Oxford County Bicentennial 1805-2005
|
Oxford
County 2005
Larry
Glatz, Chairman
P.O. Box 172
Norway, ME 04268
207-583-4549
oxco2005@prexar.com
Plans
are underway
for the celebration of Oxford County's Bicentennial in 2005.
Events are being coordinated through "Oxford County 2005," which is
operating under the auspices of the Oxford County League of Historical
Societies and is directly sponsored by the Paris Cape Historical
Society.
Oxford
County, Maine, will celebrate its bicentennial in 2005. The
commemoration will involve several large, county-wide events, as well
as more specifically local events in various towns and under the
auspices of various cultural and social organizations. In
addition, we understand that a number of Oxford County businesses will
take advantage of the bicentennial to promote the county as a
destination and to highlight the contributions of Oxford County to the
economy and development of the state.
The three principal events will be:
A Trail
Ride
from Beacon Hill in
Boston to Paris Hill in Oxford County to reenact the delivery of the
original county documents from the state capitol (then in Boston) to
the county seat. Within the county, a series of couriers on
horseback
will become a part of a living history lesson, as they make stops at
each of the twenty-four fourth grades in the county. More
information.
|
| A Grand
Celebration
on Paris Hill, to
be held on Saturday, June 11, from dawn until 4 pm. The event
will
include a parade, live music, colonial reenactments, historical talks,
activities for children, and displays from a large number of the
county's historical societies and other cultural organizations. More information. |
| A county-wide
tour
of the Oxford
County Bicentennial Quilt, created from
squares contributed by
craftspeople from thirty-four towns, two plantations, and two of the
unincorporated townships. More
information. |
In addition to these three major
events, the following complementary activities are already planned,
with others to be added as the year progresses:
- The county itself will issue a special bicentennial commemorative
booklet.
- SAD 43 (Rumford, Mexico, Byron, Roxbury) will conduct a "History
Fest" for all elementary schools in the district on May 24, at
Riverside Park in Mexico.
- Both Stephens Memorial Hospital and Rumford Hospital will
commemorate the birth of each baby during the bicentennial year with a
special "Bicentennial Baby Certificate."
- The Maine Historical Society will publish a special Oxford County
Bicentennial issue of its quarterly journal, Maine History.
- The Oxford County delegation and other interested legislators
will sponsor an Oxford County Day at the state capitol.
- Local historical societies, libraries, and other community
organizations will sponsor a variety of unique local events.
Calendar of 2005
Bicentennial Events
Scheduled to Date
March 4
|
Trail
Ride begins at Massachusetts State House, Beacon Hill, Boston, 10
am. More information
|
| March 4 -
May 3 |
Additional
Trail Ride legs are to be completed in Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
and in York County, Maine. |
| March 5 |
Unveiling
and dedication of the Bicentennial Quilt. County Commissioners'
Chambers, South Paris, 9 am. |
March 28
|
Viewing of the Bicentennial
Quilt at the Woodstock Town Meeting; Woodstock Elementary School, 6 pm.
till close of business. (Contact Olive Risko, Woodstock
Historical Society, 665-2909) |
March 29-30
|
Viewing of the Bicentennial
Quilt at the Woodstock Town Office during regular business hours.
(Contact Olive Risko, Woodstock Historical Society, 665-2909)
|
April 13
|
Viewing of the Bicentennial
Quilt, Otisfield Historical Society, Otisfield Town Office, 7 pm.
|
April 17
|
Annual
Hartford Patriots' Day Event will feature
the Bicentennial Quilt, Town Office, Hartford. (Contact Lorraine
Parsons, 597-2274) |
| May 3 |
Viewing of
the Bicentennial Quilt at the Fryeburg Historical Society.
(Contact Nancy Ray, 935-4192) |
| May 4 -
June 11 |
School to
School Trail Ride. (Contact Larry Glatz,
trail ride coordinators, or individual schools for schedule.) |
| June 11 |
Grand
Celebration on Paris Hill. Equestrian procession
begins at the county buildings at 10 am. Official parade begins
just
below the country club, Paris Hill Road, about 10:45 am. Keynote
address at the Baptist Church, 11 am. Encampment of colonial
reenactors, from sunrise until 4 pm. Historical society exhibits
from
10 am to 4 pm. Final drill, muster, and musket salute, 3:30
pm.
