AUGUSTA — The Kennebec Historical Society’s September public presentation is “Thomas Holt, Architect and Railroad Builder.”
The presentation is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Hope Baptist Church, 726 Western Ave., Manchester. It’s free and open to the public (donations are accepted).
The program will be preceded by a 4:30 p.m. potluck supper and at 6 p.m. by the society’s annual meeting and election of officers and directors.
The speaker will be Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. Shettleworth has lectured and written extensively on Maine history and architecture and served as state historian since 2004.
Holt was born in Bethel in 1835, and was an architect in central and western Maine from 1859 to 1870. In 1865 he designed the Portland and Kennebec Railroad Station in Augusta, which burned while under construction in the city’s Great Fire that year. Between 1871 and 1876, Holt was chief engineer of the Maine Central Railroad, designing railroad buildings and bridges as well as conducting surveys for new rail lines. In 1876, he moved to California, where he pursued careers in architecture, railroading, mining and lumbering. He died in 1889 from pneumonia contracted in a blizzard in Nevada.
For details about the potluck supper, contact Anne Cough, at acough60@aol.com or 207-582-2823.
PHOTO: The Maine Central Railroad Station in Augusta. (Kennebec Historical Society photo)
