PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – On Saturday, June 3, Presque Isle Historical Society’s Maysville Museum, located at 165 Caribou Road, will open for its seventh summer and will debut two new exhibits including one on Maysville resident and author of “The History of Aroostook” Edward Wiggin. Wiggin (1837 – 1912) believed it was extremely important to be of “usefulness as a citizen.” He upheld this belief by serving his community in numerous ways: as a teacher, soldier, civil servant, politician, and as a member of many local civic groups. He felt one of the highlights of his service was the role he played in securing a railroad outlet for Presque Isle, which ultimately led to its economic growth as a community. In 1922, his book “The History of Aroostook” was published posthumously. In doing research for this book, Wiggin literally visited every town in the county speaking with local pioneers.
The museum will officially open that day at 10 a.m. with a brief presentation detailing the new exhibits at 10:15. There is no admission fee to visit the museum. Summer hours will be Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through October.
Kim Smith, board member and museum curator, said, “This year is especially exciting for us as it is the Society’s 60th anniversary. It is so meaningful to all of the board and members to be able to continue to serve this community with our regularly recurring tours and presentations, over 40 different virtual tours, the 1875 Vera Estey House Museum, and the Maysville Museum as well as special monthly anniversary celebration events – and many of these offerings are free to the public. We love to share local history and are so fortunate to continue to be able to do so!”
In addition to the new exhibits, there are four cornerstone exhibits within the museum: Presque Isle’s One-Room Schoolhouses, Presque Isle & the Civil War, The Aroostook War, and Agri-CULTURE. Other exhibits include What Is It, Susan Duff – area’s first teacher, and a working antique telephone switchboard.
Presque Isle Historical Society is an all-volunteer organization. Volunteers are needed to staff the museum for the summer. Anyone interested should contact the Society by phone at 762-1151 or email at pihistoricalsociety@hotmail.com.
The mission of Presque Isle Historical Society, a 501c3 non-profit founded in 1963, is to study, promote and preserve the history, culture, heritage and physical artifacts of Presque Isle for future and present generations. For more information on its programs or to make a tax deductible contribution, call 762-1151, email pihistoricalsociety@hotmail.com, or visit them on the web at www.pihistory.org.
