About the MCHP

The Maine Community Heritage Project is an intensive one-year process that mobilizes Maine communities around the exploration, gathering, and sharing of their local history. The program began in June 2008 to bring together local teams comprised of representatives from local schools, libraries, and historical organizations to create content-rich local history websites within the Maine Historical Society’s Maine Memory Network. Eight teams participate in the first project year, which ran from June 2008-June 2009; eight additional teams have been chosen to participate in a second project year that runs from June 2009-June 2010.

Teams host a community-wide conversation to assess local historical resources, identify and explore important themes and topics in the history of their community, write a town history, digitize collections, and create online exhibits. There are numerous opportunities for students, teachers, local historical society members, librarians, and other people in the community to come together, collaborate, and share their particular interests, knowledge, and skills.

Local teams commit significant time and effort to their project. In return, they receive extensive training and support, up to $7,500 in stipend monies to support their work, and the opportunity to create a prominent website that promotes their community and radically expands access to information about its history.