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The process of organizing and creating the Phippsburg Historical Society began in December 1960, soon after it came to the Town’s attention that a formal historical association was needed. With the initiative of the Board of Selectmen, individuals from each section of town were contacted and a historical committee was formed. In early 1961 technicalities involved in creating such a corporation were discussed and a Board of Directors was established. On March 20, 1961, the Society held is first general meeting where membership was open to the public for the first time. Reaching out to the community, the first historical pamphlet was written and distributed. Soon after, several hundred visitors were drawn to an exhibit of historical Phippsburg material, held at the Popham Beach Library.
By the end of the Phippsburg Historical Society’s first year, there were ninety-seven steady members. In 1962, as a result of the vote of the townspeople at the annual March Town Meeting, the one-room Phippsburg Center Schoolhouse and land was given to the Society to develop a museum and permanent headquarters. The building opened as a museum in 1964. A wing was added to the east side of the building in 1992 and the newest addition was added to the north side in 2007.
Of great importance to not only the town, but the nation, the state-sponsored archaeological “dig” at 1607 Popham Colony’s Fort St. George took place for the first time between April and June 1962. As the original Board of Directors had hoped, the Phippsburg Historical Society has continued to grow in years since, maintaining its early-found reputation.
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