- March 25, 2021
March is Women’s History Month! We shared items and collections from the History Room that illuminate women’s history in our communities in each issue of the library’s email newsletter (sign up here). See each week’s story below!
Old Ladies’ Home
The Old Ladies’ Home collection (MC 009), includes information about how the charitable institution was founded in ...
Read more… - February 11, 2021

Historic building enthusiasts will be happy to learn that Sagadahoc Preservation Inc., our neighbors at Winter Street Center, will celebrate their 50th anniversary by offering virtual house tours in March.
Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc., kicks off the celebration of its 50th anniversary this year with a series of online guided tours of historic homes and landmarks in ...
Read more… - January 8, 2021
Announcing the 17th Annual Town History Series
The Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room announces the seventeenth annual Town History Series!
Speakers from Patten Free Library’s five member communities will present on aspects of their town’s history on five Saturday mornings in January and February.
On January 16, Nathan Lipfert will present Two Centuries of Working for Bath Customs. ...
Read more… - December 28, 2020
When Karen suggested doing a Zoom program back in March 2020, I had no idea what it would become. History Room Live has been such a joy to produce every week. We’re both going to miss seeing our patrons’ faces while we focus on bringing the 17th Annual Town History Series online.
Jill’s Reflections
We started in ...
Read more… - December 8, 2020

Click here to order the 2021 Bath Historical Society calendar.
The Bath Historical Society issues a calendar every year to spread the word about Bath history. This year’s calendar honors Robin Haynes and Peter Goodwin after their retirement from Patten Free Library. Each month features one of Peter and Robin’s picks from the Sagadahoc History & ...
Read more… - November 19, 2020
November is Native American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month. We’re honoring Maine’s indigenous peoples by learning more about the Native Americans who have lived in Sagadahoc County.
We’ll start by identifying books in our collection that focus on indigenous history at a local level. Next, we’ll share tips for finding other books about indigenous history on a ...
Read more… - October 30, 2020
If you aren’t going door to door for candy this Halloween, you can still Trick-or-Treat down the streets of Bath as they were 100 years ago with the Confectionery Challenge! A confectionery is also known as a candy store. Yum!
Here are the rules:
Browse the 1919 Bath Sanborn Map online.*
Look for confectioneries – abbreviated Conf’y – ...
Read more… - July 31, 2020
Have you been counted?
Among everything else, 2020 is a U.S. federal Census year. Have you completed the Census yet? It’s easy, safe, and important to be counted!
Learn more about how you can complete the 2020 census from the U.S. Census Bureau.
What is the Census?
A census gathers information about a population. The United States Census, ...
Read more… - July 18, 2020
Thirteen patrons joined us for History Room Live yesterday. It was a casual “Coffee Hour” session where we shared and discussed books we’ve been reading.
Our books weren’t limited to local history and genealogy topics, but certain themes emerged, including United States history, Black history, activisim, and maritime life.
Here are 21 books that came ...
Read more… - July 6, 2020
Frequent visitors to our Reading Room may have recognized the painting that was featured on Maine Public’s On This Day in Maine History series this Monday. Eagle-eyed patrons would have spotted some differences, as Maine Public’s image is a different version of the one that hangs on the East wall of the Reading Room. The ...
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