HISTORY OF CASTINE: The BATTLE LINE of FOUR NATIONS
by George A. Wheeler, M.D.
A history of Castine, Penobscot, and Brooksville, Maine, revised in 1923 from the author’s two earlier histories of the area. A limited number of these books were discovered packed away by the family. A few of the books had tiny insect holes along the spine and so all the books were isolated for a period of time. The family is now making them available through the Wilson Museum. This history is one of the two most referenced books on local history and, until now, quite difficult to find. Privately printed, Cornwall, New York. 1923. Hardcover, 444 pages; 6 in. (w) x 9 in. (h), some illustrations and an index.
MAJABIGWADUCE Castine, Penobscot, Brooksville
by Ellenore W. Doudiet.
“Majabigwaduce: Castine, Penobscot, Brooksville is not a history in the usual sense of the word; it is, rather, an attempt to show the life of the early settlement and of the towns which grew from it; to understand the lives of the inhabitants, if possible through their own words. A large portion relates to the Castine Peninsula; this is, in part, because the Peninsula has been the most active area and, in part, because material available to the author, in general, is that given by residents of the Peninsula to the Castine Scientific Society. Of this material the most extensive collection is that of the Stevens family, originating with Joseph Lowe Stevens, who came to Castine in 1819. The Stevens collection consists of maps, pictures, manuscripts and printed material relating to the three towns and covers the period 1760 to 1910.” [Excerpt from the Preface.]
This wonderful book, one of the two most referenced histories of this area, is extensively illustrated with images of old photographs, maps, and documents. Includes a bibliography. Published by the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum. Castine, Maine. 1978. Hardcover w/ book-jacket, 116 pages; 8 ½ in. (h) x 11 in. (w). Library of Congress #: 77-086163.
ANITA'S ISLAND: A History of Holbrook Island
Compiled and written by Reta Farnham Hunter.
This is a delightful book using documents, photos, diaries and personal recollections to recount the history of Holbrook Island, an island located on the east side of Penobscot Bay just off the coast of Brooksville, from its earlliest beginnings to becoming part of a sanctuary created by long-time owner Anita Harris. She passed Holbrook Island over to the State of Maine on condition that it be maintained "as a wildlife and natural area...devoted wholly to the preservation of nature."
Privately published. 2012. Paperback, 118 pages.
Anita's Island: A History of Holbrook Island - $25.00
PENOBSCOT, MAINE 1761-2011
By Mark E. Honey, BA, AA.
Author Mark Honey used his quest to understand his family roots within the community of Penobscot, Maine, and to understand the events, both great and small, which shaped the history and spirit of the people who called this community home to compile an "introductory history" of Penobscot. There is the story of the first settlement in 1761, the disruption of settlement during the American Revolution, and the division of the town into three separate communities. So many subjects are touched upon in this work including occupations, wars, religions, schools and a tentative exploration of Penobscot in the 20th century.
Privately published. 2011. Paperback, 166 pages.
Penobscot, Maine 1761-2011 - $25.00
JULIET BOWES CORBETT Letters of Friends and Relatives
Edited by Ellenore W. Doudiet.
“Throughout [the author] relied on Kate Ellen Johnson’s scrap book of clippings, wedding invitations and notices, on family diaries and memoranda and on the memory of Georgia Johnson Wilson’s rare reminiscences: for Corbett relationships on The Descendants of Robert Corbett of Weymouth, Massachusetts compiled by Melvin C. Corbett, privately printed; for Corbettsville, Binghamton and the Susquehanna River on the Directory of Broome and Tioga Counties 1872-073, compiled and published by Hamilton Child, Syracuse, 1873, and on the History of Broome County edited by H.P. Smith published by D. Mason, Syracuse, New York 1885; for Great Bend, Hallstead and the DuBois family on the Centennial History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania by Rhamanathus M. Stoker., Philadelphia, 1887; for the Williams family A Tree of Life by Marshall H. Williams, privately printed.” [Excerpt from the Notes.]
Published by the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum, Castine, Maine. 1995. Hardcover. 139 pages: Size: 8 ½ in. (h) x 11 in. (w). Library of Congress #: 95-67689.
