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Jan. 23, 2014 - The 1713-14 Treaty of Portsmouth

7:30 pm (Berwick Academy)

Join Charles B. Doleac as he discusses The 1713-14 Treaty negotiations in Portsmouth between the English and the “Eastern Indians” of the Maine coast. The diplomacy employed by the First Nations were important first steps toward recognition of a New Hampshire governing Council separate from Massachusetts and for the impact they had on opening the Portsmouth door to development as the commercial and military hub on the frontier. The Treaties of 1713-14 discussed in Portsmouth have a direct connection with ideas concerning the Rights of Indigenous People that are in the headlines today.

A Bicentennial History

1814: South Berwick Comes into Its Own

by Norma Keim

February 12, 1814 was a momentous day for the village of Quamphegan. Located on the site of an ancient Indian village still bearing its name, it was the commercial center of the town of Berwick, which then included today’s South Berwick, Berwick and North Berwick. James Sullivan, Massachusetts’ governor from 1807–08, had apprenticed at Quamphegan as a law clerk, and in his 1795 "The History of the Province of Maine," identifies Quamphegan Landing as the "great Landing place," located at what is now the Counting House Park on Liberty Street in South Berwick.

The Placenames of South Berwick

NEW - Updated second edition for South Berwick's Bicentennial

Becoming South Berwick

From our new bicentennial exhibit - South Berwick Town Hall

Surviving the Revolution

by Cari Quater

Berwick Established: In 1713, the same year that ended of Queen Anne’s War- a war dominated by conflict with the French and their Indian allies -- the town of Berwick officially separated from Kittery.

South Berwick Time Line

South Berwick History Time Line

History of South Berwick, Maine, from the age of discovery to the 21st Century

NEW

South Berwick Bicentennial

Desk Calendar

Those looking forward to the town’s upcoming bicentennial can now get a jump on the observances with a new 2014 desktop calendar created by the Old Berwick Historical Society.

Thirteen color photos – each annotated with an historic date – adorn the new calendar, which measures four by eight inches, small enough for a desk.

Available in limited quantities, the calendar is sold at South Berwick Pharmacy. The price of $10 helps support historic programs offered by the society, including an upcoming lecture series focused on South Berwick history.

Photos capture the spirit of the seasons, with skiing at Powderhouse Hill, a snow-covered Hamilton House, and frost at Old Fields Burying Ground depicting winter months. Spring shows Berwick Academy’s daffodils, a cyclist in the village, and cows grazing at Emery’s Bridge Road.

Kayaks at the Salmon Falls River, a farm on Oldfields Road, and Vaughan Woods comprise the summer pictures, with autumn views of Jewett House, the soldiers’ monument and the Counting House rounding out the year.

Historic dates are noted for each of the sites depicted.

On February 12, 1814, South Berwick became a separate town in the Province of Maine. Also noted on the calendar are dates for the Old Berwick Historical Society lectures, which in 2014 will include topics touching on South Berwick’s rich history.

Ask Norma

Got a question about local history of the Berwicks, the Salmon Falls River area and southwestern Maine? If you write us at info@oldberwick.org, our volunteers will do their best to find answers in the Counting House Museum archives and reference books.