Please note: We are located in MAINE, not NY! We are unable to help you with any information about Long Island, New York.
The Long Island Historical Society, located on Long Island, MAINE, is an organization dedicated to the preservation, research, collection, and displaying of objects of historical significance to the Town of Long Island, the City of Portland, and the neighboring islands in Casco Bay, Maine. Our exhibits feature the island’s history as it relates to fishing and lobstering; tourism, islanders, their lives and homes; WW I and WW II as they affected Long Island; the efforts of King Resources and Phoenix to establish a major oil storage and transfer terminal serviced by supertankers on the island; secession from the City of Portland, and the incorporation of the Town of Long Island on July 1, 1993. The Society is a member of Maine Archives & Museums.
We welcome inquiries into our collection. If you have items you feel might be of interest to Long Islanders, please contact us at longislandhistory@hotmail.com attention the Collections Committee.
Our next Historical Society meeting will be Saturday March 18, 11:00 am via Zoom. Our speaker will be Adam Kimball, a Long Island resident who is the Chief Officer for the Polar Endeavor. If you are not already receiving our email invitations but would like to receive the zoom link, please contact us at longislandhistory@hotmail.com.
2023 OFFICERS:
President: Karen Rea
Vice-President: Sandra Glynn
Treasurer: Nancy Berges
Recording Secretary: Diana Hutchinson
Corresponding Secretary: Linda Greene
Trustees: John Davis, Deborah Fuller, Pierre Avignon
History of the Long Island Historical Society
Although the first attempt to start a historical society on Long Island was in the 1970’s, it wasn’t until the fall of 1995 that the Long Island Historical Society was actually formed. The Long Island Civic Association board expressed alarm that the island was rapidly losing many members of a generation who had firsthand knowledge of the Island’s early 1900 history. The first meetings were held in a private home on the island, and by January 1996 the Society had incorporated as a non-profit organization and elected officers. The Chebeague Island Historical Society provided much needed assistance with the mechanics of what it takes to run a society. An exhibit titles Now and Then was held that summer in the VFW Hall. While it only lasted 4 hours, it was a huge success, demonstrating a definite interest by the islanders in having a society. When the Town of Long Island purchased the Community Building at Mariner’s Wharf, space was allocated to the Society for a museum. An Archives Room in the basement of the Long Island Learning Center provides stable temperature-controlled storage for the growing collection of artifacts. Thanks to several grants the society was able to purchase state-of-the-art computers and equipment to safely record and store the many objects in the collection. In 2017, the Society moved into it’s brand-new exhibit space in the new Long Island Community Center at Mariner’s Wharf. The Society has mounted summer exhibits, lectures and field trips, and hosted visiting groups and families interested in researching their family’s presence on the island.
PHOTO CREDITS: Postcard donated by Beth Marchak