Oakland's Oldest House Enthralls Young Students

Proving that you can go back in time, Oakland's 1815 Macartney House recently welcomed the third grade classes of Mrs. Foster and Mrs. Powers from the Atwood-Tapley School in Oakland, a field trip that combined history, education, and a hands-on feel for local heritage.

Most recently occupied by three generations of Macartneys until the mid-1900s, the house is furnished and decorated in a collection that spans almost two centuries. Downstairs are the dining, parlor and kitchen - all fully and functionally furnished. Upstairs are three bedrooms depicting children, adult, and sewing themes. In the basement are tool collections.

Everywhere there are traces of the original structure: thick granite basement walls, beams hewn of unstripped trees, square nails. And, there are evidences of earlier lifestyles: rope beds and feather mattresses, hooks in the fireplaces for cooking and to keep pots warm, a wide door to the parlor, which traditionally doubled as a funeral room, to facilitate getting coffins in and out.

There are also collections and displays about early Oakland. Tool shop write-ups, for example, explain that axes and scythes and other "edge" tools put Oakland on the map as the edge tool capital of the world. Cascade Woolen Mill was one of the premium producers of New England. And, from 1790-1979, a total of 131 companies were maintained by the waterpower of the falls on Messalonskee Stream.

Recent acquisitions and changes at the museum include: a new tool collection, a sewing display, a bead "jet trim" display, and a milk bottle collection which will be replaced before summer. A most pleasant addition is the period garden the Waterville Community Garden Club is planting in the back yard.

For guests of all ages, Macartney House has a warm, comfortable feeling, and is well labeled which descriptions and dates.

The Macartney House will be open Wednesdays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., July 2 through August. Monthly meetings of the Oakland Area Historical Society will be held as follows:

• July 1 meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the museum: Guest speaker Howard Hardy, "History of the Axe Factories in Oakland."
• August 5 meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the museum: Guest speaker Mike Denis "Industries of Oakland."
• September 14 meeting at Ruth Wood's Camp at 1:00 p.m.

Additionally, the following events are scheduled for July:

• July 15 Ice Cream Social fund raiser and free RB Hall Band Concert at 6:30 in the parking lot.
• July 26 Flea Market in the parking lot 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For more information about the Macartney House or the Oakland Area Historical Society, call Alberta Porter at 465-7549.

Other houses/museum homes that are open to the public include:

• Margaret Chase Smith Home in Skowhegan, connected to the MCS Library, was built in 1949, and remains as Senator Smith, the only women in the U.S. to run for president, furnished it. 474-7133.
• Norridgewock Historical Society Museum, the former Female Academy, was built in 1837, and is furnished with many period pieces. 634-4243.
• Redington Museum, built in 1814, has five rooms furnished with antiques from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 872-2439.
• Skowhegan History House, 474-6632.
• Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore, the1870s farm homestead of the prosperous Washburn family, remains as the family furnished it. 897-4366.