Old Fort Western
2016 WINTER LECTURE SERIES
Lecture Hall, 1st Floor, Augusta City Center
2:00-4:00pm
Sunday, February 7
MICHAEL DEKKER
French & Indian Wars in Maine: Conflict Along the Kennebec During the 1720’s
For eight decades, an epic power struggle raged across a frontier that would become Maine.
Between 1675 and 1759, British, French and Native Americans clashed in six distinct wars to
stake and defend their land claims. Author of French & Indian Wars in Maine (2015), Dekker
will expand on the 4th Indian War of Maine, also known as “Dummer’s War” (1722-1725), a
series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North
America of the time and the Wabanaki Confederacy who were allied with New France.
Dummer, then acting governor, negotiated peace with Penobscot Chief Wenanganet in 1725,
three years after the conflict began.
Press Release
Sunday, February 14
DR. ROBERT SANFORD
Everyday Reminders of History: Reading Rural Landscapes
Author of Reading Rural Landscapes(2015), Sanford will discuss common landscape features
ranging from plants and trees to stonewalls, cellar holes, and other altered landforms that show
the dynamics of human-influenced change in the countryside. He will show that while we know
a great deal about historical architecture, people and events of the past, we are surrounded by
common, everyday places that also represent history. Yet these ordinary things are in danger
of becoming forgotten. Still, they are accessible and interpretable if we take the time to look.
Sanford will identify some common clues to the past; how we read them, and what can we find
in our own back yard!
Press Release
Old Fort Western
2016 WINTER LECTURE SERIES
Lecture Hall, 1st Floor, Augusta City Center
2:00-4:00pm
Sunday, February 21
ROGER MADORE
Vintage Streetscapes: A Postcard History of Augusta, 1895-1915
Author of Augusta (2015) Madore will showcase stunning vintage images and postcards to
illustrate and discuss the history of the capital city. From the Cushnoc Trading Post in 1628, and
the first encampment of Fort Western in 1754, early Augustans understood the importance and
value of the valley and its resources along the river. Through innovations in publishing by
Gannet & Morse and Vickery & Hill, textiles by the Edwards Manufacturing Company, and
lumber production along the Kennebec, Augusta thrived and prospered. Madore will discuss
this tenacious spirit and ingenuity as seen through the stunning images of his personal postcard
collection, the majority of which have never been published.
Press Release Image Cony High School, 1881
Sunday, February 28
DR. RICHARD SEYMOUR
Beyond Popham Colony: The First English Settlement in New England
Author Richard Seymour presents a segment of little-known history, and expertly weaves in
adventure and romance as he simultaneously calls into question many facets of Maine’s first
English settlement. Thirteen years before the Mayflower, five Native Americans are kidnapped
and taken to England. One of them, Skidwarres, spends two years learning all things English.
His tutor, Richard, a young Oxford educated gentleman, sails back with him to the New World,
along with 140 English soldiers, craftsmen, and adventurers. At the mouth of the Kennebec
River they erect the first colony north of Jamestown.
Old Fort Western
2016 WINTER LECTURE SERIES
Lecture Hall, 1st Floor, Augusta City Center
2:00-4:00pm
Sunday, March 6
LEON CRANMER
A Tale of Three Privies
Retired historical archeologist of Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Cranmer looks at the
archaeological excavation of privies on three diverse sites; an 18th-century fort (Fort Halifax) in
Winslow, a 19th-century farmstead in Topsham, and a 19th-century urban house in Portland.
From the large quantity of nearly complete artifacts from these privies, a picture of the
lifestyles of the sites’ occupants can be developed along with an understanding of the material
culture of the time. Cranmer will determine when these privies were filled in and even
speculate as to why they were filled. He will show that combining the historical record with the
archeological record we can form a more complete picture of the past.
Sunday, March 13
OFW STAFF PRESENTATION
Squatters, Settlers & Surveyors in 18th Century Maine
Liberty Men, White Indians, and Settlers - Beware! Historical interpreters and members of
James Howard’s Company will take you back in time in the form of a Shakespearean-style
history production focusing on the back country of Mid-Maine after the Revolution. Presenters
will address the challenges of settling in the new frontier and that you don’t always get what
you pay for! The production will conclude with a local conflict over land titles culminating in
the Malta War (1808-1809), an uprising of settlers and propriators in what is now, Windsor,
Maine.
James Howard’s Company is an educational and living history reenactment unit based out of
and in association with Old Fort Western. The Company is dedicated to preserving and
promoting Old Fort Western by demonstrating and interpreting the military history, mission,
equipment skills, and experiences of its military provincial garrison forces during the French &
Indian War years of 1754-1767. The Company takes its name from Captain James Howard, Fort
Western’s commander.
All lectures are free admission; however donations are gratefully accepted and used to
benefit Old Fort Western educational programming. Refreshments will be provided.
Old Fort Western (1754) is a National Historic Landmark and living museum in Augusta, Maine
and America's oldest surviving wooden French & Indian War era garrison in North America
illuminating 300 years of Maine and New England History. For more information, please call
626-2385 or e-mail oldfort@oldfortwestern.org.