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Happy New Year!
We hope everyone had joyful and relaxing holidays. After a busy December, we are excited to welcome in the new year with a wide variety of programs and events planned.
Our popular History Lecture Series is returning on January 6th. We are kicking it off with a program on ice harvesting in Maine from Patrick Callaway, collections manager at MDI Historical Society. Be sure to check our website for other fascinating lectures and programs on the way!
Our indoor winter craft and farmers market series is also continuing into 2025 and the first market of the year will be on January 11th. Come warm up in The Barn and browse an array of craft and food vendors.
While we are excited for what 2025 has in store, we also must reflect on the successes of 2024. The continued integration of The Barn into our programming and community use, our progress with the Black Family archives, and a growth of staff are just a few of the milestones achieved in 2024. These achievements are thanks to a huge number of partners and supporters. Our staff, trustees, volunteers, and visitors all make Woodlawn a valuable piece of the Ellsworth community. We are grateful to everyone who has lent their time, energy, and resources to make Woodlawn an asset for all.
We welcome you to join us at Woodlawn in 2025 for a year of history, science, events, and more!
With gratitude,
Evan Moats
Executive Director
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December sure was busy around Woodlawn! | |
The Walk-thru Holiday Light Trail on the Story Trail Loop was up an going for the second year and welcomed visitors of all ages during December.
On December 21, Santa made a visit to Woodlawn and we even heard that one of his reindeer (Comet) was a part of the light trail this year.
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Woodlawn was a part of the
"Christmas in Toyland"
44th Annual Ellsworth Christmas Parade.
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The Barn was transformed into a rock concert venue for a corporate holiday party featuring the local band Whoopy Kat! Over 100 guests danced the night away and snapped photos in front of a festive backdrop set up in the lobby. | We also held the second of the monthly Winter Craft and Farmer's Markets, which had over 25 vendors. Keep an eye on future market dates as the next one is just around the corner on January 11. | |
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Thank you!
To the community for coming to Woodlawn for all of the events in December and throughout the year.
We look forward to seeing you again in 2025!
To our AMAZING volunteers (Cheri, John B., Janet, Andy, Barbara, Steve, John R., Roz, Pier, McKenzie, and Jenifer) who braved the cold with us many nights to make sure the holiday light trail and Santa's visit was a success!
To our sponsors for making the light trail possible:
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Happy 211th birthday George Nixon Black! | |
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George Nixon Black and the Road Not Taken
By Roz Rea, Trustee
In 2025 this column will occasionally highlight a member of the Black family revealing something surprising about them discovered in the archives.
We begin with the tale of a “road not taken” by George Nixon Black, the sixth of eight children born to John and Mary Black. George was born on January 15, 1814, and grew up to be the most successful of all his brothers and sisters. In 1830, when he was sixteen years old, George turned down an offer that would have changed both his family’s and Woodlawn’s history in unimaginable ways.
The story unfolds in a series of letters from John Black to George in 1829 and 1830 when George was attending school in Boston. Evidently, John Black had received a letter from his older brother, Thomas Nixon Black, suggesting that young George travel to Constantinople* and assist Thomas with his successful mercantile business in that city.
John Black communicated with George’s teacher about this opportunity before writing this to George, “Mr. Greene thinks favorably of your going to Constantinople, you would undoubtedly have a better chance of success than any other young American, and you would probably derive great advantage from a residence with your Uncle. For the present, the subject is before you for your consideration - I shall have no inclination to send you from me, to so great a distance…but I think when it is necessary to decide, your own good sense will dictate what course is best for you to pursue. Meanwhile attend particularly to the French language and such other studies as Mr. Greene shall direct. You cannot learn anything that may not at some time or other, be useful to you.”
