Celebrating 225 Years of History

With its sweeping view of the Kennebec River, rolling fields and towering forest, the Vaughan Homestead of Hallowell remains much the same today as when it was built in 1794. Home to seven generations of the same family, the Homestead met the Vaughans’ diverse needs over a span of four centuries. Serving as everything from a place of refuge to a place of recreation, this historic dwelling is the common thread that links each generation’s unique experience of history. 

While the Homestead saw many changes over two centuries, it also remained remarkably the same. Amidst the settlement of the State of Maine and the industrial revolution, through two world wars and the Great Depression, and throughout the modern era, Vaughan descendants remained dedicated to preserving the Homestead as their family legacy even during the hardest of times. This timeline exhibit was created in honor of the Homestead’s 225th anniversary in 2019. It was adapted in 2020 in celebration of Maine’s Bicentennial and the Homestead’s connection to the Maine State Seal and again in 2024 to include histories of colonialism and enslavement. 

Click image to enlarge and view as slide show.