Hallowell was preparing to “party hearty” in celebration of the state’s Bicentennial last spring when all activities were abruptly canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With everything in place, the city’s Historic Hallowell Committee decided to instead feature the planned presentations in a video program instead. “Hallowell salutes Maine’s Bicentennial” is a 35-minute presentation in celebration of Maine’s Bicentennial.

Ron Kley, Vaughan Woods and historic homestead archivist, discusses how Maine’s state seal was designed and its connection to Hallowell. Earle Shettleworth Jr., Maine state historian, explains how Hallowell was almost the state capital.

The program has been uploaded to the state’s Digital Maine Repository and can be viewed online at vimeo.com/534998291.

Larry Davis, president of Row House, Inc., opens the program. Kate Termblay, executive director Vaughan Woods, introduces Kley, and Bob McIntire, chairman of the Historic Hallowell Committee, introduces Shettleworth. Segments were recorded on location at Hallowell’s Old South Church and the Vaughan Homestead.

April 26 marked the 250th anniversary of the legislative act incorporating the town of Hallowell. Row House Inc. and the Hallowell Historical Society, in honor of the event, are publishing “Hallowell in Olden Times,” a series of accounts of life in the riverside town during the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries. The columns were originally published in the Hallowell Gazette between Aug.15, 1863 and Feb. 20, 1864.

Copies are available through the website, rowhouseinc.org and also will be available as an E-book through the digitalmainerepositroy.com.