Nothing in the archives suggests how George made his decision to forego his uncle’s offer. What we do know is that in August of 1830, George was in Ellsworth fully committed to working for his father. From Boston, Mr. Greene continued advocating for George to go to Constantinople writing, “What are your plans? Remember…The Black Sea is open & Constantinople promises occupation.” But the decision had been made. George stayed in Ellsworth transitioning from the Boston schoolboy world of dancing lessons and French conversation back to life in rural Maine.
George became his father’s closest associate familiarizing himself with lumber operations, shipping, trade, and the Bingham Land agency. In 1836, George married Mary Peters of Ellsworth. They raised three children and eventually moved to the posh neighborhood of Beacon Hill in Boston where he continued in business. In 1880, George and Mary made their annual summer visit to Woodlawn despite George’s failing health. He passed away at Woodlawn on October 2, 1880 at the age of 66. Weeks later he was interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge having never traveled to a foreign country.
* Constantinople was a major port city and part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. Today it is known as Istanbul in the country of Turkey.
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Photo (left to right):
Stacey Salsbury, Lesley Clisura, Evan Moats, Kelly Lunt, Kevin Murray
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What is their role at Woodlawn?
Evan Moats: Executive Director
- Donations, sponsorships, and other support. Partnerships, internships, research & museum inquiries.
Kelly Lunt: Education and Community Engagement Director
- Field trips, teacher workshops, homeschool classes, lectures, history & science programming and community events.
Lesley Clisura: Venue Coordinator
- Barn and grounds rental opportunities, craft & farmers' market, and volunteer opportunities.
Kevin Murray: Facilities and Grounds Manager
- Buildings, trails and grounds maintenance.
Stacey Salsbury: Bookkeeper/ Office Manager
- Billing, invoicing, and contract services.
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Ice
Harvesting
January 6th at 6PM
MDI Historical Society's Historian and Collections Manager, Patrick Callaway will speak about ice harvesting.
In the 21st century ice is readily available in our homes. Outside, ice can provide recreation or present dangers to travel. If we look into the past of ice itself it was a valuable economic opportunity for Mainers that provided off-season income. Ice connected Maine to far distant markets that demanded the crop for food preservation and cooling.
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Mount Hope Cemetery
February 3rd at 6PM
Bangor Historical Society Curator/Operations Manager, Matt Bishop will speak about the nations second garden cemetery, Mount Hope Cemetery.
Built in 1834, Bangor’s 300 acre Mount Hope Cemetery is the nation’s second oldest garden cemetery. It was designed by renowned architect Charles G. Bryant as part of a national movement to provide respite from grassless urban landscapes. Garden cemeteries were created as much for living as for those who had passed on. During this talk we will discuss the building, expansion, residents, and some of the symbology in this beautiful Bangor cemetery.
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Woodlawn's History Lecture Series is sponsored by:
Legacy Properties of Sotheby's International Realty.
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Animal Footprints
January 18th
10AM-12PM
$10 per person
Join Maine Master Naturalists on a walk around Woodlawn to learn about how to identify animal footprints and the animals that leave them.
In the event of bad weather this event maybe cancelled or postponed.
This is a family friendly event and children must be accompanied by an adult.
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Winter Trees
February 8th
10AM-12PM
$10 per person
Join a Maine Master Naturalist for a walk on Woodlawn's trails to learn about trees in winter.
In the event of bad weather this event maybe cancelled or postponed.
This is a family friendly event and children must be accompanied by an adult.
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Experiment with natural patterns and mindful making through cyanotypes! This class will focus on the basics of cyanotype printing techniques with fabric and paper to create a series of prints and fabric patches. Participants will capture shadows through cyanotype printing, utilizing seasonally foraged plants of the region as well as everyday objects that hold memory or visual intrigue to print with on coated cotton fabric and watercolor paper. | |
Woodlawn's Winter Craft & Farmers' Market | |
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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
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Please consider a gift to Woodlawn
today
Your support makes our mission possible,
where history connects people to place
Thank you!
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Woodlawn
P.O. Box 1478
Ellsworth, Maine 04605
(207) 667-8671
For general questions, click here
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