More South Berwick History Now Online
  • Print
towncrierlogoHEAR YE! HEAR YE!

May 2010- – Like to explore old cemeteries? Trying to locate dates when your ancestors were buried here? Or would you enjoy touring the streets of a living 19th century village, studying old maps, and reading stories by a famous author whose literature these places inspired? The updated Web site of the Old Berwick Historical Society now puts the rich heritage of the South Berwick area at the fingertips of genealogists and history lovers, and welcomes them to visit one of Maine’s oldest communities. (Continued below)

SOUTH BERWICK -- Nine Berwick area maps dated 1805 to 1884 are offered, as well articles on local residents ranging from millwright William Chadbourne, who immigrated from England in 1634, to George A. Muzzey, who died in a Japanese prison camp after the in the battle of Corregidor.

CLICK HERE to visit the web site

A free online database of South Berwick cemeteries allows name searches and identifies hundreds of local veterans, from the American Revolution to modern wars. The only listing of its kind, it covers over 7000 graves in over 100 cemeteries and small grave plots, and dates back over three centuries.

The website’s link to "Sarah Orne Jewett’s South Berwick" offers a printable walking tour of Jewett sites, as well as old photos, maps and excerpts from some of the author’s stories and essays based on local places. Another link invites people to "Tour South Berwick Village", and to take a virtual walk to hundreds of sites in the downtown area.

Thanks to a grant from the South Berwick Strawberry Festival Committee, these and many more features were recently reformatted and enhanced by web designer Molly Colman. The contents of the site come from the historical society’s archives at the Counting House Museum. Maintenance of the site is supported by members’ annual memberships.

"For almost 50 years, historical society members have supported the Counting House Museum with its rich collection of maps and local history information," said archivist Wendy Pirsig. "Now, thanks to the Internet, we can extend much of this wonderful material to the general public. We hope that many people will come to the Counting House and discover even more."

The Counting House Museum is open year round by appointments and on weekend afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00 pm from June through October. Admission is free.

More information on the museum and all the Old Berwick Historical Society’s programs is available at 207-384-0000.

Historical society tour of Portland Street Cemetery in South Berwick, Maine.

 

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries