Volunteers keep history alive and pertinent in Hampden

By Brian Swartz

Weekly Staff Editor

HAMPDEN The past comes to life each Tuesday at the Martin Kinsley House, a circa-1794 two-story, wood-frame house located at 83 Main Road South.

Inside this building that witnessed British soldiers marching past in early September 1814, Hampden Historical Society members spend each Tuesday cataloging documents and photos, researching information in the societys extensive archives, and expanding those same archives. Even though they live in the present, for several hours a week, these volunteers delve into the past, sometimes deep into the 19th century

and they would not have it any other way.

All my ancestors back generations have lived in Hampden, said Jerry Stanhope, the Hampden Historical Society president. Some of us have never left.

Past President Ken Rowell was young when he moved away from Hampden. Now a Bangor resident, he retains close ties with his hometown and currently focuses his research on Hampden schools, especially the rural schoolhouses scattered across the town not that many decades ago.

The society has 200 members, not all active, and everyone helping to catalog and expand the societys archives written and material, documents and letters, clothing and furniture volunteers to do so. Its because you love it is why we do this, said Archivist Jean London.

Local preservationists founded the Hampden Historical Society in 1970. According to its constitution, the society exists to bring together those people interested in history and especially in the history of Hampden and the surrounding area.

Understanding the history of our community is basic to our democratic way of life, gives us a better understanding of our state and nation, and promotes a better appreciation of our American heritage, the HHS constitution states.

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Volunteers keep history alive and pertinent in Hampden