(Contact Cynthia Burmeister, 743-8323; or Larry Glatz, 583-4549) |
June 16-17
|
Display of the Bicentennial
Quilt at Hebron Town Office
|
| July 9 |
Waterford
Historical Society. Display of the Bicentennial Quilt.
(Contact Cynthia Hamlin, 583-6597)
|
July 12-17
|
Display of the Bicentennial
Quilt at the Brownfield Historical Society, Brownfield Village.
(Contact society president Judy McKinney for
hours: 935-4466) |
July 18-22
|
Display of the Bicentennial
Quilt at Norway Library (days)
|
July 20
|
Display of the Bicentennial
Quilt at Norway Historical Society, 6-9 pm.
|
| August 12-14 |
Sudbury
Canada Days, Bethel. Display of the
Bicentennial Quilt at the Bethel Historical Society, Bethel. (1
to 4 pm each day; contact
Stan Howe, 824-2908) |
August 21
|
Viewing of the Bicentennial
Quilt at Dixfield Open Market Day, Dixfield Museum House, Main Street,
9 am - 3 pm. |
| September
3, 4, 5 |
Parsonsfield-Porter
Historical Society. Display
of the Bicentennial Quilt. (Contact Sylvia Wilson, 625-4038) |
| October 2-9 |
Fryeburg
Fair, display of the Bicentennial Quilt. |
Principal
Events
Oxford County Bicentennial
Trail Ride
March 4 – June 11, 2005
Bicentennial Hiker Gardner Waldeier at the Parsonsfield-Porter Covered
Bridge
Oxford County was formed in 1805. The news of this event began in
the halls of the state capitol, which was then in Boston. And it
ended at the new county seat, atop beautiful Paris Hill in western
Maine. In those days, such news would have traveled by
horseback. Therefore, in 2005, Oxford County will commemorate its
bicentennial by reenacting the ride from Maine's original state capitol
in Boston, to the site of the first Oxford County buildings on Paris
Hill. The trip will begin on Friday, March 4, 2005, which is the
200th anniversary of the county's formation by an act of the
Massachusetts legislature. On that day, the governor of
Massachusetts will issue a proclamation. This document, along
with copies of original papers and documents relating to the formation
of the county, will be handed to a mounted Boston Park Ranger, who will
start them on their way back to Maine.
The event will end three months later, on Saturday, June 11. It
was on that day, two hundred years ago, that the county officials held
their first official meeting on Paris Hill. Because county
offices had not yet been constructed, this first meeting was held at
the Baptist Church, which stood on the site as its 1838 replacement,
which still exists today.
While traveling through Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the riders
will visit several sites with connections to Oxford County's
history. These include the Longfellow House in Cambridge, the
Andover (Mass.) Historical Society, and the John Greenleaf Whittier
birthplace in Haverhill. Each of these historic sites has
connections to Oxford County: Longfellow spent summers with his
Wadsworth grandparents in Hiram; General Joseph Frye, the original
proprietor of Fryeburg, was a native of Andover; and Whittier
vacationed in Bethel.
When the riders enter the county in Porter, they will begin a series of
visits to each and every fourth grade class in the county—all
twenty-four of them. Since fourth grade is the level at which
local and state history is studied, the rider will become a part of a
real-life history lesson at each school. Teachers have been
provided with background materials on the history and culture of the
county, so that the students can be prepared for the events of their
special day. In a number of towns, the local historical society
or library may also coordinate activities with the arrival of the
bicentennial trail rider. In at least one school district (SAD
43: Rumford, Mexico, Byron, and Roxbury), all of the area schools will
assemble for a grand all-day "history-fest" to celebrate the courier's
visit.
Trail
riders Colleen Hoyt (left) and Linda Prentice bring news of the
Oxford County Bicentennial to
the Denmark Elementary School
At most of the schools, the rider will leave the historic county
documents with the children for safekeeping overnight; and on the
following day, a new rider will arrive to carry them on to the next
school.
Finally, on Saturday, June 11, all of the bicentennial trail riders
will join together at the Oxford County Courthouse in South Paris at 10
am. From there, they will complete their historic delivery with a
parade up to the Grand Oxford County Bicentennial Celebration on Paris
Hill.
