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Over 130 years of preservation and study of
Kennebec County history (1891-Present)
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KHS May Program:
“Amazing Stories: Tales from the Annals of a Maine Family”
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Simmy Murch Baseball Card (Dana Murch Private Collection)
Belfast genealogist and author Dana Murch, the Kennebec Historical Society’s guest lecturer for May, plans to tell some amazing stories he has discovered while researching the history of the Murch family of Maine, including stories
of cod, fornication, capture by Indians, the Battle of Quebec, squatters and Spanish gold, ferries, block making, the Civil War, ice harvesting, baseball,
the Antarctic, and “a little old lady who never cries anymore.”
Murch was born in Caribou and grew up in Clinton. He retired in 2011 after
a career as the dams and hydropower regulatory specialist at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and has been happily doing genealogy ever since then. He is a 13th-generation Mainer and multiple Mayflower descendant and has published books on his maternal and paternal ancestries.
He is currently researching and writing the definitive history and genealogy of
the entire Murch family of Maine.
The society’s May presentation is free to the public (donations are gladly accepted) and is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at the Augusta City Center, located at 16 Cony Street in Augusta. For details, call Scott Wood, executive director, at 622-7718.
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KHS June Program:
“Silent Films in Maine, Part III”
From 1919 to 1921, Augusta was home to a movie production company founded by Edgar Jones and local businessmen. His goal was to make “North Woods” films. He chose the Augusta area because of the Kennebec River, surrounding lakes and forestland, and its four seasons. Jones brought in a company of actors and a film crew, who all lived together at 129 Sewall Street. Jones used locals as extras in the films. The films premiered at the Colonial Theater in Augusta.
Jones worked with local writer Holman Day to adapt many of Day’s stories
for the films. In 1921 Day and local businessmen took over the company, ousting Jones. Day soon bankrupted the company.
Six of the dozens of two-reel films from this era are known to survive. Four
are archived at the Library of Congress in various collections, and British Film Institute donated a pair to Northeast Historic Film in Bucksport. Digital scans
of the original 35-millimeter films, with new music scores added, were
screened in June 2023 at the Colonial.
KHS presenter Ed Lorusso previously showed four of the films, Caught in the Rapids and Cupid, Registered Guide, back in August 2024 and Border River and A Knight of the Pines in November 2024. At this presentation, he will show two different films, Brother of the Bear and My Lady O’ the Pines, roughly 25 minutes each. As before, Lorusso will provide commentary, then answer questions after the viewing.
Lorusso has been restoring silent films since he retired. Six of his projects
have been licensed by Turner Classic Movies, including The Enchanted
Cottage (1924), which aired in late September. His projects have been
screened at various theaters and silent film festivals across the country. He’s
also the author of The Silent Films of Marion Davies and is working on a
book about filmmaking in Maine during the silent era.
The Kennebec Historical Society presentation is free to the public (donations
are gladly accepted) and will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 18, at Augusta City Center, located at 16 Cony Street in Augusta. If you have questions about the program, call Scott Wood, executive director, at 622-7718.
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Discovering, preserving, and disseminating
Kennebec County history
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KHS is located in Maine's Capital City ... in
historic Kennebec Valley at
Henry Weld Fuller, Jr. House
107 Winthrop Street
Augusta, ME
Click the "donate" button below to join KHS or make a donation. Please be sure to explain what the amount is for in the "Add special instructions to seller" section.
Thank you!
READING ROOM
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
10am-3pm
Tuesday through Thursday
APPOINTMENTS PREFERRED
If unable to visit during our open hours, please call for an appointment.
Phone:
(207)
622-7718
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 5582
Augusta, Maine 04332-5582
Those unable to visit us may send questions to our email:
kennhis1891@gmail.com
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