Historic New England announces summer programs and new tours
Looking for something new and different to do this summer? Come and enjoy one of Historic New England’s Wiscasset summer programs. Whether you are interested in a private tour for your family or group of friends, Revolutionary War era mapmaking, a great American novel, historical fashion and food or the nooks and crannies of a really unusual 1807 coastal mansion, there is something for you. To purchase admission to any of these programs, call 207-882-7169 or buy online at www.historicnewengland.org/events-programs.
On June 23, Ian Fowler, Director of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at the University of Southern Maine, will present Mapping Revolutionary Maine: George Sproule's 1772 Map of the Midcoast. Ian will tell the fascinating story of this beautiful and amazingly detailed map, showing existing buildings as well as topographical details of an area from the Kennebec River to Round Pond and Muscongus Bay, drawn by an ensign in the British Navy. The lecture will be held 7-8:30 p.m. in the Nickels-Sortwell House barn on Federal Street in Wiscasset. Admission is $5 for Historic New England members, $10 non-members.
Come and peek into the nooks and crannies of Castle Tucker on a Behind Closed Doors Tour on Friday, June 17, Saturday, July 9 or Friday, September 9 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. There’s something new to see whether you’re a first-time or repeat visitor on this leisurely in-depth tour that includes rooms and stories not included on the general tour. Located at 2 Lee Street in Wiscasset, Castle Tucker is filled with the original furnishings and decoration of the Tucker family who lived here for over 140 years. Advance registration is required.Space is limited. Admission is $10 for members of Historic New England, $15 for nonmembers.
The Age of Innocence and the Tuckers of Wiscasset, Maine tours examine the similarities between the lives of Captain Richard and Mollie Tucker and the characters in the classic Edith Wharton novel. Take a closer look at the social customs and styles of the mid-19th century. These tours will be given on July 22 and August 19, 10-11:30 a.m. Advance registration is required.Space is limited. Admission is $10 for members of Historic New England, $15 for nonmembers.
Join Wiscasset Site Manager and historic costume collector Peggy Konitzky for Fashions of Their Times, a new workshop on the history of women’s fashion from 1805 - 1920. Workshops will be held on Saturday, August 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. and Friday, September 13, 10 a.m.-noon. Enjoy an up-close and personal look at what the women of Castle Tucker and the Nickels-Sortwell House would have worn - wealthy early 19th century women like Tempe Lee and Jane Nickels, Mollie Tucker as a young Wiscasset mother in the 1860s and privileged women like Gertrude and Frances Sortwell as the 19th century moved into the 20th. Advance registration is required.Admission is $15 for members of Historic New England, $25 for nonmembers.
If cooking and food are your passion, take a culinary history journey with historian Cathy Messmer at Castle Tucker on August 25 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. In April 1860, 19-year-old Mollie Tucker wrote a letter to her sister, boasting that “everyone is talking about Mrs. Tucker’s supper”. Cathy tells the story of what Mollie served and how the meal was prepared for that special evening. Advance registration is required.Space is limited. Admission is $10 for members of Historic New England, $15 for nonmembers and includes a tour of the house after the program.
Historic New England is also offering new private tours of their historic houses for groups of 6 or more. To learn more and book a private tour for your family or friends, visit http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/group-and-specialty-tours.
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