A little bit of history:

    The Limington Historical Society was founded in 1976.  Today, it has headquarters on Joe Webster Road off Route 11, or Sokosis Road.  The property consists of an acre of land with a barn.  The barn has electricity and plumbing.  On the site, as well. is the relocated small wooden library building that was the town's first library.  There are state highway signs that offer directions from Route 25.  The society is the repository of many fine artifacts.  Included are a number of farm wagons, the town's horse-drawn hearse, a snow roller and a make and break engine.  There is a wall covered by a representation of the Saco River.  The accompanying photos and written materials are on loan from the York Institute in Saco.  They were part of the White Pine on the Saco exhibit and show the important part that the town of Limington played in the days of the log drives.  There are many photo albums and scrapbooks that have been given to us.

    A good portion of the written material that has been donated over the years is kept upstairs in the old town hall.  The town hall is only of the 22 buildings in the town center that have been given the honor of being on the National Register.  The Academy and the MacArthur House had been previously designated.  The intersection attracted the attention of the Greater Portland Landmarks people a few years ago, and it was thier suggestion that this honor be sought for this unique set of buildings.
    As new people move to town, the fact that this area was once the center of town is easily overlooked.  Witness the Grange Hall, Masonic Hall, well-sponsored Academy and the Congregational Church.  These, of course, were public buildings, but many prominent citizens chose to live nearby.  Times of course have changed many things.  The stage route that came through delivering passengers and goods is a thing of the past.  Some of the larger homes served as boarding houses; there were small businesses like a casket factory (every town had one), a harness shop, a blacksmith, a general store and post office.  These activities are well represented in the old pictures.
    The biggest part of the town was involved in agriculture and logging.  The town was not as well off financially as towns closer to Portland, but the people that lived here worked hard; religion and education of their children was important to them.  To quote a visitor to the town hall a few years ago: "Poverty breeds preservation."  The families that lived in town years ago must have had little time and money to think about remodeling; and consequently, today we have some wonderful old buildings for us to enjoy.
    Historic preservation is gaining recognition in Maine.  Limington is fortunate to have a start in the right direction.  First, we learn to recognize, then with education, appreciate.  I speak for the historical society's purpose.  Thoughtfully donated written materials (such as recently given by Robert Taylor's widow, Rose and many others) are carefully held records of the past.  One of the missions and responsibilities of the society is to accept and makes these available to anyone that wants to have a look at history.
    Our society will be as good as we can make it in the future.  I personally do not want to let down any past members.  History can be fun and certainly entertaining.  We realize how far we have come from the hard work that our parents, grandparents and early settlers did in those days.
    We welcome any and all persons interested in the town's past - and it's future.  Please join us.

From the Secretary,

Anne M Dunbar




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Copyright, 2001. All images and information on these pages are property of the Limington Historical Society and cannot be duplicated without permission.