KHS News

Dear Kennebunkport Historical Society Members, It is with humility, gratitude, and excitement that I join the team at the Kennebunkport Historical Society. I appreciate how many of you welcomed me. I look forward to stewarding the mission of preserving Kennebunkport’s history and begin by asking for your support. This year has been challenging for so many, and nonprofits are no exception. The Kennebunkport Historical Society ceased operations, fundraising events were canceled, and the newly renovated schoolhouse was never utilized for private functions, live music, and lectures. Through these troubled times, our team pressed on. It is with gratitude to so...

The Kennebunkport Historical Society is pleased to announce an intergenerational video project designed to capture the oral history of Kennebunkport by interviewing its oldest citizens. “We are so excited about this project and all of its possibilities,” shared Kristin Haight, executive director, “by collecting oral histories and connecting with Kennebunkport’s elders, we will be able to deepen our understanding of recent history and create valuable first-hand stories and images for future generations.” The project will launch in September 2021 with the call for citizens over 100 years old. Frank Handlen, for example, a beloved Kennebunkport artist, sculptor, and community friend...

Kennebunkport Historical Society Selects New Executive Director   For immediate release, the Board of Directors of the Kennebunkport Historical Society have selected their new Executive Director to lead the day to day and operational activities for the society.  Kristin Lewis Haight, a local Kennebunk resident, bringing 30 years professional experience, has accepted the challenge. Haight is very familiar with Southern Maine. Originally from Massachusetts, spent her summers as child in Ogunquit, raised her children in York, and today is happy to call Kennebunk her home. Her experience and accomplishments over the years include co-ownership of the award-winning Clay Hill Farm restaurant in...

A Message from the Board of Directors, Kennebunkport Historical Society: July 13, 2021 Dear Members, We are aware that a group of members is planning to meet tonight and wanted to provide you with updated information to alleviate any pressing concern. The e mail sent to Membership on June 29 was intended to share our decision making process, which we took very seriously. We felt it was a sound business decision while keeping the stewardship of the Society top of mind. This includes 1) to protect and honor the mission of the Society to preserve Kennebunkport’s social, cultural, and architectural...

At the May 2021, monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Kennebunkport Historical Society, a motion was put forward to sell the Pasco Center, the administrative headquarters of the Historical Society.  The motion to sell Pasco Center was predicated upon a year-long study and discussion by the Directors to determine whether it was in the long-range, financial best interest of the Society to own the number of buildings it currently maintains.  The motion was based solidly upon unanimous agreement among the Directors that it would be in the long-range, financial best interest of the Society, especially in this challenging, post-pandemic...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (April 29, 2020) – The Corning Incorporated Foundation has made an Employee Vibrant Community Grant of $1,000 to the Kennebunkport Historical Society. Arundel resident Denise Stevens, who works at Corning as a cell culture lab technician, has volunteered for the Society since 2014. Stevens applied for the one-time grant in January. “It would be impossible for the Kennebunkport Historical Society to deliver its programs and services without the support of our loyal volunteers, members and donors,” said Executive Administrator Kirsten Camp. “This grant from the Corning Foundation has come at a particularly critical time, as the economic impacts...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (April 14, 2020) – The Pandemic of 2020 will go down in the annuls of history as a time when people’s lives were upended and forever changed. The Kennebunkport Historical Society is creating a record of how our local communities coped with the crisis, by collecting stories of what everyday people are doing in response. “History is more than just dates and facts,” said Kennebunkport Historical Society Executive Administrator Kirsten Camp. “What makes it fascinating are the personal stories that help to paint a picture of daily life and bring the past alive. They are a critically important...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (April 8, 2020) – With people sequestering at home during the Pandemic, the Kennebunkport Historical Society’s Archivist, Sharon Cummins, saw an opportunity to engage local history buffs.  In March she put out a call looking for “virtual volunteers” interested in transcribing handwritten records which can be difficult to read.  The response was overwhelming.  Every day, Cummins emails scanned pages from notebooks in the archives to nearly 20 volunteers who are creating typewritten copies for the Society. “Over the years handwritten information about historic buildings throughout Kennebunkport has been collected,” said Executive Administrator Kirsten Camp. “These records are used...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (September 11, 2019) – The audience gathered for a Kennebunkport Historical Society (KHS) lecture by Board member Albert Black about The Kennebunkport Playhouse on September 3 was pleasantly surprised by a special guest appearance from international recording artist, actress and KHS member Jane Morgan Weintraub. Mrs. Weintraub’s brother, Robert Currier, founded The Kennebunkport Playhouse to bring summer theater and entertainment to the community. The Playhouse was located on River Road across from the Cape Arundel Golf Course before it burned to the ground the evening of October 29, 1971. The cause of the fire was determined to be...

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (September 4, 2019) – On August 29 the Kennebunkport Historical Society (KHS) welcomed David S. Ferriero, archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration, to discuss a four-phase project it has undertaken with the Maine Historical Society (MHS) to digitize the KHS’s extensive collections. Ferriero, who is also a member of the Society, met with Executive Administrator Kirsten Camp, KHS Board member John Zimmermann, and Henry Caiazzo, an archivist with the MHS. “It was an honor to spend the afternoon with Mr. Ferriero,” said Camp. “It’s natural to think of the Society’s collections as having a mostly local...