DRESDEN — Dave Probert pulled a box of red apples out from under a table, put it on the ground, selected two apples and tossed them into a mechanical grinder.

Two turns of a wheel later, bits of apple fell into a bucket.

Speaking in unison, the Van Tassel family, whom Probert hoped would do the rest of the grinding for him, said, “Cool.”

Kylie Van Tassel, 12, was the first to take a turn at the grinder. It took her a second or two to pierce the apples and get the wheel turning, but she succeeded. Her friend, Stella Slocum, ground her apples a little bit better.

“It works better the faster you do it,” Slocum told Natalie Van Tassel, 10, who was up next.

Probert, who had just shown the children a different apple press, which the children called “gross” and “odd,” is a member of the Lincoln County Historical Association, or LCHA. The group puts on a free cider pressing event every year in early fall on the grounds of the historic Pownalborough Court House at 23 Courthouse Road in Dresden, the only pre-Revolutionary War courthouse in Maine.

The tradition began about 10 years ago, according to Tina Guy, a trustee with the Lincoln County Historical Association.

“It was a bumper year for apples, and a bunch of people had apples, and we talked about doing a cider press and that it would really be a fun thing to do, so we said: ‘OK! Let’s do it!'” Guy said.

But this year’s event was different, Probert said. He got this year’s apples — three boxes — from Bond’s Apple Orchard at 60 Parks Road in Richmond. Usually, the group likes to have visitors bring their own apples, but Probert said many people have struggled to harvest them this year.

Natalie Van Tassel, 10, grinds apples into mash Sunday as her friend, Stella Slocum, center, 12, and sister, Kylie Van Tassel, 12, all from Winthrop, watch during the annual cider pressing event at the Pownalborough Court House at 23 Courthouse Road in Dresden. During the event, Dave Probert, right, is giving demonstrations and assisting those wanting to grind apples and press cider. The gathering is hosted by the Lincoln County Historical Society. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

“When we were talking to Bond’s, he said that he has honeybees for pollinators,” Probert said. “He said they pollinated, but then they quit. Even the blossoms that were still on the trees, they just quit and went back into the hive.”

During the event, members of the Lincoln County Historical Association gave tours of the Pownalborough Court House, as they do on a walk-in basis from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from Memorial Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.

The building, built in 1761 by the Kennebec Proprietors for newly established Lincoln County, was visited by John Adams, Benedict Arnold and many other prominent figures of the era, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Docent Greg Edwards said Adams made his name arguing land dispute cases at the courthouse. The Kennebec Proprietors, which owned much of the land along the river, wanted to hire Adams permanently, but he declined, Edwards said.

Tina Guy fills a jug Sunday with freshly pressed apple cider during the annual cider pressing event at the Pownalborough Court House at 23 Courthouse Road in Dresden. Guy and others are demonstrating the process involved in cider pressing. The event is hosted by the Lincoln County Historical Society. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

A docent is a person who leads guided tours, especially through historical sites, museums or art galleries.

The courthouse often served as a multiuse community center for Dresden, having been used for church services, a dance school, a tavern and as the town’s post office for much of the 19th century.

It was even used as a family home, starting with Samuel Goodwin, one of the original Kennebec Proprietors.

Edwards said extensive legal battles caused ownership of the building to change several times, until the Lincoln County Historical Association acquired it in the 1950s.

The building is well-preserved in its original state, and the LCHA has attempted to replicate much of the original machinery and decor.

“There were five generations of what we call courthouse family: Goodwin, Johnson, Prescott, Twycross and then Canby,” Edwards said. “The Canbys were the last. They all ended up on the West Coast, so that ties into how it was acquired by LCHA.”

Tina Guy, left, and Willa Luchies, 10, of Woolwich sample freshly pressed apple cider Sunday during the annual cider pressing event at the Pownalborough Court House at 23 Courthouse Road in Dresden. With Luchies is her grandmother, Pat Clark of Brunswick. Guy and others are demonstrating the process involved in cider pressing. The event is hosted by the Lincoln County Historical Society. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Tours of the building are free for Dresden residents, Lincoln County Historical Association members and children younger than 16, with regular tour prices set at $15.

The group offers a $25 annual membership that includes free, unlimited admission to properties under the care of LCHA, including the courthouse, the Wiscasset Old Jail and Museum at 133 Federal St. in Wiscasset and the Chapman-Hall House at 270 Main St. in Damariscotta.