Juliet Corbett Bowes - $20.00
ANN ELIZA BIRKBECK WILSON Letters of Friends and Relatives
Edited by Ellenore W. Doudiet
“Among those noted in the Letters are: George Birkbeck (1794 - 1832) and Sarah Wood Birkbeck (1795-1869), their children Ann Eliza, Emmeline, Georgianna (Sis), Alexander, John, George and William. Ann Eliza Birkbeck and Thomas Wilson had one child, John; Emmeline and Thomas Bunker had ten children including George, Josephine, Sarah, Albert, Grace and Florence; Georgianna and Edward Crabb(e) had five children including Ella, Lulu and Linda; Edward’s brother George W. Crabb married a beautiful mulatto and had several children, they moved from Brooklyn to Louisiana; Alexander and Mary (May) Tracy Birkbeck had three sons, Thomas, Edward and Ernest who died when young; John and Laura Rust Birkbeck had three daughters, Rosita, Emily and Georgianna (Georgie); George and Annie Birkbeck had (?) children including young George.
Also noted are David Cartwright (1799-1891) and Elizabeth Ceely (Ceeley) Cartwright (1803-1869), they had nine children including Emily, Harriet, Ellen, Thomas, Irene, Martha, Cassine and Fanny. Irene married Charles Woodbridge, they had three children, Charley, Lester and Bessie. Cassine married John Birkbeck Wilson, they had three sons Edward, John Howard and Arthur.
In Castine we meet Mrs. Williams, her sister Etta Sellers, the two young Williams boys, Fred and Harry, Fred’s wife Alice Corbett Williams, Alice’s parents, her sisters, brother, aunts and a cousin Georgia Johnson who married John Howard Wilson. The Corbetts background has appeared in other books - in Juliet Bowes Corbett and the Descendents of Robert Corbett.” [Excerpt from the Notes.]
Published by the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum, Castine, Maine. 1996. Hardcover. 165 pages: 8½ in. (h) x 11 in. (w). Library of Congress: # 96-86756.
Ann Eliza Birkbeck Wilson - $20.00
CANOE INDIANS OF DOWN EAST MAINE
By William A. Haviland.
"In 1604, when Frenchmen landed on Saint Croix Island, they were far from the first people to walk along its shores. For thousands of years, Etchemins - whose descendants were members of the Wabanaki Confederacy - had lived, loved and labored in Down East Maine... In this book, anthropologist William Haviland relates the history of hardship and survival endured by the natives of the Down East coast and how they have maintained their way of life over the past four hundred years." [excerpt from the back cover]
The History Press, Charleston, SC. 2012. Paperback, 128 pages.
Canoe Indians of Down East Maine - $19.99
LETTERS HOME FROM SEA: The Life and Letters of Solon J. Hanson, Down East Sailor
by L.J. Webster and M.A. Noah
"By the age of 19, Solon Hanson of Castine, Maine had worked as a cook, crew, and mate on sailing ships, had become a cod fisherman, survived one of New Orleans' worst hurricanes, been called as witness to a murder trial, and was close to his goal of becoming a sea captain.
Unlike most sailors of the time, he diligently wrote home about his adventures. His letters were rediscovered over a century later, and provide a rare glimpse into the daily life of 1850s Maine cod fishermen. These letters offer a brilliant firsthand account of life and death at sea." [excerpt from the back cover]
Hobblebush Books, Brookline, NH. 2006. Paperback, 160 pages. Letters Home from Sea - $16.95
LEM A New England Village Boy
A Castine Boyhood Remembered
Lem is a novel based on the author’s boyhood in Castine, Maine. Noah Brooks was born on October 25, 1830, in Castine, the youngest of eight children. After losing both his parents at the age of seven, Noah was cared for by his sisters. Ten years later he began his travels, generally westward, but eventually returned to his beloved native town where he wrote Lem.
