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EXPLORE LOCAL HISTORY

EVERY PART OF WEST FORKS HAS A STORY

From generations working in the woods to families gathering around camp tables, the history of West Forks was shaped by everyday people living in an extraordinary place.

RIVERS, ROADS & PLACES

HISTORY IS WRITTEN INTO THE LANDSCAPE

The geography of West Forks shaped nearly every part of its history. Rivers provided work and transportation. Roads connected isolated communities. Homes, camps, businesses, bridges, and community buildings became landmarks—and sometimes disappeared entirely.

HISTORY FROM THE ARCHIVES

SMALL PIECES CAN TELL BIG STORIES

A photograph may preserve a face. A hunting license may reveal where someone worked. A newspaper clipping may record an event forgotten by everyone alive today. A military document can reconnect one person with a much larger moment in history.

LATEST HISTORY

NEW FROM DURGIN HILL

Explore the latest stories, photographs, discoveries, and research from the Durgin Hill historical archive.

  • Where West Forks Keeps Its Memory
    Where West Forks Keeps Its Memory
    Where West Forks Keeps Its Memory The Story of West Forks Cemetery, the Families Beneath the Pines & a Town Remembered in Stone On… 
  • Where the Kennebec Widens
    Where the Kennebec Widens
    Where the Kennebec Widens Indian Pond Through Wabanaki Travel, River Drives, Railroads, Hydropower & the Changing Maine Woods At first glance, Indian Pond looks… 
  • When the Woods Caught Fire
    When the Woods Caught Fire
    When the Woods Caught Fire How the Great Fires of 1908 & 1913 Changed West Forks At the beginning of the twentieth century, West… 
  • Where Solon Gathered
    Where Solon Gathered
    Where Solon Gathered The Story of the Solon Hotel, from the Caratunk House & Old Canada Road to Fire, Reinvention, and Renewal Some historic… 
  • The Durgin Family in One Remarkable Portrait
    The Durgin Family in One Remarkable Portrait
    The Durgin Family in One Remarkable Portrait Frank Durgin, Bridget Kennedy & five children captured together in an early Maine family photograph Old family… 
  • Where the Water Falls Through History
    Where the Water Falls Through History
    Where the Water Falls Through History The Story of Moxie Falls from Dark Water & Log Drives to One of Maine’s Great Natural Landmarks… 
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