Founded in 1953
The Bridgton Historical Society was founded for the purpose of collecting and preserving historically significant material, and to encourage an appreciation and understanding of the events, customs, and traditions of Bridgton and the surrounding area. In 1976 the society acquired the old fire station located on Gibbs Avenue in downtown Bridgton, to serve as a museum. This facility was expanded in 1994 with the addition of a new wing for our extensive archives. The museum houses exhibits on the roots and characteristics of Bridgton, the narrow gauge railroad, Bridgton’s first automobile (a 1911 Sears) and other objects from the town’s history. The extensive archives provides researchers with a rich source of primary documents and records on the town and its families from the 1760s to the present.
In 1987, Mrs. Margaret Monroe of Providence, Rhode Island bequeathed “Narramissic,” the Peabody-Fitch Farm, to the Bridgton Historical Society. The house, which was built in 1797, sits on a twenty-acre property in South Bridgton with spectacular views of western Maine and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The farmstead includes a house, barn, carriage shed and working blacksmith shop, and functions as a historic house museum as well as a venue for workshops, educational programs, and festivals that emphasize early American life and crafts. It was Mrs. Monroe who named it “Narramissic,” which she understood to be an Abenaki Indian word for “hard to find.” Although it sits off the beaten track, the name was not a reference to its location but to her long search for just the right piece of property.Whether you are interested in genealogical research, early American life and crafts, local history, or just looking for family activities at one of our programs or festivals, we hope that you will come visit with us. Both the museum and Narramissic are open seasonally on a regular schedule, and the museum is open year-round by appointment.
