Vaughn Woods & Historic Homestead

In Hallowell, Maine, the Vaughn Woods & Historic Homestead describes itself as a "non-profit nature preserve and non-traditional house museum."  The property was owned and built upon in the late 1700s by Benjamin Vaughn, a grandson of Benjamin Hallowell for whom the town was named.  It has been home to the Vaughn family ever since and still serves as a private residence.  It includes nearly 200 acres of woods, waterfalls, and trails that are open to the public year-round and have welcomed visitors for decades.  The homestead, built in 1794, has only recently been opened to the public for programs and limited guided tours.  Beginning this summer, the homestead will begin offering weekly tours by reservation.

The non-profit Vaughn Homestead Foundation oversees the property and cites that its mission "is to preserve and interpret the cultural and environmental setting of both the Woods and Homestead for their historical, natural and educational values, and to make them accessible to the people of Hallowell and the surrounding area."  Some of the language of the mission statement finds its way into much of the homestead's promotional language, but the message seems to shift and change across platforms.  The Facebook page states that the mission "is to preserve the homestead and its setting and to make it relevant, useful and accessible to the people of Hallowell and the surrounding areas;" and website pronounces on every page that the homestead is "Connecting people to place through nature, history & the arts in the heart of Hallowell, Maine."  The work of the mission includes cataloging over two centuries of historical materials and family records (a project begun years ago and ongoing), repairing and restoring the home, and hosting educational and cultural programming at the estate and in town.

I have arranged a private tour and meeting with the cataloging consultants and program coordinator and am looking forward to learning more about the work they do and what lies ahead.