Old York Historical Society - York, ME
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 43° 08.637 W 070° 39.060
19T E 365743 N 4778123
Since York Maine is the first chartered and incorporated city in the United States, this historical society, begun over a hundred years ago, has a lot to do. They oversee eight museums and an extensive archival library.
Waymark Code: WME31T
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 03/28/2012
Views: 1
From the Old York Historic District, eight museums, colonial-era cemeteries, churches, and the first jail in America, the Old York Gaol, a trip to York, Maine, is t trip through history. The Old York Historical Society was established over a hundred years ago, and has a vigorous research program, educational activities, an extensive archive and research library, and oversees eight historical museums.
These excerpts for the Old York Historical Society web pages, so well maintained, give an additional glimpse into the work they do.
"The Old York Historical Society, doing business as the Museums of Old York, was founded more than one hundred years ago to preserve the history and artifacts of York, Maine. Originally referred to as Gorgeana, York is one of New England's earliest colonial settlements. It also has the distinction of being the nation's first chartered city (1641) and first incorporated city (1642). Offering thirty-seven period room settings and several galleries housed throughout nine historic museum buildings, the Museums of Old York showcases a wealth of early New England art, architecture, and decorative arts. The exhibits focus on the stories of southern Maine's men, women, and children and the world they created and lived in from the earliest settlement in the 1600s to the present day.
With information on every aspect of York history from Native American habitation prior to European colonization through the twentieth century, the library includes more than 40,000 books, documents, photographs, maps, newspapers, church records and ephemera, as well as various public records and publications on microfilm and compact disc. Among the most significant pieces in the archival collection are the business records and personal documents of area residents. These diaries and journals, business ledgers and photographs are deep wells of information and perspective serving scholars of many subjects and all levels. In the last ten years alone, more than thirty published books and articles have been written using resource materials from Old York's library."