To read some of the official
press releases about this event as it happens, click here.
Back to principal events
Grand Bicentennial
Celebration
Saturday, June 11, 2005 — Paris Hill, Maine
Saturday, June 11, 2005, marks the 200th anniversary of the first
meeting of the officials of Oxford County. No county buildings
existed at the time, so this first session was held in the Baptist
Church on Paris Hill. The county offices remained on Paris Hill
until 1895, when they were moved to the more developed area near the
train station in South Paris. At that time, the residents were
disappointed to lose their status as the seat of government. But
in hindsight, the removal of this activity to the town's commercial
center saved Paris Hill from much further development and preserved it
as the beautiful village on the green which it is today. The
Paris Hill community is now an "historic district" listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
And it is the site of the Grand
Bicentennial Celebration to be held on Saturday, June 11.
To celebrate the bicentennial of Oxford County, the "loss" of county
activity for Paris Hill will be reversed. On June 11, a grand equestrian procession will begin at
the present county courthouse in South Paris, and it will parade back
up Hill Street—and back through history—to the village green on Paris
Hill.
The procession will begin in South Paris at 10 am, and it will arrive
on Paris Hill about an hour later. During the final half-mile, it
will be joined by the Mahoosuc Community Band, a group of colonial
reenactors, and local citizens dressed in period costume. As the
parade reaches the church at about 11 o'clock, important speakers will deliver
brief, but memorable remarks; and an historic marker will be unveiled.
The entire day on Paris Hill will consist of one grand bicentennial
celebration. Live music
will be provided, not only by the Mahoosuc Community Band and other
Oxford County performers. Each of the county's numerous historical societies, along with a
number of other area cultural organizations, will have displays.
A commemorative postal cancellation
is also planned.
The Bicentennial Quilt will be
on view. This remarkable tapestry includes squares contributed by
every one of the county's towns and plantations, as well as a number of
its unincorporated townships. The panels display every
conceivable style and method of design, and each one depicts features
unique to the locality it represents.
A number of historic buildings on
the hill will host bicentennial events on that day. These
include, of course, the Baptist Church, as well as the Paris Hill
Academy building, and the Hamlin Memorial Library, which is located in
the curious and unique old granite county jailhouse.
Talks on the history and culture
of the county will be offered by three noted authorities: Maine
State Historian Earle Shettleworth, Professor Martha McNamara of the
University of Maine, and State Rep. Herb Adams of Portland.
A number of events are designed especially for younger audiences. These
include Abenaki story-telling, a visitation of notable spirits from the
local cemetery, and an interview with Hannibal Hamlin and his puppet
friend, Abraham Lincoln.
From as early as sunrise, until as late as 4 pm, the public is invited
to wander on the green through the encampment of colonialists.
These period reenactors will demonstrate a variety of early skills and crafts. They
will welcome modern-day visitors into their early American world, and
many will offer the products of their labor for sale. Toward the
end of the afternoon, a number of them will form into a militia company
and present a typical period muster and drill. The celebration
will end with volleys of musket fire
into the late afternoon sky.
Back to principal events
Oxford County Bicentennial
Quilt
A Historic Challenge: How to bring together the people of
an area as large and diverse as Oxford County, Maine, to commemorate
the county's bicentennial?
A Marvelous Solution: Call on volunteers from all of the
county's towns, plantations, and townships to create a tapestry which
represents the county as a whole by honoring each of its many member
communities.
The Result: The Oxford County Bicentennial Quilt has been
completed! It will be unveiled in the chambers of the County
Commissioners on Saturday, March 5, 2005, at 9 am.
The
project required many months of planning and coordination. It
involved craftspeople from every one of Oxford County's thirty-four
towns and two plantations, as well as from two of its unorganized
townships.
Dozens of volunteers in each of Oxford County's towns and plantations
worked to complete squares for the Bicentennial Quilt.
Eventually, squares from thirty-nine localities were contributed.
One larger square to represent the county itself, and one final square
to represent the northern unincorporated townships, completed the
whole. These were then sewn into a single patchwork design almost
seven feet square. A team of stitchers gathered to baste the
assembled tapestry onto its backing. And the whole quilt was then
meticulously finished by Project Coordinator Barbara Swan Frost of
South Paris.
