Founded 1993
www.FriendsOfColonialPemaquid.org
Spring 2015
EXCITING
SUMMER PROGRAM
INSIDE!
NEWSLETTER 35
JOURNEY TO THE PAST
Bristol Consolidated School 6th graders were continually surprised at the harsh reality of life
enthusiastically awarded an A+ to their two day trip nearly four hundred years ago. Finally, the Bristol
to Plimoth Plantation last June, which was sponsored group boarded the Mayflower II, and were amazed at
by the Friends of Colonial Pemaquid. The students, how the Pilgrims and their animals survived such a
accompanied by their teacher and chaperones, traveled long voyage under very crowded conditions.
to Massachusetts for a Colonial Overnight. The
children were immersed in early American history and Upon returning to Maine, the Bristol students
contemplated the rich cultural heritage and historical participated in an Evening Lantern Walk at the Colonial
connection at Colonial Pemaquid, the northernmost Pemaquid State Historic site and heard the stories of
Colonial Pemaquid’s settlement during the same time
area of English influence in the 17th century.
period. The visit to Plimoth succeeded in bringing early
At Plimoth, the kids played English games, practiced Colonial history to life for the kids who live so close to the
writing with quill pens, and enjoyed 17th century fare historical treasure that is Pemaquid, and returning to the
for dinner. The busy itinerary included touring the site, especially at night, reminded them of the vital piece
17th Century Village, a reproduction of the early of American history that is part of their hometown.
farming and maritime community. Students received
their history lessons orally as interpreters talked with This year, the Friends of Colonial Pemaquid
them in period dialect and discussed their families, have offered the same opportunity to the 5th and 6th
homes, and chores. The kids visited the Wampanoag grade class at Bristol Consolidated School as a way
Homesite, where many of the docents are indeed for local school children to learn from the past and
Wampanoag. Here, too, the kids observed customs and appreciate their own rich cultural history at the nearby
dress, methods of farming and fishing, and spoke with Colonial Pemaquid Historic Site. The Friends are able
interpreters. The students also experienced nighttime to sponsor the Plimoth trip with proceeds from the
in the 17th century - pitch-black darkness with only Howell Fund, an endowment established in the name
firelight and candles for illumination - and learned to of FOCP founding president Jan Howell, and are glad
see the world through the eyes of early English settlers. to offer this opportunity to have students experience
Despite their advance preparation for the trip, students first-hand the richness and relevance of history.
FRIENDS OF COLONIAL PEMAQUID
SUMMER PROGRAM, 2015
Programs are subject to change
Saturday, May 23
Opening Weekend Concert – Maine St. Andrew’s Pipes & Drums – Enjoy traditional tunes of the British
Isles performed on the parade grounds of Fort William Henry by a kilted band from Ellsworth, ME. 2:00 PM
Saturday, July 4
239th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence­­ – Public reading and commentary by living history
interpreters at 2:00 PM. Rain date is Sunday, July 5. Saturday, July 11
July Evening Lantern Walk – Step into the past as you tour a 17th century village, meet some of the
inhabitants and be challenged by an 18th century soldier on guard duty at Fort Frederick. 8:30 PM. Rain
date is Sunday, July 12.
Monday, July 13
Geological Variations in Maine During the Past 10,000 years – First evening lecture of the season by
David Cook, who will describe and discuss the repeating ice cycles and forces that produced Maine’s modern
landscape, as well as speculate on what the future holds. 7:30 PM ($5 or free to members.)
Saturday, July 18
Pirates at Pemaquid! – Living history presenter and local author James Nelson re-creates the infamous
Dixie Bull who attacked and sacked Pemaquid in 1632. 1:00 and 3:00 PM. Rain date is Sunday, July 19.
Monday, July 20
Our 18th Century Heroes and Hell-Raisers and How They Affect Us Today – Historian Chip Griffin
reflects on the profound influence and legends surrounding Maine’s early Scots-Irish settlers. 7:30 PM ($5
or free to members.)
Monday, July 27
Forts Along the Kennebec – Lee Cranmer, Maine Historic Preservation Commission’s Emeritus Archaeologist,
highlights a series of four forts that were built along the Kennebec River between 1720 & 1754 to secure
the frontier and make settlers feel secure and protected. 7:30 PM ($5 or free to members.)
Saturday/Sunday
August 1/2
17th Century Encampment – Outdoor interpretive weekend, showcasing civilian and military aspects
of 17th century life. Re-enactors demonstrate equipment, crafts, cooking, games, etc. Sponsored jointly by
the Friends of Colonial Pemaquid and the state of Maine. 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day.
