Save the date for these upcoming events and activities

Brown Tail Moth Control Workshop

February 11, 10:00 AM

Spring Clean Up Day

April 18, 9:00 AM

Earth Day

April 22: 10:00 AM – 3 PM

Community Matters! Bangor Savings Bank is offering you the opportunity to vote for the organizations you enjoy and value. If Woodlawn is one of those (you can vote for 5 in the state), please add our name in the Hancock County spot. We thank you and we thank BSB for giving back to Ellsworth.

https://www.bangor.com/community/community-matters-more

Grounds Control: Things to be aware of around the Woodlawn campus

1. Watch for the sign at the gate regarding the skating pond Open/Closed status.
2. Parking for sledding, skating and trail use is still the South 'croquet' lot which means driving in front of the Black House Museum. Go slow and watch for families sledding and walking the fields.
3. Remember that the driveway in front of the museum is SINGLE lane. Be aware of who is coming and going - wait if you need to since there isn't room to pass.
4. The driveway is two lane and quite tight so again, drive slowly. Where it is in the shade, it is often icy.
5. It is easiest to get to the skating pond by using the alternate trailhead to the left of the croquet field, over the bridge and up past the tomb. Many walk up through the field and that is fine but the snow is deep.
6. On weekends ONLY, we have limited additional parking on the lawn in front of the cottage and beside the carriage barn, just past the construction fence. Also only single lane, so please drive carefully.

Barn Update

See the short white wall to the far left? That span has its cladding. The strapping on the rest of the walls is preparation for the cladding and once doors and windows are complete, the building will get its white topcoat! Inside is a hive of industry - electric, plumbing, carpentry - so many different people, sounds, and activities happening. They all get here very early and are doing a super job.

Little Marks of Great Importance

In 19th century Maine, February was usually the midpoint of timber cutting season. Imagine spending these bitter cold days laboring in the Maine woods harvesting trees for the lumber trade. John Black and his family were involved in all aspects of lumbering from tree harvesting to processing and sales. Important details about how the business worked are available to researchers today thanks to the survival of their business records.

As soon as the ground was frozen, teams of lumberjacks and oxen went into the woods to established temporary lumber camps to fell trees with axes and saws. They would also cut an owner’s mark into the end of each log which was loaded onto skids, and the oxen moved the load to the nearest frozen waterway.

With the spring thaw (aka mud season), cutting stopped and logs were floated down river to sawmills. Each mill foreman had a list of owner’s marks and recorded the tree species and number of board feet from each log. Payment was made based on the mill records. This page from Woodlawn’s archives is a list of John Black's marked logs that were “turned thru Brimmer’s Boom” on the Union River above Ellsworth in 1850.

This offers a glimpse of one step in the long process of turning trees into profit.

Wish List

Volunteer grant writer

Wood chipper

8-10 ft Board Room table

Large (11x14) laminator

Microfiche machine

Office printer/scanner

Tool box

Wood tea trolly

Old wooden apple tree picking ladder

Old wooden trunks, crates & boxes