Westport signature quilt
Collections:
The town's historical collections include photographs and archival records dating from the 1800s. Textiles, though limited, include five quilts, one of which is a ca. 1886 Westport signature quilt which has been documented by the Maine Documentation Committee. (A sister quilt is in the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Colorado). There are 19th century schoolbooks used on the Island and school record books dating from the early 1800’s to 1889 when the school districts, which at one time numbered six, were discontinued. Materials related to the Grange comprise a large part of the collection, and include minutes (1911 to 1919), membership application forms, quarterly reports, financial records, and correspondence.
First record book, 1828
Westport Island Town Government records primarily include current and historical vital records; records of town meetings and town business; and tax and valuation records dating back to 1828, when Westport, formerly Jeremysquam, separated from the Town of Edgecomb and incorporated as a town. These records include the original incorporation petition from 1828; Town Reports dating back to the 1800’s; town Civil War documents, such as enrollment eligibility lists; and vital records from the early 1800’s.
Westport ferry, 1941Westport ferry arriving in Wiscasset with Westport visible in the background
While the collections are limited, resources include records of the more-than 70 cemeteries, historical structures, and almost complete tax valuation records dating back to incorporation. The tax valuation records allow a view of the evolving ways that people traveled on and off the Island -- boat, bridge, causeway, ferry and car -- and how that affected everyday life.
Resources:
Available for sale or reference from the Town of Westport Island (for further information, contact the Town Clerk, 207-882-8477 ext. 3, email: townclerk@westportisland.us):
Harriman, Beatrice E. (1970). Family Records of Westport, Maine . Publisher: Author. (Available for reference only)
Harriman, Beatrice E. (Ed.) (1977). Westport, Maine 1828-1978 . (Available for reference only)
Swanton, John & Louise (Eds.) (1993). Westport Island, Maine once Jeremysquam . Publisher: Westport Community Association. (Available for sale: $15)
Tarbox, Cora J. (2011). Westport Island Maine 1605----1972 . Publisher: Author. (Available for sale: $20)
Westport Island, Maine Cemeteries (rev. 2014). Publisher: Westport Island Cemetery Committee. (Available for sale: $15)
Other resources:
McLane, Charles B. (1994). Islands of the Mid-Maine Coast Pemaquid Point to the Kennebec River . Rockland, ME: Island Institute. “Westport and Islands of the Upper Sheepscot and Back Rivers,” pp. 169-201.