 Harriman School Museum Sebec Historical Society North Road, Sebec |
Museum Named for Silas Harriman
SEBEC: On the north road, in Sebec, there is an amalgamation of an old building, and some older and newer artifacts. This is the Harriman School Museum. The Sebec Historical Society refurbished and opened the Museum in 1968. The Museum, like the original school, was named after Silas Harriman an early settler of the town.
In, 1966, a group of people in Sebec organized for the purpose of preserving the history of the town. They culminated their organization to incorporating the group, thus forming the Sebec Historical Society. Their first project turned out to be the restoration of the Silas Harriman School.
Members of the historical society initiated a drive to raise funds for the repainting of the school. The corporation received almost $100 in donations, which set the members and other volunteers to work on fixing up the building. The building was painted, cleaned on the inside and work was done on the grounds, as the members worked to complete their task.
The museum was opened to the public on July 28, 1968. An open house was held on that day, and over 300 people showed up for the event.
The building’s age is not known exactly, but the deed to the land was given for the purpose of building a school on June 27, 1860. This ranks the building among the oldest in the area. This was not the only one room schoolhouse in Sebec.
The Sebec Historical Society believes that there have been as many as 16 one room school houses in Sebec. The building was closed as a school in 1933, when there were only 4 students.
The museum is not only a school museum; it serves as a museum for quite a few other artifacts. Hung on the walls around the room of the Museum are portraits of past Sebec residents. In one corner stands an antique table saw, which was originally owned by a carpenter who built most of the older houses in Sebec. Next to the saw sits a stone from the old bridge in Sebec Village which was torn down in recent years. A teacher’s podium sits at the head of the room, facing rows of chairs. People in the area and abroad donated all of these artifacts. The building serves not only as a museum to commemorate the school, but to commemorate all the history of Sebec.
(The Harriman School Museum is on the National Register of Historical Places.)