READFIELD — Dale Potter-Clark will give a presentation “Kents Hill: from Farmland to Village” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Maranacook High School, Millard Harrison Drive, Readfield.

During the Maranacook Adult and Community Education event, Potter-Clark will share information about that evolution, starting before 1780 when there were very few people living on Kents Hill.

From the tower atop Bearce Hall at Kents Hill School before 1872, looking east over Kents Hill Village. Torsey Methodist Church can be seen in the foreground and in the distance is Readfield Depot. Contributed photo

The Packards, Fords and Kents were three of the first families to stake their claims and buildings began to appear. The Packard men were house wrights so they built several of them. After the Revolutionary War others came, the most influential, who had a long lasting effect, was Luther Sampson. From 1790 until 1824 a meeting house and parsonage, grammar school, store, cemetery and Methodist seminary were established and the hilltop called Kents Hill evolved from a handful of family farms to a thriving residential, cultural and educational center.

Participants will watch a slide show of vintage photos, depicting buildings and scenes on Kents Hill. Through photos and her research findings Potter-Clark will walk participants through the evolution from farmland to Kents Hill village.

The registration fee of $12.50 will help fund a Museum in the Streets in Readfield (historical site markers). To register, call 685-4923, ext. 1065, or register online, visit maranacook.maineadulted.org.

Related Stories