Hello, friends!
We have a busy October calendar here on Broad Street, full of something fun for everyone.
“The Painter’s Fire” with Zara Anishanslin
Sunday, October 4, 5:00 p.m., Reading Room, Robinson House
Join us in the Reading Room of the Robinson House (10 Broad Street, Bethel, ME) on Sunday, October 4, at 5:00 p.m. for a special Independence 250 talk by Zara Anishanslin, Professor of History and Art History at the University of Delaware.
The war that we now call the American Revolution was not only fought in the colonies with muskets and bayonets. On both sides of the Atlantic, artists armed with paint, canvas, and wax played an integral role in forging revolutionary ideals. In her 2025 book The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution, Zara Anishanslin charts the intertwined lives of three such figures who dared to defy the British monarchy: Robert Edge Pine, Prince Demah, and Patience Wright. From London to Boston, from Jamaica to Paris, from Bath to Philadelphia, these largely forgotten patriots boldly risked their reputations and their lives to declare independence.
Bethel Cemetery Tour Series
Sundays, October 4, 11, 18, 25, 2:00 p.m.
Every Sunday in October, join Museums of the Bethel Historical Society Executive Director Will Chapman at one of Bethel’s historic cemeteries to learn about some of the town’s permanent residents. In keeping with the Independence 250 theme, special attention will be given to Revolutionary War veterans.
🪦 October 4: Woodland (Route 5)
🪦 October 11: Riverside (North Road)
🪦 October 18: Pine Grove (West Bethel)
🪦 October 25: Middle Intervale
Cemetery tours are one of our most frequently requested programs. We hope to see you there!
Ghosts of Mount Washington with Marianne O’Connor
Wednesday, October 14, 4:00 p.m., Bethel Library Association (6 Broad Street, Bethel, ME)
Join the Bethel Library and the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society for a presentation by author Marianne O’Connor, who will discuss the memorials on Mount Washington. Several of these memorials are associated with mysterious events, and there are a total of eight, each representing a tragic story of immense loss.
The program will document the “death markers” on Mount Washington and their current status. It will recount each notable event and explore other significant losses, examining how the installation of memorials has evolved over the last 200 years. Due to “Leave No Trace” principles, physical markers are no longer permitted. The goal of the program is to share individual incidents, raise awareness about these events, and provide strategies to help the public prevent future fatalities.
“What Revolution?” with David Jones and William Andrews
Saturday, October 17, 2 p.m., Howe Exhibit Hall, Mason House
Just how revolutionary was the American Revolution? Two historians, David Jones and William Andrews, will take up this question in a spirited discussion of the events of 1776 and their place in history.
If you know William from his popular Western Mountains Senior College courses or David from his Bethel Village walking tours, you’ll know that both men are deeply passionate and wide-ranging in their knowledge of American history. This is sure to be one for the history books!
Trick-or-Treat Broad Street 🎃👻
Saturday, October 31, 5 to 7 p.m.
Don’t forget to stop by the Bethel Library and Museums of the Bethel Historical Society for our fifth annual Trick-or-Treat Broad Street. We will be distributing candy to trick-or-treaters at the Bethel Library, Robinson House, and Mason House. We’ll also have a mini haunted house full of creeptastic historical oddities in the Twitchell Education Center!