Upcoming events.
September AHS Meeting
Since Labor Day falls on the first Monday of September, the September AHS Meeting will be on Monday, September 14, at the Appleton Library. The Business portion of the meeting will begin at 6:30 PM, and the evening's Program will start at 7:00 PM. Hank Lunn will speak on Abiel Briggs: American Patriot. Lunn writes, "It was early fall in 1775 and General George Washington had taken command of the rag-tag, bobtailed Colonial militia camped around Boston, and was endeavoring to turn the “rabble” into an army. Abiel Briggs, 16-year old son of a Tory family, walked forty miles from Freetown to Cambridge and joined the volunteer militia for the Arnold Expedition to Quebec. He served as a militia volunteer throughout the expedition and as a Continental soldier the rest of the Revolutionary War." In period clothing, (with) musket and tomahawk, Abiel will discuss the hardships of the trek and what life was like for American patriots during the early years of the American Revolution. A map of Colonel Benedict Arnold’s birch-bark canoe and “bateaux” invasion of Canada, from the mouth of the Kennebec River, to Fort Western (Augusta), Fort Halifax (Winslow), and on to Quebec City will be available.
We look forward to seeing you on Monday, September 14!
August 3 Historical Society Meeting
AHS August Open House and Monthly Meeting
Monday, August 3, The Appleton HIstorical Society will hold an Open House at our Meetinghouse from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at 2875 Sennebec Rd., in Appleton. A number of AHS members will be present to answer questions about the Meetinghouse and our ongoing Meetinghouse Restoration effort. Light refreshments will be served.
At the open house, we will also show photos of Appleton in the early 20th century, from the Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Collection of Penobscot Marine Museum. We need help writing brief captions for many of these old photos, and hope to receive suggestions for photo captions at the Open House.
Also on Monday, August 3, we’re pleased to be holding our Monthly Meetingin The Meetinghouse. We ask those who are able, to please park at the Appleton Library and walk up the hill to the Meetinghouse – it is a bit of a strenuous walk. There is also parking for 6 or 7 cars on the lawn of the Meetinghouse. Parking on the edge of Sennebec Road is possible, but not ideal, as traffic moves rapidly up and down Sennebec Road. All cars parked on Sennebec Road must be on the downhill or Meetinghouse side.
Our business meeting will begin at 6:30 sharp. We'll give a report on Meetinghouse Restoration, what we've accomplished, challenges that lie ahead, and a new strategy.
Promptly at 7 PM, Jody Bachelder, a resident of Midcoast Maine, will speak on her book….
June AHS Meeting
AHS’s June Meeting will take place on Monday, June 1, 2026. We’ll begin the Business portion of our Meeting at 6:30 PM, and the Evening’s Program will start at 7:00 PM. The evening’s Program: The Hammond Collection, a collection of more than 100 old photos of Appleton houses and folks from years ago, some still unidentified. The photos have been digitized and will be projected onto a screen. See if you recognize your house!
As usual, the June Meeting will be in the Meeting Room of the Appleton Library at 2916 Sennebec Road, in Appleton.
AHS May Meeting
Appleton Historical Society will meet on Monday, May 4, 2026, in the meeting room of the Appleton Library. We’ll have a brief Business Meeting at 6:30 PM, and the evening’s program, presented by AHS President, Donald Burke, will begin by 7:00 PM. The subject of Mr. Burke’s talk will be Old Schools and Burying Grounds of Appleton. He'll identify the locations of a number of old schools and burying grounds throughout the town. Besides town cemeteries there are several family burial grounds. At one time, there may have been as many as 10, or even 12 schools open in Appleton! (That might have been when Appleton had 5 US Post Offices.) We look forward to seeing you Monday, May 4!
Monthly Meeting
After a business meeting at 6:30, Kevin Johnson, photo archivist for the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine, will give a guided tour of photographs found in the photography archives of the Penobscot Marine Museum
Monthly Meeting
Camden resident Ken Gross will present his slide talk on "The ‘Electrics': Knox County Trolleys 1892-1931”