After its unveiling on March 5, the
quilt will go on the road and tour
a number of locations throughout the county during the course of the
Bicentennial year. Finally, it will be permanently installed in
the chambers of the Oxford County Commissioners, where this remarkable
work will be on view for generations of citizens to admire.
Check with your local historical society, on the county's offical web
page (www.oxfordcounty.org) or on this web page to see when the quilt
will be on display in your area. The places and dates currently
scheduled are:
County Commissioners' Chambers, March 5; Woodstock Elementery School,
March 28; Woodstock Town Office, March 29-30; Baptist Church, Paris
Hill,
June 11; Otisfield Town Office, April 13; Hartford
Town
Hall, April 17; Fryeburg Historical Society, May 3; Hebron Town Office,
June 16-17; Waterford Historical Society,
July 9; Brownfield Historical Society, July 12-17; Norway Library, July
18-22 (days); Norway Historical Society; July 20 (6-9 pm); Bethel
Historical Society,
August
12-14; Dixfield Museum House, August 21; Parsonsfield-Porter Historical
Society, Labor Day Weekend; Fryeburg Fair, October 2-9
Back to principal events
Bears,
Bears, and More Bears
About
the Bicentennial Logos
The Oxford County Bicentennial mascot is
the "Oxford Bear." Why a bear? Because it's
noticeable. Because it's friendly. But most importantly,
because it's an
important part of
Oxford County's history, and the county's bicentennial provides
a unique and wonderful opportunity to bring it out of its long
hibernation.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, people
from Oxford County were known throughout the region and the state as
"Oxford Bears."
The term began as an insult. In
the early 1800s, newspaper editors from wealthier mercantile centers
along the coast described Oxford County as a "benighted region," whose
farmers and loggers were unfit for governing. The city-dwellers
satirized the rural yeomen as "backwoods bears" whose "huge paws" were
suited to the plough—not to the pen.
But the insult backfired. The people of
Oxford
County almost immediately adopted the "backwoods bear" as their own
favorite image of themselves. They began writing letters to the
editor signed with the likes of "Huge Paws," "An Oxford Bear," and
"With a Big Bear Hug." Eventually the term was adopted by local
debating societies, by fire-fighting companies, by athletic teams, and,
of course, by several generations of politicians.
In the late 1800s, a formal society of Oxford Bears was formed and held
conventions for several years running. Hannibal Hamlin, proud to
be known as an Oxford Bear himself, was the keynote speaker at one such
meeting.
An upcoming issue of
Maine History,
the Maine Historical Society's quarterly, will feature a detailed
article on the history of the "Oxford Bear."
The Oxford Bear bicentennial logos shown here were both adapted by
local Norway artist Pat Chandler from earlier historical sources.
The simple oval design is borrowed from an image which appeared in many
variations over the years. The more detailed bear on the cliff
was adapted from an 1888 promotional flyer for the
Oxford County Advertiser (now known
as the
Advertiser-Democrat).
In the original etching, the word "Advertiser" appeared instead of
"Bicentennial;" and of course, the 1805 - 2005 dates did not
appear. However, in almost all other aspects, the two images are
identical.
These logos were developed for public use during the
bicentennial. As a result, libraries, historical societies,
businesses, or any other organizations may freely use them.
Formal permission is not required.
Oxford
County 2005
Larry
Glatz, Chairman
P.O. Box 172
Norway, ME 04268
207-583-4549
oxco2005@prexar.com
Overall Coordinator: Larry Glatz,
743-0443; 583-4549;
oxco2005@prexar.com
Bicentennial Commemorative Booklet: County Commissioners. (Carole
Mahoney, 743-6359)
Bicentennial Celebration Day, Paris Hill. (Contact Cynthia
Burmeister, 743-8323)
Bicentennial Quilt Project Coordinator: Barbara Swan Frost (743-8337)
Stephens Hospital Bicentennial Baby Certificate. (Contact Tracey
Geary, 743-5933, ext 777)
Rumford Hosptial Bicentennial Baby Certificate. (Contact Jane
Bubar, 369-1143)
McCaffrey's Creek Colonial Reenactors. (Contact Gustav Konitzky,
677-2901)
The Oxford County Bicentennial
Celebration is made possible
by a generous grant from the Norway Savings Bank.
