READFIELD — When and how did Kents Hill village change from remote backcountry farmland to a cultural and educational center? In this presentation –“Kents Hill: From Farmland to Village” — Dale Potter-Clark will share information about that evolution, starting from before 1780, when there were very few people living on Kent’s Hill.
The Packards, Fords and Kents were three of the first families to stake their claims, and buildings began to appear. The Packard men were house wrights, so they built several of them. After the Revolutionary War, others came, but the most influential, who had a long-lasting effect, was Luther Sampson. From 1790 until 1824, a meeting house and parsonage, grammar school, store, cemetery and Methodist seminary were established, and the hilltop called Kent’s Hill evolved from a handful of family farms to a thriving residential, cultural and educational center.
Participants will enjoy a slide show of vintage photos, depicting buildings and scenes on Kents Hill. Through photos and her research findings, Potter-Clark will walk participants through the evolution from farmland to Kents Hill village.
The presentation will be held Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Maranacook Adult and Community Education, Maranacook High School, Millard Harrison Drive. The registration fee of $12.50 will help fund the Museum in the Streets”(R) historical site markers project. To register, call 207-685-4923 x 1065 or register online using a debit or credit card at maranacook.maineadulted.org.
Caption:
This photo was taken from the tower atop Bearce Hall at Kents Hill School before 1872, looking east over Kents Hill Village. Torsey Methodist Church can be seen in the foreground, and in the distance is Readfield Depot.
(Submitted photo)
