New Gloucester Historical Society

Here we are, the 1^st week in January 2025!

What a special year 2024 was, celebrating the 250^th year of the incorporation of the Town of New Gloucester. The New Gloucester Semiquincentennial Committee held great events, including a parade from Lower Village to New Gloucester Fairgrounds and ending the year with the Wreaths Across America convoy making a stop at the New Gloucester Veterans Monument. Thanks to all that helped make 2024 a special year for our community!

Now the Historical Society is planning 2025. Our Annual Meeting will be held on

January 18, 2025, at the Meetinghouse at 9:00 A.M. At this meeting we will review

2024 and plan 2025 events and projects, so hopefully there will be good attendance.

Please note, the meeting is open to the public, but only members can vote.

President Beverly Cadigan will be leading the setup of the next History Barn special exhibit. This exhibit is going to cover an important part of New Gloucester’s history and will be opening in either May or June of 2025.

The History Barn and Meetinghouse Archives are open the 1^st Saturday of each month from 9:00 A.M. to noon. Please stop by and see the wonderful collection of the New Gloucester Historical Society.

The Society has New Gloucester – Images of America by New Gloucester Historical Society curator Tom Blake, 2025 Historical Society Calendars, and still has some of the limited edition 2024 New Gloucester 250 commemorative coins, all of which can be purchased at the History Barn.

We also need to start the planning for a special event and celebration for July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Meetings of the Historical Society are open to the public and are held on the third Thursday of the month at the New Gloucester Meetinghouse on Intervale Road (next to the Town Hall) at 7:00 P.M.

If you are interested in the history of New Gloucester, please consider becoming a

member of the New Gloucester Historical Society to assist with projects and new

exhibits for 2025 and to help gather and preserve New Gloucester history.

Here are some of the Historical Society’s annual community events:

Strawberry Festive in June
4^th of July reading of the Declaration of Independence
Avis’s Apple Pie Sale
The Lighting of the Lower Village Christmas Tree “Tiny Timber”

Please click here for the New Gloucester Historical Society Membership Form.

History Information

The New Gloucester Historical Society maintains an archive of books, biographical and genealogical information, manuscripts, journals, and photographs pertaining to the history of New Gloucester, its residents, government, organizations, and architecture. In addition, the Historical Society owns and maintains the History Barn, which is open the 1^st Saturday each month from 9:00 A.M. to noon, where they display many artifacts relating to New Gloucester's past, and owns and maintains the Blockhouse site at 70 Gloucester Hill Road.

If you have questions about New Gloucester history or genealogy, or items to donate to the collections, please contact our Librarian/Archivist Linda Gard at linda.gard30@gmail.com or Curator Tom Blake at tsiblake@yahoo.com.

If you would like to receive quarterly email updates and occasional special notices, please email Beverly Cadigan at bjtc4ngmhs@gmail.com.

The New Gloucester Historical Society is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax deductible. If you would like to donate, please make checks payable to the New Gloucester Maine Historical Society and mail it to the New Gloucester Historical Society at PO Box 531, New Gloucester, Maine 04260.