Welcome
to Our Collections
The Harpswell Islands Genealogy and History Center was organized as a non-profit corporation in 2024, and, in accordance with our stated purpose, members began collecting historical information and accepting objects on behalf of the Center. The collections—including photographs, documents, artifacts, maps, essays, research notes, books, and paintings—are kept in members’ homes and for the short term until we can acquire a permanent home for the collection.
One of our very first priorities will be to renovate a storage pod for climate control to securely store the collections and have plenty of room to accept donations documenting every aspect of Harpswell Islands area history right up to the present day.
We’re committed to the long-term preservation of historical materials and to making the collections available for research as well as to support projects centered on community growth. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.
Photographs
In addition to picture postcards, HIGHC is in the process of acquiring photos and digitizing them to make them assessable to the public. These will be in a searchable database and will also be presented on our associated facebook page "Harpswell Yesterdays".
Oral Histories
A number of oral history interviews with town residents and historians have been conducted by dedicated volunteers over past decade. These will soon be made accessible online.
Postcards
HIGHC holds approximately 1000 postcards primarily displaying landscape images of Harpswell and its attendant Islands as well as Casco Bay in general, businesses, fishing activities and places of interest. The bulk of the collection is focused on the early 1900s (1900-1920s), and includes blank cards and post marked cards.
Genealogy Resources
The History Center has created vertical files for research on local area families. Many of these resources have been donated by family members to the Historical Society, and include letters, diaries, pictures, family trees, census records, vital records, and cemetery lists for Harpswell and other area towns. There are also several binders compiled by family genealogists for some of the most major Harpswell families.
Please take note that the responsibility for storing the original Harpswell Town Records is held by the Harpswell Historical Society at their facility but we will be happy to put you in contact with them if needed.
Reference Files
In addition to formal collection items, HIGHC has additional reference material held in online text files. These records are relevant to the history of the town and primarily found in books, genealogical resources, newspapers, and online. These files are an excellent first port of call for anyone beginning to research a person or place, or for those casually interested in learning more about a particular facet of the town’s history. The history of the town and Casco Bay was directly tied to events that were taking place in the population centers elsewhere. Understanding those events will allow you to understand why events in Harpswell happened the way they did.
Peanut vendor at the Orr's Island Steamboat wharf