A Message from the Director

Dear Friends of Woodlawn,

Today (October 1) is my first official day as the new Executive Director of Woodlawn! I'm excited to join this vibrant community in earnest. My family moved to Ellsworth at the beginning of September for the start of the school year. We have been delighted with the welcome we have received so far and are looking forward to meeting more folks in the weeks and months to come.

I'm grateful to the Trustees for their extraordinary work to help me get settled in this new position and this new place in the world. In particular, I want to thank Roz Rea and Andy Matthews for their thoughtful stewardship of Woodlawn as Acting Co-Directors during this time of transition.

Although the Museum is closing for the season on Friday, there are still lots of great ways to get involved at Woodlawn this month. Please stop and introduce yourself if you see me out on the trails.

Hope to see you soon,

Meghan Doherty

Executive Director

From the Archives

1008 cans of preserved oysters?

By Roz Rea, Trustee

So many topics, so little time. That is often the way I feel when I immerse myself in the Black Family Papers at Woodlawn. There is such a variety of material waiting to be studied, analyzed and incorporated into our understanding of nineteenth century Ellsworth history.

Included here are two documents that relate to the Black family’s shipping interests. John Black and his sons either fully owned or had partial shares in many vessels. Over a period of half a century they employed scores of captains and deck hands to handle their merchandise. Most of the Black’s ships were coastal schooners, but they had some larger vessels, too, that sailed to distant ports with cargos other than lumber.

First up is this document issued by the Custom-House, at the Port of the Salt Key, Turks Island [about 580 miles south of Miami, FL] on January 7, 1836, stating that the American Schooner Aurora bound for Baltimore was cleared to carry four thousand bushels of salt produced from the Turks Islands.



The Aurora was one of John Black’s ships that he kept in service year round. She spent the winters in the Caribbean and the rest of the year carrying lumber from Ellsworth to ports along the east coast of the USA. Moses Abbot of Ellsworth was the ship’s master.

The story of the Brig Swiss Boy is very different. Swiss Boy was owned by John Black and his son-in-law David Dyer. On February 23, 1850, Black and Dyer handed a letter and an invoice of the ship’s cargo to Captain Henry D. Dexter in Boston. Captain Dexter was instructed to proceed without “touching at any port” to the port of San Francisco, California. There he was instructed to sell the ship’s cargo for the best price possible. As you can see in this small section of the invoice, the ship’s cargo included building materials ready for immediate use.

In addition to the painted doors, windows and blinds, and 30,000 “hard burnt bricks”, cider vinegar, candles, dried apples and 1008 cans of preserved oysters were also on board!

I never fail to be surprised and enlightened by what there is to find in the Woodlawn archives.

Help us welcome Woodlawn's new

Executive Director, Dr. Meghan Doherty!

You are invited to a welcome reception for our new executive director, Meghan Doherty on October 23rd from 4:30-6:30PM. Light refreshments will be served in the Baker Center of the Barn at Woodlawn.

Please RSVP by October 20th by calling 207-667-8671

or emailing Roz Rea at rozrea11@gmail.com.

Past Programs

Autumn Gold

The last weekend of September was a busy one!

Upcoming Events

History Lecture Series

Woodlawn's History Lecture Series is sponsored by:

Legacy Properties of Sotheby's International Realty. 

Join Maine Master Naturalist Nick Noyes on a walk to learn about the forest in the fall. Topics include trees, lichen and using your senses as well as a little about the history of the forest here at Woodlawn.

Space is limited to 10 people and pre-registration is required.

This walk is family friendly.

Trees and Me Educator Workshop

Join us at the Barn for our Winter Craft Fair & Farmers Market, a festive celebration of local talent and seasonal goods! Browse a cozy selection of handcrafted pottery, woodworking, maple syrup, knits, soaps, baked goods, and more—perfect for holiday gifts or treating yourself. Featuring the work of local artisans and makers, this event is a great way to support our community while enjoying the warmth and charm of the season. We can’t wait to see you there!  

Woodlawn's newsletter is created by

Kelly Lunt, Education and Community Engagement Director.

If you have any questions about the newsletter please email: kelly.lunt@woodlawnellsworth.org

Woodlawn

P.O. Box 1478

Ellsworth, Maine 04605

(207) 667-8671

For general questions, click here