|
Society Honors Town’s History
Many in Gouldsboro
know the site of the Gouldsboro Historical Society as a good place
to park for the day: The big, white wooden building along Route 1 at
the top of Route 186 is an identifiable place for drivers meeting up
to take just one car.
|
Beatrice Buckley, president of the Gouldsboro Historical
Society, enjoys having visitors to the town’s museum and
historical displays.
|
But many others in
town know the place as the keeper of Gouldsboro’s historic
treasures. It opens each Saturday afternoon in summer from 2 to 4
p.m. for those who wish to delve into Gouldsboro’s past.
The building itself
served as Gouldsboro’s second Town House, built in 1884. First used
for town elections that year, it continued as a town office until
1983.
Today it is filled
with mementos and documents. For those keen on Gouldsboro genealogy,
census records are complete from 1790 through 1880. Another book
lists tombstones through 1970 found in the town’s cemeteries.
Displays highlight
the town’s heyday as a harbor-oriented place, with thriving
shipyards and a bustling fishing industry. Shipping and shipbuilding
were the major industries in the 1800s, and boatbuilding continues
to be a sizeable factor in the town’s economy.
Organized in 1789,
the town marked its bicentennial in 1989.
The West Bay area,
first settled around 1763, became a busy village with a grist mill,
woolen mill, shipyard, post office and school.
Over in what became
West Gouldsboro, the Jones family was one of the first families, and
Jones Pond—today the town’s established recreation area—still bears
that name.
In South
Gouldsboro, life revolved around a busy harbor. Early families were
farmers, fishermen and factory workers.
In Birch Harbor and
Bunkers Harbor, most men made their livings from fishing and
lobstering. Corea, originally called “Indian Harbor,” was almost
exclusively a lobstering village.
And Prospect Harbor
was home to many sea captains because the harbor could be used by
large schooners. Not surprisingly, Prospect Harbor remains the town
center today, with the town office and main fire station located
there.
The town’s past is
colorful, and speakers who have kept up with local history make
presentations the first Monday evening of each month, May through
September.
If interest in
local history is judged by turnout at these meetings of the
Gouldsboro Historical Society, then the town has a healthy
appreciation for its past. There have been 49 and 52 people,
respectively, at each of the last two meetings.
Beatrice Buckley,
963-5530, president of the Society for more years than she can
recall, has the whole story. |
