| 1966 |
Society
founded at a
meeting held in the Bethel Public Library |
| 1969 |
Death
of Society
founder Eva
M.
Bean, author of 1959 work East Bethel Road |
| 1971 |
Bethel
Historical Society Incorporated |
| 1972 |
Dr. Moses
Mason
House entered on the National
Register of Historic Places |
| 1972-73 |
Dr.
Moses
Mason
House restored by the William Bingham II Trust for Charity |
| 1974 |
Dr. Moses
Mason
House given to the Society, dedicated, furnished and opened to the
public |
| 1975 |
First
annual Heritage Day held Microfilming of old newspapers project begun with the support of the Maine State Commission on the Arts and Humanities Society awarded Certificate of Commendation by the American Association for State and Local History for "an effective program of preservation, publications, and education" |
| 1976 |
Society
sponsors "Old Fashion Fourth" in honor of nation's bicentennial
observance Eva Bean Research Room dedicated during tenth anniversary festivities Historical marker system initiated; first one placed at Bartlett Cemetery Annual professional audit system established Made in Bethel booklet published |
| 1977 |
Society offers
courses in history, genealogy, and crafts for the first time
Society hosts volunteer workshop sponsored by the American Association of Museums First Dr. Moses Mason Award given for best student historical essay Broad Street named to the National Register Bethel's Broad Street booklet published |
| 1978 |
Constitution
revised to add trustees and define other positions
Broad Street Historic District dedicated by Senator Edmund S. Muskie Society receives news of endowment of $250,000 from William Bingham II Trust for Charity to be received over the next five years |
| 1979 |
Society Cookbook published
Annual endowment campaign begun Historical Society calendar available for the first time |
| 1980 |
Society
sponsors Oxford County Historic Resource Survey with grant from the
Maine Historic Preservation Commission
First "Sudbury Canada Days" held A. D. Shattuck's "Sunset at Bethel" on exhibit, loaned by Vassar College Society Director attends Seminar for Historical Administration at Colonial Williamsburg Society membership reaches 400 Faye Taylor Memorial Art Show established Dr. Moses Mason Birthday party held for first time Philbrook summer house moved to the Society grounds |
| 1981 |
First film
series held with the support of the Maine Humanities Council
Indian Raid '81 bicentennial and Indian Raid special edition published New editions of Molly Ockett and Dr. Moses Mason and His House booklets published Reprinting of Lapham's 1891 History of Bethel, Maine by the Society and the New England History Press Summer house stationery offered for the first time |
| 1982 |
Gift of
Twitchell folk art portraits to the Society Adoption of personnel, accession and de-accession policies Museum Assessment Program grant Gift of R. P. Tolman's portrait of Dr. Moses Mason |
| 1983 |
Society loans
Dr. Mason portrait and other artifacts to the "Maine
at Statehood" exhibit at Bowdoin College, Colby
College, and other locations throughout the State |
| 1984 |
"Grass Roots"
history course offered to Telstar High School students for first time
1880 Atlas of Oxford County maps of Bethel reprinted "Adams Chronicles" film series Exhibits: "Twitchell Portraits"; " Martha Fifield Wilkins" |
| 1985 |
Publication
of Thomas C. Hubka's Big House,
Little House, Back House, Barn: The
Connected Farm Buildings of New England, which includes
several
Bethel Historical Society photographs
Museum Assessment Grant II awarded Publication of Chester Harding catalog by the National Portrait Gallery containing photographs of the Mason portraits Exhibits: "Maine at Statehood"; "A Good Stand of Buildings"; "Early Peoples of Northern Maine"; "William Rogers Chapman, 1855-1935" Conference on Rural Reform hosted by the Society Society membership tops 600 |
| 1986 |
Publication
of a new and expanded edition of Eva Bean's 1959 book, East Bethel Road
Long-Range Planning Committee formed Railroad stationery offered for first time Revised Society brochure published Second reprinting of Lapham's 1891 History of Bethel, Maine Eight honorary members added to Society rolls |
| 1987 |
Bequest
received to establish Austin F. Twitchell Fund to benefit collections
Marjorie MacArthur Noll Volunteer Service Award established; Floribel Haines is first recipient Publication by the Society of Oxford County, Maine: A Guide to Its Historic Architecture by Society curator Randall H. Bennett Society sponsors oral history workshop with Northeast Folklore Archives of the University of Maine Society receives Harry W. Rowe Award from Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums for "an outstanding contribution to state and local history" Society receives a Preservation Award from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission Society membership now over 700 |
