The Aroostook County History Project
Sharing a passion for history and education.
This website is a culmination of Dr. Kimberly R. Sebold’s passion for local history, particularly the history of Aroostook County. In 2009, the website started in order to provide public access to primary source documents gathered by Dr. Sebold and her work-study students, Logan Bennett, Justin Howe, and Elizabeth Day. This work was partially funded by an Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant. Find out more information on the (EPSCoR) grant.
The Project
History in Stones:
Mapping Cemeteries to Teach the History of Central Aroostook County
The redesign of the website began in 2021 thanks to the contributions of a Maine Humanities Council Grant. Its redesign will continue with Zillman Family Professorship money in 2022. The purpose of the website is to disseminate primary and secondary sources related to Aroostook County to teachers, genealogists, and anyone interested in local history.
Thanks to the Zillman Family Professorship (July 2021-July 2023), the Maine Humanities Council Grant (April 2021-April 2022) and a Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation Grant (January 2022-December 2022), the contents of the website grew to include StoryMaps about the history of Central Aroostook County and searchable cemetery maps of the cemeteries in Central Aroostook County.
The Project
StoryMaps
The StoryMaps are designed to help middle and high school educators teach Maine and U.S. History by focusing on how local events fit into the larger context of state, national and world events. Lesson plans accompany the StoryMaps. The searchable cemetery maps are also included to help provide more information about the people and history of the area. All the work done to create the StoryMaps and the searchable cemetery maps was made possible by the aforementioned grants.
As time progresses, more StoryMaps and searchable cemetery maps will be added to the website. The goal is to include even more information about Central Aroostook County and eventually, Southern Aroostook County. The rich history of these regions needs more research and documentation. The information on this website is meant to provide more insight into the history and culture of Central and Southern Aroostook County. In addition, this website is meant to compliment the work of Dr. Dena Winslow, an independent academic historian who also researches and writes about the history of Aroostook County. Her work can be found on her website, Aroostook History.
Northern Aroostook County or the St. John Valley has had much research done on it by scholars, the National Park Service and local historians. To obtain materials for the St. John Valley, start by accessing the Acadian Archives website, which is part of the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Additional information about Maine Acadian Culture is provided by the National Park Service.
kimberly.sebold@maine.edu
Phone
(207) 762-2010
Address
181 Main Street, Presque Isle, ME 04769