Walks will be held on Fridays again this fall - save the dates below. All walks are 10am-12noon. Bring a sandwich if you wish to share lunch with other walkers afterwards. Wear sturdy shoes and a walking stick is recommended.
SAVE THESE FOUR DATES:
#29 October 2nd: Case Cemetery and North Manchester Meeting House; followed by a hike into Shedd Pond. This is a repeat of history walk #10 with some added info. Some members of Manchester Historical Society will be joining us and have invited us to the Manchester Grange Hall after the walk where we can eat our sandwiches and also view the temporary historical display put up specially for the Manchester Apple Festival. The display includes 19th century Manchester farm artifacts, Civil War memorabilia and much more. East Winthrop Baptist Church has received a special invitation as well since that church is an 1823 "spin-off" of Rev. Isaac Case's church. Also joining us will be ancestors of John Day who are coming in from Minnesota and Delaware and will join us. John Day and his wife a buried in Case Cemetery and lived in the part of Readfield that later became Manchester. A
monograph researched and written by Dale Potter Clark will be available on the
day of this event for a donation, which will be applied to the Readfield
“Museum in the Streets” fund managed by Readfield Historical Society. Follow this link to read more about the monograph, titled Rev. Isaac Case, a biography.
#30 October 16th: Fogg and Ladd Homesteads. Dudley Fogg and Simeon Ladd, Jr. settled in Readfield about the same time - circa 1805 - on adjacent farms. In 1917 the two families also "joined" when Sam Fogg married Inez Turner daughter of Fred & Lydia (Ladd) Turner. The Ladd farmhouse no longer stands but the Fogg one does. We will enjoy the splendor of autumn colors from the Fogg Homestead, and a hike through the Fogg Farm Conservation Area and on to where the Ladd homestead once sat. Meet no later than 10am at Gile Hall, 8 Old Kents Hill Road, and we will caravan from there. Of note - Simeon Ladd's 2nd wife was Lydia Whittier, whose family homestead we will visit next time (see #31 below).
#31 October 30th: Whittier homesteads and Quimby Bog on North Road. In Readfield's earliest days the North Road was called "Whitcher Road" - the early spelling and pronunciation for Whittier. Moses Whittier and his sons Moses, Jr. Josiah and Beniah settled a significant piece of land in that area of town and two original "Whitcher" homesteads are still standing and very much lived in. Of note - Moses, Sr's daughter Lydia's second marriage was to Simeon Ladd, Jr. in 1821 (see #30 above). Plans are still evolving for this History Walk so stay tuned.
#32 November 13th: Readfield Corner to include tours of Dr. Samuel Currier house (Community Library); Lafayette Masonic Lodge; and the old Readfield Grange Hall, where we will eat lunch. Details will be announced about where we will park and begin.
We will be announcing locations / subjects for all the fall 2015 Readfield History Walks soon. Check back here FMI as plans evolve. You can also request email reminders be sent directly to you by sending your name and email address to crossings4u@gmail.com.
We also entertain suggestions for locations / subjects - although there is no guarantee that we can satisfy all requests we will try.