| 1988 |
Microfilm of fifty years
of the Norway Advertiser-Democrat
added to Society collections Sudie Vachon receives Marjorie MacArthur Noll Volunteer Service Award Society membership tops 800 |
| 1989 |
Microfilm
cabinet donated to the Society in honor of E. Louise Lincoln by her
family
Seven honorary members added to Society rolls Society sponsors Norumbega project with the Bethel Library Barbara Herrick Brown receives Marjorie MacArthur Noll Volunteer Service Award Society publishes Bethel, Maine, Cemeteries book |
| 1990 |
Persis Post
receives Marjorie MacArthur Noll Volunteer Service Award |
| 1991 |
Society
membership over 900
Constitution and By-Laws revised Updated edition of Molly Ockett booklet published Helen Morton receives Marjorie MacArthur Noll Volunteer Service Award Publication of Randall H. Bennett's Bethel, Maine: An Illustrated History |
| 1992 |
First Hall
Memorial Lecture held featuring Sarah McMahon of Bowdoin College
Margaret Herrick Oakes Book Fund established with $1,000 bequest from her estate Friends and relatives of Agnes H. Haines establish fund in her memory to purchase local history and genealogical books and related resources Society commended by the American Association for State and Local History for "an outstanding record of publication in local and regional history" Elizabeth Mason Carter receives Noll Volunteer Service Award |
| 1993 |
Kilgore
family reunion held at the Dr. Moses Mason House
Society receives challenge grant from the Bingham Betterment Fund to publish a book on the history of the Richardson Lakes region Society membership exceeds 1000 Annual Fund Campaign established by Board of Trustees Society sponsors Preservation Award for first time, recognizing the restoration of the Civil War soldier's monument fence and the Middle Intervale Meetinghouse First Fourth of July brass band concert and community picnic held on the grounds of the Dr. Moses Mason House Rosalind Rowe Chapman receives Noll Volunteer Service Award New walking and driving tour brochures published |
| 1994 |
Three
honorary members added to the Society rolls by the Board of Trustees:
Olive Anderson, Rosalind Chapman, and Rodney Howe
Society trustees approve the concept of another museum building on the grounds of the Dr. Moses Mason House for exhibition, research, and storage of collections |
| 1995 |
Society
publishes major history of the Rangeley Lakes region, The Richardson
Lakes: Jewels in the Rangeley Chain, by Herbert Shirrefs
Society celebrates centenary of founder Eva M. Bean Exhibit, "China: Exploring the Interior, 1903-04" 30th Annual Meeting held Noll Award for Volunteer Service to Rodney & Geraldine Howe |
| 1996 |
Gift of scale
model of Bethel's Grand Trunk Railroad Station from Jim and Linda Auman Bethel Bicentennial program and exhibits Noll Award for Volunteer Service to Donald & Arlene Brown Preservation Award to Scott Oldakowski, Pat Thurston, and Bethel Rotary |
| 1997 |
Grant from
Exxon for purchase of computer hardware for Society office Bequest from estate of Olive A. Head to establish Paul and Olive Head Educational Fund Preservation Award presented to John and Janet Todd Launching of $900,000 Capital Campaign for additional museum facilities Society hosts American Association for State and Local History regional workshop Exhibit: "Good Things Come in Small Packages" Noll Volunteer Service Award to Richard and Jane Hosterman |
| 1998 |
Grant from Exxon for
video
equipment
Exhibits: "The Mount Zircon Moon Tide Spring"; "The Way Life Should Be: Tourism, Romance, and Reality in Early Modern Maine" Bethel Historical Society web site established Preservation Award presented to the Alpine House (Thomas and Rebecca Zicarelli) Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Edna York |
| 1999 |
Official opening of the
O'Neil Robinson House as a Society
museum property (3 June) Exhibits: "From Mansion to Museum: The Robinson House Story"; "John Francis Sprague: Disseminating Maine History in the Early Twentieth Century" Exxon grant for exhibit display case Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Willard and Sylvia Wight Preservation Awards to Elmvale Cemetery (Waterford), Naimey Block (Carl Glidden, owner), and Bethel Inn Capital Campaign raises over $350,000 from over 200 donors |
| 2000 |
