History Room

About Us

The Sagadahoc History & Genealogy Room is located on the second floor of the Patten Free Library, accessible by stair and elevator. It supports Patten Free Library’s mission to preserve local history by collecting, preserving, and making available published and original materials pertaining to the history of Maine and Sagadahoc County.

We help patrons learn about life in the Library’s member communities by providing research assistance and instruction, collaborating with local schools and organizations, and presenting celebrated public programming both in person and online.

The History Room can help you:

  • Find books, articles, videos, and primary sources related to local history & genealogy
  • Plan a method for approaching your research
  • Access items from the historical collections
  • Learn to use online indexes and databases
  • Obtain study copies and quality reproductions (see the History Room Reproduction Policy).
  • Introduce primary sources to K-12 classes and student groups
  • Select an appropriate home for your own historical collections

 If you are unable to visit us and you have a local history or genealogy question:

  • Staff will print and scan an obituary or newspaper article from microfilm (up to a 15 minute search).
  • Staff will look up the answer to a question in published sources (up to a 15 minute search).

If you need more remote research help than the library can provide:

Collections & Resources

History Room Collections Overview

Patten Free Library Special Collections

Digital Resources and Databases

Ancestry Library: Learn how to get started with Ancestry here

NewspaperArchive (click here for remote access): Learn how to get started with NewspaperArchive here

Bath Daily Times Community History Archive: 1860-1909. Learn how to get started with the Bath Daily Times here

Digital Collections & Exhibits

Bath, ME: A Brief Walk Through History – This online walking tour of historic Bath buildings is based on the notes for Levi Peterson Lemont’s 1870s “An Historic Walking Tour of Bath.” It was created by Jack Martin in 2019 using ArcGIS StoryMaps, a free online mapping tool accessible on your desktop or mobile device.

Maine Community Heritage Project – Bath’s Historic Downtown

Research Guides

Research Guide: House Histories

Research Guide: Genealogy

Genealogy Resource Roundup

 

 

History Room Hours & Staff

History Room Hours

Tuesday-Friday 12 PM – 4 PM

Saturday 10 AM – 1 PM

Closed Sundays and Mondays.

Contact

207-443-5141 x 1018
history@pattenfreelibrary.org

Staff

Jack Martin, Archivist & Special Collections Librarian

Links

Photo Gallery

History Room Photo Gallery