Castine Historical Society

Predictions/Inquiries:

• There will be a focus on Castine’s role in the Revolution.
• Other than Castine’s Revolutionary history, what else is there to know?
• How does the Castine Historical Society compare to others that I’ve visited in their presentation of material and their points of emphasis?
• How are Castine’s values reflected in the historical memory cast in the Historical Society’s presentation/s?

At the Museum:

The Castine Historical Society is an incredibly well put together museum with two permanent exhibits and another section that changes yearly.  This museum does it right in terms of having a clear purpose, deliberate organization, aesthetically appealing presentation, relevant imagery, and the use of both primary and secondary sources, that in effect encourage visitors to engage with the material, raise questions, and interpret for themselves.  

While the exhibit on Castine’s Revolutionary history was equally well done, most engaging was this year’s rotating installment titled Castine’s Devoted Women: Partnership and Social Reform 1910-1962.  The exhibit focused on the impressive and interesting lives of former residents Polly Porter (1884-1972) and Molly Dewson (1874-1962).  The exhibit came together after a twenty-eight volume scrapbook collection, put together by Porter and Dewson, was donated by a relative last summer. CHS creatively presents the “exhibit in the style of a scrapbook, telling the story through the words and eyes of Molly and Polly.”  As CHS notes, “The goal is to present each aspect of their life and work through quotations from their correspondence, contemporary newspaper articles clipped and passed into the pages of their scrapbooks, and the worlds of those who new them.”  Further, CHS seeks to impart interpretation on viewers but instead encourages each visitor “to read the Porter-Dewson’s life story on his or her own terms.”  The thought, care, and attention to detail that went into this beautifully constructed exhibit is visible throughout.  The aesthetic design of the displays, for example, goes as deep as the backdrop which was inspired by the “grasscloth wall coverings in the dining and living rooms” of the couple’s Castine house.  Altogether, the inviting and interactive approach weaves an intimate narrative of these two extraordinary people. 

Both women lived full lives and contributed much through their local, national, and global efforts.  They were both involved in feminist politics and Progressive social reform for the duration of their lives.  During World War I, both women joined the Red Cross and traveled to France where they worked with refugees.  However, it is Molly who left the most significant legacy.  Even before the War she had established a name for herself and was asked by Jane Addams to deliver a paper at a conference of the Committee on Immigration.   During that time, her efforts focused on workers’ rights as she worked directly with women laborers while also pushed for state and national legislation.  Both women developed a strong relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt who visited them several times in Castine, sometimes with Franklin, and who the Porter-Dewsons visited at the Roosevelt summer estate on Campobello Island.  Molly was recruited to work on FDR’s gubernatorial campaign in the twenties and later his presidential campaigns.  She was credited in a 1933 Boston Globe article that read: “Ms. Dewson’s hand ran the machine that brought women to the polls to vote the Democratic ticket.”  The article went on to note that “for the first time on any wide scale the party organization of women was begun from the bottom up in precincts and counties, along the same lines as the organization of male voters.”  Interestingly, as the Spring 2017 CHS Newsletter points out, Molly’s work on FDR’s campaigns was inspired, using the tactics of the women’s suffrage movement to reach voters on a local level.”  Molly’s legacy is perhaps best captured by Eleanor Roosevelt who said of Dewson that “No other women has ever done so much to advance the stature of all women in politics.”

Interestingly, it wasn’t until after I left Castine and read the Historical Society’s newsletter that it dawned on me that Molly and Polly were more than friends and colleagues.  Though neither the Newsletter nor exhibit explicitly reveal the two’s romantic relationship it seems clear reading between the lines.  That’s one thing that I would have liked to have learned more about.  How were they received and perceived in their lives whether it be in France, NY, Boston, or Castine?  Given the taboo of a homosexual relationship in the time period in which they lived, how did they deal with it, how did they act, how did they present themselves, how did it impact their careers, how did it affect who they surrounded themselves with, were they public about their relationship? I imagine that there is an interesting story to tell along these lines. I guess it’s to the credit of the museum to avoid what would certainly bring a different focus to the exhibit.  One interesting approach might have been a second exhibit that acts as a juxtaposition that follows the same narrative but tells a different story about Porter-Dewson along lines of gender and sexuality. Even without this likely deliberate omission, Castine’s Devoted Women is as good as it gets in terms of historically focused museum exhibits.