Monday, August 3
Clues to the Lifestyle of Maine’s Native Americans Prior to the Arrival of Europeans – Lecture by
Camden resident Kerry Hardy, landscape architect and forester and author of “Notes On A Lost Flute: A
Field Guide to the Wabanaki.” Kerry will reveal how his discoveries have assisted in the understanding of
the pre-contact Wabanaki, the people of “Dawnland”. 7:30 PM ($5 or free to members.)
Wednesday, August 5
August Evening Lantern Walk – Step into the past as you tour a 17th century village, meet some of the
inhabitants and be challenged by an 18th century soldier on guard duty at Fort Fredereick at 8:00 PM. Rain
date is Thursday, August 6.
Saturday, August 8 Fletcher’s Scouting Company – Historical re-enactors set up camp on the grounds of Colonial Pemaquid,
and interact with visitors as they demonstrate period activities such as cooking, wood working, military drill,
weaponry, etc. 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Rain date is Sunday, August 9.
Monday, August 10
Maine’s Early Tidal Mills – Historian and lecturer Bud Warren discusses how, next to fishing, the early
Maine economy was based on timber and tides. 7:30 PM ($5 or free to members).
Saturday/Sunday
Olde Bristol Days – Town-wide events, entertainment and crafts and food booths on the grounds of
August 15/16
Colonial Pemaquid. 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day.
Monday, August 17
“There were about thirty sail of ships that fished”: The Early Fishing Industry of Monhegan and
Damariscove, 1607 – 1725 – Join historical archaeologist Dr. Neil DePaoli as he explores the early fishing
operations on Monhegan and Damariscove islands. 7:30 PM ($5 or free to members.)
Sunday, August 30
Castlebay in Concert: Season’s End – Enjoy an outdoor performance of Celtic music featuring Castlebay,
the popular local duo of Fred Gosbee and Julia Lane. 1:00 and 3:00 PM
www.FriendsOfColonialPemaquid.org
Remembering Helen Camp: A Conversation with Robin Olson
“In the fall of 1964 I was walking across a
newly tilled field at Pemaquid, hoping to find
some Indian artifacts that might have been
brought to the surface by the frost. I noticed a
sizeable depression in the field. I was familiar
with the previous archaeological work that
had been done there, and I wondered if this
might be an indication of an old cellar hole. I
talked this over with Mr. Gordon VanBuskirk
who had recently acquired the property, and to
my delight I found that he was as interested in
the possibilities of archaeological excavation
as I was. After the thaw in the spring of 1965,
we started our work.”
-Pemaquid Lost and Found,
Helen Camp, 1967
Robin, her sister Susan, and brother, David,
spent their childhood summers on site at
Pemaquid alongside their grandparents with
a trowel in one hand and a sifter in the other.
Gender roles were often reversed with Grandmother
Helen running the dig and Grandfather Millard cooking
dinner for the family. The excavation and exhibition
of Pemaquid’s history was a true family affair. Millard
Camp was the resident educator and tour guide, as
well as cook and carpenter. While Helen ran the digs,
assisted by archaeology students who were doing their
college internships, Millard designed and built the many
displays that are used in the Pemaquid Museum and
reconstructed Fort William Henry. Robin recalls the
Camps’ personal touch as the family guided Colonial
Pemaquid through its transition from a farm plot to a
National Historic site:
By Bethany Roderer
Between the years 1965 and 1974, self-taught
archaeologist Helen Camp oversaw a series of
excavations at Colonial Pemaquid that recovered
thousands of pre-Colonial and Colonial-era artifacts.
During her tenure as Pemaquid’s resident archaeologist,
Helen Camp uncovered the foundations of 14 Colonialera buildings, including a forge, a tavern and trading
post, dwellings and storage buildings and a portion
of Fort William Henry. In 1969, the State of Maine
purchased the Colonial Pemaquid property and in
1983, Helen Camp was awarded an honorary doctorate
degree in archaeology from the University of Maine at
Farmington.
