January
Independence 250 Kick-off with screening of Ken Burns’ The American Revolution
Saturday, January 10, 2 p.m., Howe Exhibit Hall, Mason House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Come join us for the kick-off event for the Independence 250 program series to pick up a copy of the first reading group book, and learn more about what we have planned for 2026! This event will also feature a screening and discussion of a highlight reel from Ken Burns’ The American Revolution documentary. (Now available for streaming on the PBS app.)
Corporate funding for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by The Better Angels Society and its members Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine with the Crimson Lion Foundation; and the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Major funding was also provided by David M. Rubenstein; The Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Family Foundation; Lilly Endowment Inc.; and the following Better Angels Society members: Eric and Wendy Schmidt; Stephen A. Schwarzman; and Kenneth C. Griffin with Griffin Catalyst. Additional support for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was provided by: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; The Pew Charitable Trusts; Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling; Park Foundation; and the following Better Angels Society members: Gilchrist and Amy Berg; Perry and Donna Golkin; The Michelson Foundation; Jacqueline B. Mars; Kissick Family Foundation; Diane and Hal Brierley; John H. N. Fisher and Jennifer Caldwell; John and Catherine Debs; The Fullerton Family Charitable Fund; Philip I. Kent; Gail Elden; Deborah and Jon Dawson; David and Susan Kreisman; The McCloskey Family Charitable Trust; Becky and Jim Morgan; Carol and Ned Spieker; Mark A. Tracy; and Paul and Shelley Whyte. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was made possible, in part, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Book Discussion: American Scripture
Saturday, January 31, 2 p.m., Bethel Library Association, 6 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Join us for a discussion of the book American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence by Pauline Maier. In American Scripture, Maier shows us the Declaration as both the defining statement of our national identity and the moral standard by which we live as a nation. The book explores everything from the Declaration’s birth in the hard and tortuous struggle by which Americans arrived at Independence to the ways in which, in the nineteenth century, the document itself became sanctified. A hybrid option will be available for those unable to attend in person.
February
Live Book Reading and Discussion: The Age of Homespun
Sundays, February 1, 8, 15, and 22, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Reading Room, Robinson House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 10 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Starting on February 1st, the Independence 250 Committee and the Bethel Library Association’s Yarn Hub are hosting a monthly long reading of The Age of Homespun by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. This book presents a fascinating look at how everyday objects—spinning wheels, cloth, clothing—shaped early American life, especially women’s work and experiences. This book reminds us that history isn’t just made in grand moments, but in the quiet, skillful labor of daily life. In keeping with the theme of the book, please bring any handwork project you have going (knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, embroidery, rug hooking, quilting, hand piecing). And if you don’t have a handwork project going, come anyway.
You do not need to read the book yourself to attend the reading, but if you want to, there will be a few copies of the book to borrow from the Bethel Library Association.
“Ghosts of Centennials Past” with Will Chapman
Saturday, February, 21, 2 p.m., Howe Exhibit Hall, Mason House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
MBHS Executive Director Will Chapman will present a program on how the American Centennial of 1876 and Bicentennial of 1976 were celebrated in the Bethel area.
March
“The Last, Best Hope: The 250 Year Struggle for the American Experiment in a Divided Federation” with Colin Woodard
Saturday, March 21, 2 p.m., Gould Academy
Colin Woodard is a journalist and writer who lives in Portland, Maine. Woodard argued in his award-winning book, American Nations, that there’s never been one America but rather several Americas, each with its own, centuries-old ideals, values, and religious and cultural heritage. Thrown together in an accident of history, these regional cultures have fought over the meaning and purpose of the U.S. federation, testing Americans’ commitment to securing the natural rights ideals in the Declaration of Independence. Since American Nations first appeared in 2011, Woodard has continued to develop this theme in later books such as American Character (2016), Union (2020), and Nations Apart (2025).
Woodard’s presentation and book signing at Gould Academy will be free. Following the presentation there will be a special author reception at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society. The reception will feature the opportunity to chat more with the author, enjoy some light refreshments, and socialize in the museum galleries. Special behind-the-scenes tours will also be offered with the Museums’ Executive Director. Tickets to the reception are $25.
Both the presentation and reception have limited capacity. Please reserve your free presentation tickets and reception tickets here.
Book Discussion: Angelica
Saturday, March 28, 2 p.m., Norway Memorial Library
Join us for a discussion of the book Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution by Molly Beer. Few women of the American Revolution have come through 250 years of US history with such clarity and color as Angelica Schuyler Church. She was Alexander Hamilton’s “saucy” sister-in-law, and the heart of Thomas Jefferson’s “charming coterie” of artists and salonnières in Paris. Her transatlantic network of important friends spanned the political spectrum of her time and place, and her astute eye and brilliant letters kept them well informed.
In this enthralling and revealing woman’s-eye view of a revolutionary era, Molly Beer breathes vibrant new life into a period usually dominated by masculine themes and often dulled by familiarity. In telling Angelica’s story, she illuminates how American women have always plied influence and networks for political ends, including the making of a new nation.
