at 4 pm on Saturday, August 29 there will be brief remarks in front of the main building by Steve Bromage, director of the Maine Historical Society and by Donald Soctomah, Passsamaquoddy historic preservation officer. Then there will be short talk at the same location by historian Liam Riordan of the University of Maine on the Dunlap broadside. Complete details for the exhibition and related events can be found at the Tides Institute & Museum of Art website: https://www.tidesinstitute.org/declaration-of-independence-exhibition-programming-august-27-29/.

08/04/2026

On Saturday, we celebrated a milestone in the preservation of the region's railway heritage with the official dedication of the MacDonald Railroad Museum, named in honor of Gene and Elaine MacDonald, who donated the building and its contents to the historical society.

Unfortunately Gene and Elaine could not be with us, but VHS board member Mary McAleney read Gene's prepared remarks. "The railroad was never simply an employer," he wrote. "It was the heartbeat of Vanceboro. It shaped our economy, our friendships, and our way of life."

During the celebration, we recognized Colonel (Ret.) Herbert "Bill" Vernon, recipient of the 2025 Legendary Game Warden of the Year Award, in honor of his dedication to the Maine Warden Service and the state of Maine. Colonel Vernon was born in Vanceboro and began his long and distinguished career in 1958.

We also presented the Boston Post Cane to Eleanor Dyer, recognizing her as Vanceboro's oldest resident.

We are so grateful to all the wonderful community volunteers that made this day happen. Thank you to Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust and Maine Community Foundation for the funds to move and renovate the building, support the development of the collection and the gathering of more than 80 people.

Enjoy these few photos of the event. There will be many more to come. And we invite you to post your photos below. We will collect and preserve them for the museum.

We leave you here, with Gene's parting words: "History is not made by famous people alone. It is made by ordinary people who worked hard, cared for one another, and left behind a community worth remembering."

08/01/2026

Please join us today at 12 noon, as we celebrate the opening of the MacDonald Railroad Museum!

07/26/2026

Developing the MacDonald Railroad museum has been full of surprises. Thank you to Vanceboro residents and former Vermont auctioneers, Bill McGowen and Kit Martin, for this amazing donation of an 1874 original illustration: The caption reads: "The customs house on the Canada line--customs' officers searching baggage on the arrival of the New Brunswick train at Vanceboro, Maine -- sketched by Joseph Becker." Published in Frank Leslie's Ilustrated Newspaper, one of the major American pictorial weeklies of the 19th century.

We have a black and white copy of this illustration as reprinted in the Shepherdstown Editor Register, Shepherdstown, WV, April 1, 1895. To have the original is such a gift. Please join us at 12pm on Aug 1, this coming Saturday, for the museum opening and a chance to see this wonderful artifact.

07/14/2026

History of Maine Central Railroad, hope some of your members can join us.

August 1st, please join us as we celebrate the opening of the MacDonald Railroad Museum. Dedication and remarks by Gene MacDonald at 12:30, then lunch and community awards to Legendary Game of the Year, Bill Vernon, and Boston Post Cane Recipient Eleanor Dyer. There will be cake! Maine Central Railroad Historical Society

07/14/2026

August 1st, please join us as we celebrate the opening of the MacDonald Railroad Museum. Dedication and remarks by Gene MacDonald at 12:30, then lunch and community awards to Legendary Game of the Year, Bill Vernon, and Boston Post Cane Recipient Eleanor Dyer. There will be cake! Maine Central Railroad Historical Society

07/04/2026

Happy Fourth of July! If you want to know what Vanceboro looked and felt like during its heyday, imagine spending the Fourth here in 1927. This is more than a record of a holiday. It is a reminder of what Vanceboro once was and of the energy, generosity, and cross-border neighborliness that still defines community life here.

Fourth of July Number 1, Florine Stettheimer, 1927 If you want to know what Vanceboro looked and felt like during its heyday, imagine spending the Fourth of July here in 1927. Reported as a special…

06/27/2026

One of the artifacts in our railroad collection is this 1937 children's book that takes young readers on a tour of the railroad world. The beautiful watercolor images are painted by Otto Kuhler, one of America's foremost railroad artists and industrial designers, responsible for streamlined locomotive designs in the 1930s.

06/11/2026

The MacDonald Railroad Museum project is rooted in the community's deep pride in a largely overlooked chapter of railroad history. Please mark your calendars and join us for the official dedication of the museum on Saturday, August 1st. Our latest newsletter explores Vanceboro's relationship to the railroad and how a small border town became a vital international gateway. https://vanceborohistorical.org/newsletters/