The Canton Historical Society is hosting a talk on “Preserving Our History: Caring for Our Cemeteries” on Wednesday, September 25, at 6:30 p.m., in its building at 25 Turner Street.  The speaker will be Cheryl Willis Patten of the Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) and the Maine Old Cemetery Association (MOGA).

 Cemeteries are delicate outdoor museums that contain history on individuals and towns.  They provide a wealth of information that may not be available elsewhere.  In her talk on “Preserving Our History: Caring for Our Cemeteries,” Ms. Patten will explain how to decipher information found on gravestones and discuss the steps one can take to conserve this valuable historical record.  She will also address some basic information used to evaluate and conserve cemeteries and describe best practices for caring for gravestones.

Cheryl Willis Patten has been an advocate for cemeteries for many years.  She chaired the 2011 AGS Annual National Conference and has held various offices with MOCA—including serving as chair of the MOCA Workshop Committee for eight years.  Retired from teaching and state employment, Ms. Patten now has more time for exploring cemeteries in Maine and various other states and countries.

Information on AGS can be found at www.gravestonestudies.org and information on MOCA can be found at www.moca-me.org.

This event is free of admission and open to the public.  The venue is handicap accessible.  Refreshments will be served.  Doors open at 6 p.m.

The Canton Historical Society is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization devoted to the preservation and celebration of Canton’s heritage and history.

Community Members are invited to bring a historical object or photo and share their stories about it.  More details to follow.

Light refreshments will be available.
This event is FREE and Open to the Public.

The Canton Historical Society is hosting a talk on the "Lost Indian Tribes of Western Maine" on Wednesday, July 25, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in its building at 25 Turner Street.   The speaker will be Peter Stowell.

Mr. Stowell’s talk, which will include a PowerPoint slide presentation, will cover the time period from about 1600 to 1762, when the final treaty of the French and Indian Wars was signed.  Mr. Stowell will touch on approximately 20 tribes that lived west of the Kennebec River.  The tribes include Anasagunticooks of Topsham, Auburn, and Canton Point; Pequawket of Fryeburg; Ameseconti of Farmington; Sokoki of York County; and Narantsouak, Teconnet, and Cushnoc of the Kennebec River.  Mr. Stowell will also address tribal interactions with settlers, clerics, and fishermen, as well as the eventual fate of the tribes.

Mr. Stowell is a native of and a student of all things Oxford County. His Canton connections reach all the way back to the settlement's beginnings and include the Harlow, Stanley, Reynolds, Russell, Holland and Stowell families.  He is the author of two books for the Arcadia Publishing Company of Charleston, SC:  Images of America - Dixfield and Images of America - Old Town.  For several years he was the editor of the Dixfield Star, the newsletter of the Dixfield Historical Society and is a regular contributor to Memories of Maine magazine.  During the event, Mr. Stowell’s Dixfield book will be available for purchase at a discounted rate. 

This event is free of admission and open to the public.  Refreshments will be served.

Canton Historical Society presents the following event:

Protecting Rural Community Character: Preservation at the Crossroads of Community Planning.

Join us as Christopher W. Closs, a Field Service Advisor from Maine Preservation in Yarmouth, presents Information with a 30 minutes Power Point show followed by Q&A.

Doors Open at 6:15 with light refreshments served.

Admission is Free.  Event is Open to the Public.

Topics to consider:

• Including goals in the Comprehensive Town Plan.
• What information is needed to identify and inventory the natural and historic resources that makes a community unique?
• How does the process work?
• Does it cost money and if so where does it come from?
• What impact would this have on the town and the citizens?
• What is CARMA?
• What is the National Register of Historic Places?
• What kinds of incentives can be created at the local level to help protect these resources?