Old York Historical Society

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A light blue, black, and white striped header image with the words Old York Historical Society

During my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Old York Historical Society in York, Maine. The society owns and maintains several buildings and historic properties that I saw on my trip, including their Museum Center, Jefferds Tavern, York Corner Schoolhouse, the Old Gaol, and Emerson-Wilcox House.

Two early 18th century buildings across a narrow street. The building on the left is one story and painted brown. The building on the right is painted red, with a two-story section attached to a three-story section A brown sign with yellow text reading in part Old York Historical Society Msuem Center A silvery metal sign with a map of Historic York and a text panel

Museum Center & Remick Gallery

Admissions and small gift shop are on first floor, while paintings, furniture, and other artifacts in Remick Gallery on the second floor. Some of my favorites in this area included the Bulman family’s bed hangings, handmade fiddles, andirons shaped like pipers, and a portrait of Sir William Pepperrell. Also, visitors receive a cute bookmark with admission, which shows a person from their portrait gallery. The featured portrait for the 2022 season was a little boy with a ruffled collar holding a book, also shown on a large banner on the side of the Museum Center building.

A three-story tall red building. On the side is a brown sign with golden text reading Old York Museum Center 

According to signage in the gallery, the portrait of Sir William (Sparhawk) Pepperrell of Kittery Point, Maine, painted by London artist Mather Brown around 1792, comes with an interesting story. Upon the 1774 death of his maternal grandfather, the first Sir William Pepperell, the American was set to inherit property and a title on the condition that he no longer use the surname of his father, Nathaniel Sparhawk. Sir Pepperrell gladly did so, but he did not occupy the property for very long. He and his family fled to England towards the beginning of the American Revolution in 1776, after his wife, Elizabeth Royall, had been killed by fighting in Boston the previous year. Today, William Pepperrell House is on the National Register of Historic Places.

A late 18th century portrait of a white man wearing a powdered wig and a navy blue jacket with golden buttons A pair of 18th century century portraits depicting a wife and husband. A set of 18th century crewel-embroidered bed hangings with a colorful floral pattern

Another fascinating story was about the origin of the fiddles and box, which were owned by the Grover family. Eliphalet Grover, who gets bonus points for an awesome Puritan name, was the early 19th century lighthouse keeper for nearby Boon Island Light, the tallest lighthouse in Maine and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with being a skilled violin maker. His son, Samuel, lived on the island for the first six years of his life and was reportedly amazed by the many new things he saw when first going to school on the mainland. Samuel would grow up to make violins like his father.

A sign describing mid 18th century figural andirons A pair of mid 18th century figural andirons, two little men playing pipes An exhibit sign explaining the contents of a nearby case, including a box, fiddle, and child's fiddle An ornate wooden box, a large violin, and a small violin in a plexiglass case. Portrait of an 18th century boat My hand holding up a bookmark printed with the portrait of a little boy in 18th century clothing beside the original portrait

Jefferds Tavern

Styled both with and without an apostrophe, Jefferds(’) Tavern was originally constructed in 1754 as a rest stop on the King’s Highway, a 1,300 mile road from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts, effectively linking the colonies. It was moved to York between 1939 and 1942, then set on its current foundation in 1954. Restoration work was based on work done for buildings in two historic areas places that I have visited (Old Sturbridge Village and Historic Deerfield) and one that I plan to visit in the future (Wayside Inn of Sudbury). The interior of the design of the tavern is a romanticized Colonial Revival style and has been used for film sets. This area is used to host events held by Old York Historical Society, along with providing a space for field trips.

Sign describing Jefferds' Tavern 
A pair of windows with seagreen partial shutters over the bottom half of the window inside Jefferds' Tavern The wooden bar, wood paneled walls, long wooden tables, and red brick fireplace a dining room of Jefferds' Tavern. Framed print of the Jefferds family crest hung on a sea green wall above a red brick fireplace in Jefferds' Tavern Large, red brick, kitchen fireplace in Jefferds' Tavern, with many iron cooking implements and wood paneling.

York Corner Schoolhouse

This classic one-room schoolhouse is more rustic than Putterham School at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts or the two-story schoolhouse at Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire. It serves as another fun and functional space for school groups and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Inside a one-room schoolhouse with wooden benches, a wooden lectern, and a brick fireplace.

Old Gaol

The dates surrounding this building are a little tricky, so bear with me. The site itself, which uses an older spelling of “jail” in its name, is currently believed to be established in 1656 (previously believed to be from 1653). The surviving structure was constructed beginning in 1719 and is considered the oldest extant prison structure in Maine. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and even had a prominently displayed plaque. Stocks recreated in front of the building make a great family photo opportunity. Both outside and inside the gaol, signage explains the history of the site, along with crimes and punishments from the Colonial Era.

A blue sign with golden lettering reading Old York Historical Society Old Gaol est. 1656 Metal plaque attached to red painted clapboard wall. The plaque reads in part Old York Gaol has been designated a registered National Historic Landmark... 1968 Wooden stocks down the grassy hill in front of the red clapbaord building, Old York Gaol Side view of the three-story, red clapboard, 17th century Old York Gaol A wooden loom frame about six feet by six feet inside a whitewashed room with a wooden floor. A rough, wooden wall with flecks of white wash and four signs describing punishments for various crimes in Colonial America A whitewashed room with barred windows, a wooden chair, and a wooden table. Outdoor signage describign Old York Gaol

York Historic District

Buildings included in this area, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (of course!), are the Town Hall, Benjamin Stone Tavern, Powder House, Emerson-Wilcox House, and First Parish Church of York. Signage explained the history of these sites.

A dirty sign describing the Emerson-Wilcox House Emerson-Wilcox House; A light brown or dark yellow clapboard mid 19th century three-story building in need of new paint. A metal informational sign with illustrations and information of three local buildings: Town Hall, Benjamin Stone Tavern, and The Powder House First Parish Church in York; Classic whitewashed, clapboard New England church with a double entry, tall steeple, and steeple clock.

Conclusion

At the time of writing, Old York Historical Society is closed for the season. Summer hours, which run from Memorial Day through the first weekend in September, are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. Fall hours run until the last weekend in October, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $10 for all adults. Children, museum members, and NEMA members are free. The museum has plenty of quiet spaces, along with outdoor spaces to run around. Like most historic house museums, the Gaol and Schoolhouse are not wheelchair accessible.

This is a great trip for historians and families visiting the Greater Portsmouth Area. The staff is super friendly, knowledgeable staff, going out of their way to make visitors feel welcome. I was impressed by the way the organization elevates its classic historical society collection with new interpretation and signage, along with its ongoing restoration historic buildings.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 9/10

Accessibility: 7/10



Location: 3 Lindsay Rd, York, ME 03909, USA