Summer at Victoria Mansion

Victoria Mansion is open for the season 7 days a week through October 31st with the exception of July 4th and Labor Day. Tickets are available through our website: victoriamansion.org.

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In this newsletter:

• Free Admission for Juneteenth
• Forward Facing Campaign
• Brownstone Brews and Bites
• Thanks to our Portland High School Volunteers
• Intern Update
• A Fond Farewell



A capacity audience gathers to hear from Executive Director Tim Brosnihan about plans for the Forward Facing Campaign.

Victoria Mansion Announces $8 Million Forward Facing Campaign to Preserve the Mansion for the Ages

A generous bequest and a $1 million collective challenge puts the campaign on a strong path forward.

“Victoria Mansion is just so preeminently important. Important in the cultural history of Portland, of Maine, and of the nation.” That was the message from Honorary Campaign Chair, Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Maine State Historian and long-time champion of Victoria Mansion.

Shettleworth addressed a capacity audience by video on May 18 at a New Orleans-flavored jazz brunch at the Portland Country Club. Supporters gathered to hear about the plans to preserve and restore the National Historic Landmark. The Forward Facing vision is a 5-year, $8 million initiative aimed at creating a world-class institution to preserve and share this unique cultural landmark.

Click here for full details on the Forward Facing Campaign, including a video of Earle Shettleworth's full remarks.

The Hadacol Bouncers lead the crowd in a New Orleans tradition – the Second Line.

Event Co-Chairs Robin Webber (left) and Candice Thornton Lee (right) with Executive Director Tim Brosnihan.

Celebrating our 19-year partnership with Allagash Brewing, our summer fundraiser Brownstone Brews & Bites returns to the Mansion lawn this July! Enjoy bites from Cheese Louise and music by the Dapper Gents.

Food, beverage, live music, and first-floor Mansion tours are all included with the price of your ticket. All attendees also receive a free Allagash chalice to use during the event and take home at the end of the evening.

Your support of this fun, social evening furthers our mission to preserve and share this nineteenth-century treasure with the world.

Tickets on sale now!

Over the winter the Mansion was joined by Maddie and Rowan Butters, Seniors at Portland High School. Both girls volunteered organizing archives materials to earn service hours for the National Honor Society. Thanks for all of your time and assistance, and good luck as you both head off to college!

Interested in volunteering? Reach out to Staci Hanscom, Director of Education & Public Programs through this link, or via email at shanscom@victoriamansion.org.

Pictured left to right: Rowan Butters; Staci Hanscom, Director of Education and Public Programs; Maddie Butters.

Message from Our Spring Intern

My name is Ian Arsenault and I’m a volunteer intern at Victoria Mansion’s Unwilling Architects Initiative. As a student at the University of Southern Maine, history has been personally important to me in making sense of our current climate and understanding the global economy and how it evolved. Much of my previous work has focused on the 20th century and post-colonial politics, so studying the Antebellum era in the United States has introduced me to a lot I was unfamiliar with. The present moment is certainly not a vacuum, but an organic result of how our institutions and social systems were established and changed. 

My recent work at the Mansion has involved delving into historical resources on the 19th-century slave trade in New Orleans and trying to find out more about the individuals who worked in Morse’s hotels. Coming across a runaway slave advertisement in a newspaper from the period revealed more about the story of Joe, a young man enslaved as a waiter at the Arcade Hotel in the 1850s. From information gathered by Mansion staff, it was revealed that Joe had been purchased by Morse from notorious slave trader Matilda Bushey at the age of 13 and worked until he escaped in the aftermath of a fire at the hotel. Since no record mentions Joe after 1859, we are hopeful he succeeded in evading capture and reached freedom.

Though the work has been meaningful, it has also presented a new territory and required different approaches, since enslaved peoples were legally prevented from learning to write and their pasts obfuscated by enslavers. Examining and interpreting migration records, ship manifests and personal accounts, as well as consulting the knowledgeable staff at the Mansion has proved to be useful in corroborating important details. Getting the opportunity to implement different research methods in a museum setting has also been an inspiring experience for exploring more about the field as a whole and has certainly made me want to learn even more about the 19th century and the Civil War.

A Fond Farewell to Brittany Cook

Brittany Cook is a long-time member of the Victoria Mansion family. Since 2010 she has served in various capacities including as site manager, a supporter of educational and event programming, and as the primary researcher for the Unwilling Architects Initiative. Brittany is also a contributor to the New England Museum Association (NEMA) where she is a co-facilitator on the Interpreting Enslavement and Freedom community of practice. She finished her career at Victoria Mansion as Development and Communications Coordinator.

Brittany is well known in the Maine nonprofit arts community, having worked for the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, and the Maine Historical Society. She earned her BA in Theatre Studies from Guilford College and her MA in Museum Education from Tufts University.

She delights in finding opportunities to utilize both her theatrical and museum background to create and deliver unique, engaging programming in arts and historical settings, and to create community connections.

Brittany recently left us for a wonderful opportunity at the Cape Anne Museum in Gloucester, Massachusetts where she joined their team as Education & Community Program Coordinator.

We are thrilled for her as she takes the next step in her career. We know she’s going to knock it out of the park, but we’ll miss her terribly.

Wishing you all the best Brittany and please stay in touch!



Your support matters!

Guests tour the Parlor in July 2024 during our Brownstone Brews & Bites event.

As a nonprofit organization, we couldn’t do this without you. All of our work is propelled forward by the generosity of donors like you. When you give to the Annual Fund, 100% of your gift goes directly to supporting everything from our educational and curatorial programs, to our restoration and conservation efforts, to our cutting-edge research initiatives.

Please help us keep our incredible momentum going!

Keep an eye on our Events page for information about additional upcoming programs.

We are looking for docents to join us in 2025!

We accept individual applications for volunteers on a rolling, year-round basis. For more information or to sign up, please email Stacia Hanscom, Director of Education & Public Programs at shanscom@victoriamansion.org.

Members enjoy year-round free admission, discounts in the Museum Shop, and invitations to exclusive events. Become a member today to assist in our conservation efforts and receive the first news about upcoming Victoria Mansion events and programs.

The Staff of Victoria Mansion

Timothy Brosnihan, Executive Director

Ann O'Hagan, Director of Development

Stacia Hanscom, Director of Education & Public Programs

Jean Piekart, Administrative Coordinator

Rebecca LaPoint, Community Engagement Coordinator

Siobhan Lindsay, Conservator

Vivian Cunningham, Conservation Technician

Molly Kingsbury, Museum Shop Buyer & Merchandiser

Sue Flaherty, Visitor Services Coordinator

Michelle Josephson, Senior Site Manager

Nik Josephson, Site Manager

Sarah Coughlin, Scheduling Coordinator

Elena Popov Savchenko, Museum Housekeeper

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