“My grandfather had this joke that he would play
every year with the kids when he gave tours. He would
take one of the cannonballs from the museum and say,
‘This is a three-toed cannonball.’ And then he’d ask the
kid how old he was, and the kid would say he was seven,
and my grandfather would pretend to be disappointed
and say, ‘Oh, Well, too bad you’re not eight. This is a
three-toed cannon ball because it breaks three toes on
an eight year old. We did our research, but we wanted
to test the theory. Come back next year and we’ll try
it then.’ The kid would look so relieved that he wasn’t
old enough for the test, and I was so relieved he wasn’t
going to get his toes broken, but the parents would be
smiling. Eventually, I noticed that the kid’s age was
never the year at which you would break three toes
with the cannon ball. If you were eight, he’d say, ‘Oh,
too bad you aren’t nine.’”
Although largely self-taught, Helen approached
the task of Pemaquid’s excavation with an expert’s
methodology. “There was an era when people started
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Helen
Camp’s excavation at Colonial Pemaquid, her
granddaughter, Robin Olson, recently recalled the time
she spent with her family on the dig during these busy,
fruitful years.
“She was the most amazing role model,” Robin
recalls, “She was really ahead of her time. When I
think back to how things were when Grandma was
doing her work, I’m amazed at what she was able to
accomplish.” Early on at Skidmore College, Helen had
expressed interest in archaeology, but was “channeled
into being an art major.” A natural athlete who tied the
national record for standing long jump, Helen explained
to Robin that pursuit of track and field beyond school
was “not something that was supported for girls.” She
met her husband, Millard Fillmore Camp, at Riverside
Church in New York City. Helen raised their children,
and gave private art lessons at home in New Jersey
while Millard commuted into New York. In the 1960s,
the couple moved permanently to Round Pond. At this
time, an old calling returned in force:
Continued on next page
to use backhoes,” says Robin,
“and Grandma was appalled by
that. She objected to the ‘weekend
archaeologists’ who would come
out and dig indiscriminately.”
Personally familiar with the
work being done concurrently
at other Colonial sites, such as
Williamsburg and Jamestown in
Virginia, Helen applied the methods
of modern archaeology to her work
at Pemaquid. Robin, Susan and
David observed and learned the uses
of the different trowels and brushes,
and developed and appreciation for
their grandmother’s painstaking
attention to detail:
It had to be done meticulously
by hand. My grandfather invented
a sifter, and we would put the dirt
in, and shake it, to see what artifacts
remained. I had three cousins, so
there were six grandkids at one
point, and we’d all be down in the
dig. We learned all the techniques.
She had an old school ink well and
nib, and she’d put a code on each
piece to tell her exactly where in
the plot it had been recovered. Each
code would be several letters and
numbers long. I would be astonished
by the detail. Then she would spend
most of the winter assembling the
broken shards.
In addition to assembling shards,
Helen dated and assigned the country
(or state) of origin of many of the
pieces based on their glazes and
clays, maker’s marks, and other
carefully observed characteristics.
Many of the pieces recovered by
Helen Camp and her teams are
displayed at the Colonial Pemaquid
Museum. In addition to arrowheads,
trading beads, coins, and pieces of
pottery, she recovered brass, iron, and
pewter tools and utensils, including
pieces that she deduced were forged
on site. Colonial Pemaquid was
witness to the destruction of two forts
(Fort Charles, 1689 and Fort William
Henry, 1696) in addition to several
attacks on Fort Frederick. At those
locations, the Camp digs recovered
cannonballs of differing weights, flint
locks, and musket balls.
NEWSLETTER
The FOCP Newsletter is published twice
a year to keep members and supporters
informed. Comments and suggestions are
welcome and may be sent to:
FOCP Newsletter
P.O. Box 304
New Harbor, ME 04554-0304
• Contributors: Bethany Roderer, Don
Loprieno, Peggy Farrell, and Robin Olson.
Assistance in design and layout provided by staff
of Lincoln County Publishing.
Members, please take note
Your membership expiration date
is shown after your name on the
envelope which brings you this
Newsletter. Please make a note of
it NOW. Thank you.
A lifelong artist, Helen depicted
her interpretation of Pemaquid in
some of the paintings that are on
exhibit at the Pemaquid Museum.
Thousands of excavated pieces as
well as their careful documentation
bear witness to her technique and
scrupulous attention to detail, and
through her granddaughter’s eyes,
we see also the work of person who
was deeply committed to telling the
true story of Pemaquid’s earliest
inhabitants.
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Please make checks payable to: Friends of Colonial Pemaquid, P.O. Box 304, New Harbor, ME 04554-0304.
501 (c)3 Federal Tax ID: 01 0489 633 Thank you!
To volunteer, please contact Bob Howell, 207-677-2876, Don Loprieno, 207-677-6614, or check here and you will be contacted.
Thank you, again!