Westport Island: Town history is family history
Westport Island's original record book, 1828. The notation inside reads: "Book of Records. For the town of Westport in the County of Lincoln State of Maine and formerly that part of Edgecomb known by the name of Jeremy Squam Island and incorporated by an act of the Legislature of said State of Maine on the fifth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty eight and organized and went into operation on the seventeenth day of March in the year aforesaid." Simon Dunton, Town Clerk. Courtesy of Gaye Wagner/Westport Island
Westport Island's original record book, 1828. The notation inside reads: "Book of Records. For the town of Westport in the County of Lincoln State of Maine and formerly that part of Edgecomb known by the name of Jeremy Squam Island and incorporated by an act of the Legislature of said State of Maine on the fifth day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty eight and organized and went into operation on the seventeenth day of March in the year aforesaid." Simon Dunton, Town Clerk. Courtesy of Gaye Wagner/Westport Island
Westport Island Town Clerk Gaye Wagner updated selectmen at their meeting on Monday, Nov. 10 about a current project with the town’s history committee to preserve historical documents and other materials.
“Westport Island is relatively isolated,” she explained in a follow-up interview about the project. “A lot of current families are direct descendants of the island’s original families, and so island history in many ways is also family history.”
The town clerk has the responsibility of maintaining historical documents, which include minutes of meetings, tax records and vital records (island marriages, births and deaths). The work of the clerk’s office and the nine-member Historical Committee has combined to make sure that other artifacts from the Island’s history are also preserved properly.
“Westport Island has been lucky,” Wagner said. “We have historical documents going back to 1828 when we separated from Edgecomb.”
The history committee also has artifacts including photos, letters and even a baseball uniform.
In October, the town’s history committee submitted an application to Maine State Archives for a grant, which should be determined in the next few weeks.
If it awarded to Westport Island, some of the grant funding would be used for accessibility of records as well as making sure that any preservation is completed appropriately.
“We need to understand how to preserve different types of materials ranging from paper to photos to textiles,” Wagner said.
The first step in the preservation process was to enlist the services of a local expert. On Monday morning, Ellen Dyer, an independent museum professional, toured the various storage locations with the history committee.
The goals of Dyer’s visit were twofold: to evaluate the current storage space; and to provide efficient and low-cost recommendations for improvements.
The town is also looking for a recommendation for a cataloging tool, which will help to make items more accessible. Currently, some items can be seen by visiting the Maine Memory Network online.
One of the items provided will be a software template that can be used now, and uploaded into larger databases when funding to do so becomes available.
If the pending grant application is successful, the funds will be used to purchase archival quality storage materials, fund an expert to guide the town through the process, and hopefully pay for a young Island resident to serve as an intern for the preservation project.
Those interested in more information about the preservation project may call Gaye Wager at 207-882-8477.
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