Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum
Description
The Islesboro Town Hall, built in 1894 on the site of the former First Baptist Meeting House at a cost of $4000, served many purposes in the island community, including housing the high school. The Masons built their new lodge next door in 1905.
In 1904 the State of Maine passed a law requiring towns to establish four-year high schools or pay tuition for students to attend school in another community. Previously, secondary school students could attend one of two so-called free high schools on the island, but attendance and the quality of education were low. Islesboro opened its new high school in 1905 in the old Masonic Hall with 40 students in one room. The next year the high school moved to the second floor of the Town Hall, where it remained until 1954. There were six girls in the first high school graduating class in 1908, three of whom were Erma, Marie and Marion Coombs.
Lillian Whitmarsh gave her stone summer residence, Rock Ledge, to the town in 1952 for remodeling and use as a consolidated school. Two years later the repurposed building welcomed Islesboro students from kindergarten through grade 12.
In 1971 the Islesboro Historical Society acquired the Town Hall building for its sole use. The Society came into being in 1964, when the town celebrated the 200th anniversary of Islesboro’s first European settler, Shubael Williams, owner of 500 acres of land in the Bounty Cove area.
About This Item
- Title: Town Hall and Masonic Hall, Islesboro, ca. 1910
- Creator: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Creation Date: circa 1910
- Subject Date: circa 1910
- Location: Islesboro, Waldo County, ME
- Media: Glass Plate Negative
- Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm
- Local Code: LB2007.1.107049
- Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Object Type: Image
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For more information about this item, contact:
Penobscot Marine MuseumPO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
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This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
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