May
Book Discussion: My Dear Hamilton
Saturday, May 9, 2 p.m., Rumford Public Library
Join us for a discussion of My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Sephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. My Dear Hamilton is a historical fiction novel that tells epic life story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. Authors Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.
June
“Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier: The Narrative of Joseph Plumb Martin” with William Huntting Howell
Saturday, June 13, 2 p.m., Howe Exhibit Hall, Mason House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Professor William Huntting Howell of Boston University will share his research and analysis of an unusual Revolutionary War memoir. Howell writes that “Joseph Plumb Martin’s Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier, first published in Hallowell, Maine, in 1830, offers both a counter-record of the facts of the War and a counter-method for relating them.” Howell is the author of “Starving Memory,” an article on Martin’s Narrative which appeared in Commonplace: The Journal of Early American Life.
July
Fourth of July Community Celebration
Saturday, July 4, MBHS and Bethel Common
In honor of the 250th anniversary of American Independence, the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society’s traditional Fourth of July Community Picnic and Concert will be expanded into a full day of festivities. The big celebration will feature a parade to start the morning, concert by the Portland Brass Quintet, games and activities, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence. This event will be held in conjunction with the Shy, Novice, and Closeted Art Show and an Art Fair by the the Bethel Area Arts and Music.
Mornings at the Museum: “Happy Birthday, America!”
Thursdays, July 9, 16, 23, 30, 9:30-11:30
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
In celebration of 250 years of independence, the theme of our popular summer children’s program this year will be “Happy Birthday, America!”
September
“Meet John Adams: A Lively and Revolutionary Conversation with America’s Second President” with George Baker
Thursday, 3 September, 5:30 p.m., Howe Exhibit Hall, Mason House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
George Baker returns to the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society to bring his portrayal of President John Adams to our annual potluck supper and meeting.
Book Discussion: The Radicalism of the American Revolution
Saturday, September 12, 2 p.m., Waterford Library
Join us for a discussion of The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood. In The Radicalism of the American Revolution, prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood offers a grand and immensely readable synthesis of historical, political, cultural, and economic analysis to describe the events that made the American Revolution. Wood depicts a revolution that was about much more than a break from England–rather it transformed an almost feudal society into a democratic one, whose emerging realities sometimes baffled and disappointed its founding fathers.
Rumford Center Meeting House Open House and Patriotic Celebration
Sunday, September 13, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
On September 13, 2026, the Rumford Center Village Improvement Society will hold an Open House at Rumford’s Meeting House on Route 2 from 10:00-4:00 in connection with the 250th commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. We expect to have a traveling exhibit about Frances Perkins, part-Mainer who served as Secretary of Labor and is responsible for the creation of Social Security; activities will include playing games, enjoying other elements of the colonial period, wool spinning, and a display of old tools. There will be an explanation of the physical transformation of the Meeting House to a secure and safe building, from lifting it off its foundation several feet in the air to strengthening and stabilizing its walls and ceiling as well as a clapboard replacement demonstration. We hope to receive photographs and documents of events held at the Meeting House from people whose families have participated in those events. Dressing up in period garb is encouraged.
October
“The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution” with Zara Anishanslin
Sunday, October 4, 5:00 p.m., Reading Room, Robinson House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 10 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Join us in the Reading Room of the Robinson House (10 Broad Street, Bethel, ME) on Sunday, October 4, at 5:00 p.m. for a talk by Zara Anishanslin, Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware.
The war that we now call the American Revolution was not only fought in the colonies with muskets and bayonets. On both sides of the Atlantic, artists armed with paint, canvas, and wax played an integral role in forging revolutionary ideals. In her 2025 book The Painter’s Fire Zara Anishanslin charts the intertwined lives of three such figures who dared to defy the British monarchy: Robert Edge Pine, Prince Demah, and Patience Wright. From London to Boston, from Jamaica to Paris, from Bath to Philadelphia, these largely forgotten patriots boldly risked their reputations and their lives to declare independence.
“What Revolution?” w/David Jones and William Andrews
Saturday, October 17, 2:00 p.m., Reading Room, Robinson House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 10 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Just how revolutionary was the American Revolution? Two historians, David Jones and William Andrews, will take up this question in a spirited discussion of the events of 1776 and their place in history.
November
Book Discussion: Founding Foodies
Saturday, November 21, 2 p.m., Howe Exhibit Hall, Mason House
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, 14 Broad Street, Bethel, ME
Join us for a discussion of the book, The Founding Foodies: American Meals that Wouldn’t Exist Today If Not For Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin by Dave DeWitt. Food writer Dave DeWitt entertainingly describes how some of America’s most famous colonial leaders—like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin—not only established America’s political destiny, but also revolutionized the very foods we eat. A hybrid option will be available for those unable to attend in person.