Many of us are suffering from serious cabin fever right now and are looking for interesting things to do. What a perfect time to discover more about Presque Isle. Here are three must-do things for 2021 in the Star City.
Explore your city
Travel back in time with Presque Isle Historical Society and learn more about the fascinating and rich history of Presque Isle.
Take a City-Wide Narrated Tour of Presque Isle aboard Molly the Trolley. The tour covers over 40 sites around the city from the launch site of the first successful transatlantic balloon flight to the launch pad of the nation’s first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.
Visit the Maysville Museum, housed in a restored local historic landmark that served simultaneously as the Maysville Town Hall, Maysville Grange and Maysville School. There are four cornerstone exhibits on the Civil War, Presque Isle’s 22 one-room schoolhouses, the Aroostook War, and Agri-CULTURE, and smaller exhibits as well. The season opening will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 5. Admission is free.
Join Presque Isle Historical Society for a Civil War Trails Tour aboard Molly the Trolley. Visit several small area cemeteries with Civil War veterans and take a guided stroll through the Society’s Civil War exhibit.
Take a guided tour through historic Fairmount Cemetery. This beautiful garden cemetery was established in 1864 and features interesting Victorian influences as well as having a story to tell.
Not quite ready to venture out? The society has numerous virtual tours of historic downtown and around the city.
Discover amazing stories
Ever hear the expression “well-behaved women rarely make history”? We seldom know much about local women from the 1800s unless they were in some way quite unique. Take a guided tour through the 1875 Vera Estey House Museum, a small two-story Victorian house museum, and learn more about its unique resident, Vera Estey.
Jim Cullen was lynched by a hooded mob in April 1873. It is the only known lynching in New England. Come along for the ride as the society visits his home, the scene of his crimes, the lynching site and his unmarked grave site.
On Labor Day, join the society aboard Molly the Trolley for a most unusual tour — the Amazing Mystery History Tour. Visit long-forgotten and one-of-a-kind sites around town that many don’t know exist.
The City of Presque Isle played a key role in the defense of the United States for two decades with the Presque Isle Army Air Field, the Presque Isle Air Force Base, the 136th Radio Security Detachment and the SNARK missile. The Airbase Tour takes those on board the trolley back in time to better understand our area’s contribution and growth.
Stay out after dark
Are you a night owl? Looking for something different to do in the evenings this year?
Once a month through October, join the society for a Haunted Hearse Tour. Find out about lingering spirits in old buildings here in town. Hear what the Maine Paranormal Team found when they visited.
Roosevelt Day at the Museum celebrates the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt with the society’s Roosevelt artifacts passed down through the local family of one of his Maine Guides.
Looking for a family-oriented Halloween activity that is “slightly scary and kinda creepy” as well as entertaining and educational? Check out the Haunted Lantern Tours in October. These tours can be done on foot or on board the trolley.
Start a new Christmas tradition with the annual Victorian Christmas at the Estey. Costumed historical interpreters will showcase the society’s Victorian house decked out for Christmas and tell you about the Christmas traditions we observe today that came from the Victorian era. Try a sample of wassail, Victorian hot cider punch. Taste a peppermint pig, one of the only Victorian Christmas traditions to originate in the United States.
To learn more about these tours, find dates, times and fees, visit the Historical Society’s website at www.pihistory.org and click on the “Events and Programs” Tab.
For more information on the society’s programs or to contribute, call (207) 762-1151, email pihistoricalsociety@hotmail.com or visit them on the web at www.pihistory.org.
Kimberly R. Smith is the secretary/treasurer of the Presque Isle Historical Society.