Concept plan for renovating the Robinson House as a museum facility approved by Board of Trustees "Scenery of the White Mountains" exhibit "Bethel: A Historic Town" exhibit Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Ranald and Sarah Stevens Preservation Awards to Bethel Opera House, Hall House (George and Danna Nickerson), and Whitman Library Dr. Moses Mason House is listed as an "Editors' Pick" in the 2000 Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide to New England |
| 2001 |
Reading and discussion
course in Maine History Special commemoration of 150th anniversary of the arrival of railroad service to Bethel (March 10) at historic "Potato John" Barn, Railroad Street Exhibit and gallery talk by Pat Stewart, "Light Years Ago: The Art and Science of the Kerosene Lamp" Exhibits: "A Sampling of Winter Recreation in the Bethel Area"; "All Aboard! 150 Years of Railroading from the Atlantic to the St. Lawrence" Sunday River Valley House Tour & Luncheon Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Mary C. Keniston Preservation Awards to Scott and Jenna Smith (Wiley Block), and Bethel Methodist Church |
| 2002 | Capital Campaign
fund-raising total nears $600,000 Exhibits: "Plants and Animals in Peril: Maine's Endangered Species"; "Signs of the Times" Five-session Spring course in White Mountain history Restoration of Sunday River snowroller completed Hall Lecture by Joseph A. Conforti, "From Yankee Doodle to Yankee Go Home: The Odyssey of a Regional Character" Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Margaret Davis |
| 2003 |
Capital
Campaign fund-raising total nears $630,000 Winter course: "Four Centuries of New England History" Exhibit: "Stepping Toward Middle Ground for Maine's Woods" Hall Lecture by Allan R. Whitmore, Ph.D., "Ellsworth's George Washington Madox (1821-1882) and This Down-East Democrat's Surprising Linkage of Know-Nothing Nativism to radical Feminism and Marxism" Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Mary E. Valentine Fall course "Wood and Woods: Logging and Landscape in Northern New England" |
| 2004 |
Capital
Campaign fund-raising total nears $670,000 Spring course: "Four Centuries of Canada and Northern New England History" Exhibits: "Molly Ockett and Her World"; "The Martin Collection of Maine Minerals" Hall Lecture by Elizabeth De Wolfe, "Fighting Pious Frauds and Base Deceptions; Anti-Shakerism in New England" Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Avery Angevine Fall course: "Indian New England" |
| 2005 |
Capital
Campaign fund-raising total nears $700,000 Spring course on Maine Agriculture Re-creation of 1850s Antiquarian Supper Special Lectures Honoring Oxford County's 200th Anniversary Exhibit: "Newry at 200: A Bicentennial Glimpse" Hall Lecture by Bunny McBride, "Molly Ockett and other Wabanaki Women Healers" Smithsonian Exhibit: "Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon" Fall Barn Tour and Lecture Series in Conjunction with "Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon" Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Mabel A. and Alden T. Kennett |
| 2006 |
Spring course: "Maine
and the
Civil War" Special events honoring the 40th anniversary of the Society's founding in 1966 Exhibits: "The Bethel Historical Society: Our First 40 Years"; "Cohen, Congress, and Controversy: Rediscovering Civics in the Archives," co-hosted with the Gilead Historical Society House Tour of nine Bethel homes Yankee Brass Band Concert Hall Lecture by David H. Watters, "New England's Legacy: Memory and Identity in an American Region" Fall course: "Antiques and Collectibles" Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Judy and Colwyn Haskell |
| 2007 |
Spring course in
genealogical methods and sources Exhibits: "A River's Journey: The Story of the Androscoggin"; "Documenting the Native American Experience: Selections from the Charles Huntoon Collection"; "Among Our White Mountain Souvenirs" Hall Lecture by Vandall King on the history of the Bumpus Mine in Albany, Maine Noll Volunteer Service Award presented to Adaline Clough Fall tour of historic barns in and near Bethel in conjunction with Chamber of Commerce's "Harvest Fest" "Valuation Day" with antiques authority Jay Boschetti Society completes MAP Governance Assessment program sponsored by the American Association of Museums |
| 2008 | Spring course, "Topics in
New England History" Exhibit: "To Improve the Farmer's Lot: The Grange in Maine" Hall Lecture by Donna Cassidy of USM on Marsden Hartley Noll Volunteer Service Award to Rachel and Blake MacKay Winfield Scott Ripley Brass Band Festival Historic Preservation Award presented to Bruce and Heidi Perry for adaptive re-use of early 19th c. English barn Development Committee formed and Director of Development hired First issue of The Broad Street Herald (supplement to The Courier) published Fall Conference on the History of the Grange in Maine |