HOULTON, Maine — Tucked away in a dusty corner of Cary Library’s attic, the wooden trunk doesn’t do much to grab your eye. But one quick peek inside and it’s easy to see why Leigh Cummings’ curiosity was piqued.
“This one just says, ‘Papers.’,” he said, holding up a tiny bundle, covered with aged paper and tightly wrapped with string.
Inside the trunk is situated what appears to be a collection of similar artifacts — neat, but non-descript bundles of papers that most likely haven’t been opened for eons. Cummings, a library trustee and recent retiree, has spent his spring poking through the library’s archives and special collections, finding papers, hand-bound volumes and maps that offer a snapshot of local history.
“We have boxes and boxes of papers,” explained Cummings. “Conservatively, I think we have about 10,000 pieces of paper to go through.”
“We have envelope after envelope after envelope,” added Librarian Linda Faucher.
Some of the papers already explored include marriage records, militia rolls, property information and more from area towns. Most date back to the 19th century.
“Some of these papers have more historical significance than others,” added Cummings. “But every little piece tells a story to someone.”
The long-term goal, they added, would be to preserve the library’s special collections by turning the paper copies into digital files — files that could be accessible to the public and/or posted to the library’s Web site.
But first, the papers and records must be organized.
“Unless we go through it piece by piece, we don’t really know what’s here,” said Cummings. “But once we do know what we’ve got, then we’ll be working on making it accessible digitally.”
Even with the small percentage they’ve uncovered so far, the finds have been amazing.
Inside one carefully organized and protected book was a 1796 certificate from Samuel Adams, then governor of Massachusetts, marking the military appointment of John Putnam to the rank of Second Lieutenant. Putnam was one of Houlton’s first settlers, coming to the area by ship with Joseph Houlton; the record is believed to part of collection assembled by Francis Barnes, a local historian and ancestor of Forrest Barnes of Houlton.
Other finds include a list of local “scholars” for 1886, an assessor’s notebook from 1800s which lists landowners and an inventory of all their property; another booklet records the birth and death of the Houlton Agricultural Society, a predecessor to today’s Houlton Fair Association.
Attic exploration also uncovered a bulky 900-plus page volume in meticulous script which records the accounts for S. Cary & Co. The influential and affluent Shep Cary operated a store near Houlton’s Hancock’s Barracks (among other business ventures) and the accounting book documents, down to the penny, his business dealings with customers large and small.
Cummings says he found this “treasure” in another wooden trunk also in a dusty corner of the library’s attic.
“I don’t think that trunk had been opened for 50-plus years,” explained Cummings. “This book documents all his accounts from 1838 to 1843 and during that period of time Aroostook County was formed and the boundary was settled. Everything bought and traded during that time is in here.”
And, of course, the library’s collection also includes over 100 years of history chronicled in past issues of the Houlton Pioneer Times and its predecessors. Faucher said they’re also working on a plan to digitize the newspapers, meaning the issues could be accessed on the library’s Web site and specific topics could be “Googled.”
As a boost to their efforts, a recent donation brought some new conservation software, “IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf,” to the library.
“That will give all of us, staff and volunteers, training in how to handle these type of materials and show us how to preserve various items,” said Faucher.
With or without the aid of computerized training, preserving the all those pieces of local history is a big job. But with a passion for local history to power their efforts and plenty of spare time, all the miscellaneous pieces of paper and dusty books will eventually be translated into a computerized, one-of-a-kind collection for anyone interested in knowing more about their roots.
“In the meantime, we’ll just get a little dirty doing it,” quipped Cummings.
“This one just says, ‘Papers.’,” he said, holding up a tiny bundle, covered with aged paper and tightly wrapped with string.
Inside the trunk is situated what appears to be a collection of similar artifacts — neat, but non-descript bundles of papers that most likely haven’t been opened for eons. Cummings, a library trustee and recent retiree, has spent his spring poking through the library’s archives and special collections, finding papers, hand-bound volumes and maps that offer a snapshot of local history.
“We have boxes and boxes of papers,” explained Cummings. “Conservatively, I think we have about 10,000 pieces of paper to go through.”
“We have envelope after envelope after envelope,” added Librarian Linda Faucher.
Some of the papers already explored include marriage records, militia rolls, property information and more from area towns. Most date back to the 19th century.
“Some of these papers have more historical significance than others,” added Cummings. “But every little piece tells a story to someone.”
The long-term goal, they added, would be to preserve the library’s special collections by turning the paper copies into digital files — files that could be accessible to the public and/or posted to the library’s Web site.
But first, the papers and records must be organized.
“Unless we go through it piece by piece, we don’t really know what’s here,” said Cummings. “But once we do know what we’ve got, then we’ll be working on making it accessible digitally.”
Even with the small percentage they’ve uncovered so far, the finds have been amazing.
Inside one carefully organized and protected book was a 1796 certificate from Samuel Adams, then governor of Massachusetts, marking the military appointment of John Putnam to the rank of Second Lieutenant. Putnam was one of Houlton’s first settlers, coming to the area by ship with Joseph Houlton; the record is believed to part of collection assembled by Francis Barnes, a local historian and ancestor of Forrest Barnes of Houlton.
Other finds include a list of local “scholars” for 1886, an assessor’s notebook from 1800s which lists landowners and an inventory of all their property; another booklet records the birth and death of the Houlton Agricultural Society, a predecessor to today’s Houlton Fair Association.
Attic exploration also uncovered a bulky 900-plus page volume in meticulous script which records the accounts for S. Cary & Co. The influential and affluent Shep Cary operated a store near Houlton’s Hancock’s Barracks (among other business ventures) and the accounting book documents, down to the penny, his business dealings with customers large and small.
Cummings says he found this “treasure” in another wooden trunk also in a dusty corner of the library’s attic.
“I don’t think that trunk had been opened for 50-plus years,” explained Cummings. “This book documents all his accounts from 1838 to 1843 and during that period of time Aroostook County was formed and the boundary was settled. Everything bought and traded during that time is in here.”
And, of course, the library’s collection also includes over 100 years of history chronicled in past issues of the Houlton Pioneer Times and its predecessors. Faucher said they’re also working on a plan to digitize the newspapers, meaning the issues could be accessed on the library’s Web site and specific topics could be “Googled.”
As a boost to their efforts, a recent donation brought some new conservation software, “IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf,” to the library.
“That will give all of us, staff and volunteers, training in how to handle these type of materials and show us how to preserve various items,” said Faucher.
With or without the aid of computerized training, preserving the all those pieces of local history is a big job. But with a passion for local history to power their efforts and plenty of spare time, all the miscellaneous pieces of paper and dusty books will eventually be translated into a computerized, one-of-a-kind collection for anyone interested in knowing more about their roots.
“In the meantime, we’ll just get a little dirty doing it,” quipped Cummings.
