The Vinalhaven Historical Society is open from mid-June to mid-September. We currently employ one part time Director, and are helped by a few special volunteers! We rely solely on donations from our visitors and members for our daily expences, archival material, and maintenence of the building.
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Vinalhaven is one of the largest of the 14 year-round island communities in Maine. The Vinalhaven Historical Society was founded in 1963, and we strive to enrich the life of the island trough efforts in collecting and cataloguing the fascinating history of our community.
The Society has an extensive collection of photographic, genealogical, and vital records. The Museum houses atrifacts from the Civil War, Vinalhaven schools and homes, and tools for farming, fishing, and from the granite industry.
Mission Statement:
The purpose of our organization is to collect, identify, preserve, exhibit, interpret and make available for education and research, information and artifacts which illuminate the history of Vinalhaven and its families from its beginning to the present.
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| Our Building:
The Vinalhaven Historical Society building was originally built as the Universalist Church in Rockland in 1836.
In 1875 it was sold at auction for $300 and transported to its present site here on Vinalhaven. The town purchased the building in 1878 to be used as a town hall. It was then leased to various organizations and businesses such as "The Rink", Ariston Club, and Smith's Band.
Town meetings were held here in the 1920s and in 1947 the Vinalhaven Youth Center used the building as a Recreational Center. At the town meeting in March 1967, the Town of Vinalhaven gave the use and care of the building to the Historical Society.
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William Chilles, President
Amy Lear, Vice-President
Lorraine Bunker, Secretary
Lucy Bickford, Tresurer
Elizabeth Bunker, Director
| Dallas Anthony
Niall Conlan
Alan Lazaro
Torry Pratt
| Susan Radley
Priscilla Rosen
Marion Tolman
Roger Young
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