Projects

See our display on:

Ship wrecks

Sea rescues

Trolley park casino and theater

Life saving station

Richmond Island

The Earliest inhabitants - the Wabanaki

Fishing and Farming

Pond Cove Diorama

What Civil War hero has become the namesake for one of Maine's most famous destination spots?

Discover the answer and hear many more stories at the Fort Williams Museum, just steps from famous Portland Head Light.

Fort Williams is a former United States Army fort in Cape Elizabeth that was active from 1899-1962. The town purchased the fort in 1964 and in 1979 the beautiful 90 acre site was dedicated as Fort Williams Park. Our museum covers the full history of Fort Williams.

The move into the larger space is a milestone for the historical society and for the town. The move will allow the historical society, a non-profit volunteer organization founded in 1979, to launch two new projects: the Cape Elizabeth History Center and the Fort Williams Museum.

Historical Society to Digitize Collections

 Cape Elizabeth historians, history lovers and students now have town history available on their own computers.

With a generous donation from Cape Elizabeth’s Sprague family, the Cape Elizabeth Historical Preservation Society recently acquired “PastPerfect,” a software program that allows us to digitize and organize our collections. More than 9,500 libraries, museums and historical societies nationwide, and more than 60 organizations in Maine use the software. 

“The society extends its sincere thanks to the Sprague family. With this program we can integrate our archives – documents of all kinds – with photographs that have been, or will be, digitized and entered into the program,” CEHPS member Ellen Van Fleet said. 

Anyone anywhere can go to cehistory.catalogaccess.com to view what we have digitized so far. You can search for information on items, ideas, locations, familes or individuals. 

The society seeks volunteers with basic computer skills and a curiosity about what is hidden in the society’s collections to work on the project on Monday and Thursday mornings. Call Ellen Van Fleet at 767-4175 for information about volunteering.