Brooks had a wonderful ability to express the attitudes of the times. In the following example, he must have well-remembered his own feelings at age eight, when, in 1838, Castine lost its position as shire-town to Ellsworth:
“It was a sad day for the boys of the village when, the county-seat having been moved to another town, that dear old bell, to whose music they had so long listened, was taken down and carried away. Lem, from a convenient perch on top of the Parker house, sat and watched the men, with ropes and blocks, taking down the bell from the court-house belfry. Once it was rolled over in its downward course, and it gave forth a muffled note as its iron tongue hit the bronze lips of the bell. It was a sorrowful cry and Lem, choking down a sob which he felt rising in his throat, shook his small fist at the workmen and said, “I’d like to lick you!” Lem, in his battles, which were many, did not always take a person of his size. And that, perhaps, was the reason why he often came out of the skirmish second-best.”
Reprint of the 1903 edition - Published by the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum, Castine, Maine. 1988. Foreword by Ellenore W. Doudiet. New illustrations and maps by Ellenore W. Doudiet and Patricia Hutchins. Paperback. 301 pages; 5 in. (w) x 7¼ in (h).
Lem, A New England Village Boy - $15.00
STEAMBOAT LORE of the Penobscot
by John M. Richardson
An informal story of steam navigation in Maine’s Penobscot region, pictorially presented by John M. Richardson with a Foreword by Ben Ames Williams. This fifth edition printed in 2000 was first issued in 1941. Richardson acknowledges this as a composite work of many lovers of the steamboat: Elwin M. Eldredge, R. Loring Graham, Edward Rowe Snow, Sidney L. Winslow, W. H. Ballard, Capt. Rosswell Eaton, Capt. John G. Snow, Prof. C. Bradford Mitchell, Maryon Garrison, and others.
A limited number of these have been given by the family to the Wilson Museum; all proceeds from the sales are donated to the Museum.
Privately printed, Kennebec Journal Print Shop. 2000. Paperback, 205 pages; 7 in. (w) x 10 (h); profuse illustrations, well indexed.
Steamboat Lore $15.00
COMPLEAT TALES OF THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY OF CASTINE
Edited by Justin F. Cooper, illustrated by David C. Bryant.
Castine's most famous ghost originated in a small but fiercely contested battle of the Revolution, in the summer of 1779, when British troops held the peninsula of Castine and American forces were attempting to dislodge them. Like the party game of gossip, the stories of the circumstances surrounding the ghost of the drummer boy have changed over the last two and a quarter centuries. This little book is a collection of several of the tales.
Privately published. 2006. Paperback, 31 pages.
Compleat Tales of the Little Drummer Boy of Castine - $10.00
NEW ENGLAND MASTS AND THE KING'S BROAD ARROW
By Samuel F. Manning.
During the age of sail, New England pine trees were felled, limbed, and transported across land and sea to become masts for the English Royal Navy. New England Masts and the King's Broad Arrow explores the history and process of the colonial New England mast trade including the "Broad Arrow," a symbol that marked American pines for exclusive use by England. The book is illustrated with Sam's world-renowned, meticulously detailed maritime drawings incuding sixteen log-handling scenes commissioned by the Maine Public Broadcasting Compsny for its documentary film Home to the Sea.
Privately published. 2000. Paperback, 52 pages.
New England Masts and the King's Broad Arrow - $10.00
Castine from Hospital Island, 1855.
Print made from Fitz Hugh Lane’s 1855 lithograph. Reproduced 1977 by the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum, Castine, Maine. 21 in. (h) x 32 in. (w).
Print: Castine from Hospital Island - $10.00
1889 CASTINE Maine.
Print of a detailed and imaginative 1889 map of Castine, including the proposed-but-never-realized Castine & Bangor Railroad. Reproduced 1977 by the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum, Castine, Maine. 23 in. (h) x 35 in. (w).
Print: Castine, Maine, 1889 - $10.00
Sketch of the Position of Castine in the Bay of Penobscot with references
drawn by Capt. Bonneycastle, Royal Engineers
Color print of a historically significant map of Castine during the second British occupation of the town, September 1814 - April 1815 showing the positions of civilian structures, as well as military placements. Printed for the Castine Scientific Society, Wilson Museum, Castine, Maine. 20 in. (h) x 24 in. (w).
Print: 1815 Bonneycastle Map - $25.00If you prefer to pay by check, click here for an ORDER FORM.
