Challenge Matched

The Bangor Museum & History Center's Capital Campaign received a $1 million challenge grant through the Maine Community Foundation. This generous gift has now been matched dollar for dollar.

>Help us build a museum worthy of Bangor's history

First stage of work on new Bangor Museum & History Center nears completion.

>Read Bangor Daily News article

History Volunteers Needed
Bangor Museum and History Center has opportunities for volunteers at the Thomas A. Hill House from June through September. If you enjoy Bangor’s fascinating history, this is the place to be. A half-day per week during the season is all you need to make a difference. No background required; you will receive training and background materials.

Please contact Curator Dana Lippitt to learn more about the volunteer program and Bangor history. Contact Dana at 942-1900 or curator@bangormuseum.org.

Welcome to the Bangor Museum

Founded in 1864, the Bangor Historical Society has been collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the Penobscot Valley for over 140 years.

Guest Curators

On June 11, 2009 twenty-two fourth graders from Fairmount School served as 'guest curators' at the Bangor Museum and History Center's Thomas A. Hill Historic House and Civil War Museum. Part of a service learning project designed by their teacher, Mrs. Jean Schmick, and museum curator, Dana Lippitt, students chose an artifact from the collection that interested them, researched, and wrote about that artifact. These writings will be displayed in the museum for visitors to read throughout the summer. On the morning of the eleventh, from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m., students welcomed friends and family for a special guided tour of the museum, featuring their findings. Service learning, part of the Maine Learning Results, involves helping the community while also being tied to numerous areas of study.

Bangor Metro magazine, June/July 2009, spotlights the Bangor Museum's collections in a ‘Special Collector’s Issue’ on Bangor history!

>Visit Bangor Metro online and view/download PDFs of this special feature

Thomas A. Hill House Opens

The Thomas A. Hill House and Civil War Museum, of the Bangor Museum and History Center, located at 159 Union Street , is open for the season.

In celebration of the many anniversaries this year for Bangor and the nation, displays include furnishings and objects of Hannibal Hamlin, who was a Bangor resident and Vice President of Abraham Lincoln. In the Civil War Room you will see one of the top Civil War collections in New England along with President Lincoln memorabilia, including a Lincoln-Hamlin campaign banner carried in local parades.

>View Hill House Schedule

Historic Walking Tours of the Mount Hope Cemetery and the Ghost Lamp Tours

The first Mount Hope Cemetery tour meets at the Cemetery Superintendent’s Office, 1048 State Street, on Friday, June 5, 5:00 PM; they continue periodically on Fridays and Saturdays until early October. Mount Hope Cemetery is the second oldest garden cemetery in the US. It was designed to meet the mid-19th century city dweller’s desire for a romanticized rural landscape. Many of Maine’s statesmen, military and civic leaders are entombed here, along with some of the infamous characters whose colorful legends still survive.

The first Ghost Lamp tour meets at the Waterfront Parking Lot on Tuesday, June 9, 7:00 PM; they continue periodically on Tuesdays through October. In the 1800s ships filled the river and the riverbanks bustled with activity. Taverns and brothels competed with shops, businesses and warehouses for attention. Engaging costumed tour guides will walk you alongside presidents, gangsters and ghosts from the past on these evening walks through Bangor history.

All tours are $5; museum members and children under 12 free.

>Complete schedule of the tours