The Westbrook Historical Society

Westbrook Historical Society
Principle and Purpose

Officers

The purposes of this Society are to bring together those people interested in the history of Westbrook, Maine, and to discover, collect, and preserve any materials and objects that establish and illustrate the history of the area. The Society shall make all such materials and objects accessible for viewing or study on the premises. The Society shall arouse interest in the past by holding meetings open to the general public, by marking historic buildings, sites, etc. and by using other media to gain public interest in Westbrook history.

The membership meets regularly for business and entertainment at 1:30 o’clock on the first Wednesday of each month, with the exception of July and August.

President: Donna Cousens Conley
Vice President: Suzan Roberts Norton
Secretary: Evelyn Libby Meserve
Treasurer: Nancy Joy Curran

Directors
Diane Turgeon Dyer – Alwyn Waite
James Burrill - Beverly Marion

Immediate Past President
Robert Smith

The doors of the Westbrook Historical Society are open to the general public every Tuesday and Saturday morning, 9:00 AM to noon. Capable volunteer staff is present at that time to help visitors with their interests and their needs.

The building has a ramp in the back and a chair lift to the second floor. Arrangements for special openings may be made by calling the office at 207-854-5588 or e-mailing us at info@westbrookhistoricalsociety.org.

Meetings, Membership and Newsletter Information

Meetings: The Society holds a general business meeting on the 1st Wednesday of the month (from September to June) at 1:30PM. There is a speaker following each meeting. (Click HERE to access our Program Schedule.) The meetings are free and open to the public. Visitors are always welcomed!

Membership: $10.00 per year due July 1st. Send checks payable to Westbrook Historical Society, 17B Dunn St., Westbrook, Maine 04092. (Click HERE to access a membership form.)

Newsletter: An informative newsletter is published 4 times per year and is included with membership. The newsletter contains historical articles about Westbrook as well as information about our members and the Society’s activities. (Click HERE to download current and previous copies of the Newsletter.)

History of the Westbrook Historical Society

In April 1975, the Westbrook City Council Planning and Development Committee announced a meeting for anyone who was interested in forming a historical society. Then Alderman-at-large Roger Knight, chairman of the committee, said the meeting was called in response to concerns that there was no place in the city to preserve historical relics and artifacts and there was no organization charged with this interest and responsibility.

Thus, the Westbrook Historical Society was formed. The Society was housed in the old Westbrook High School on Main Street where a fine collection of artifacts and ephemera began to be collected and displayed.

In 2001, the Society was moved to a larger facility on the second floor of the Stephen W. Manchester Post 62 at 17 Dunn Street where the collection has continued to grow.

Donna Conley was elected president

At the annual meeting and election held on June 7, 2006, former WHS board member and Secretary Donna Conley was chosen president of Westbrook Historical Society for the next two years.

Donna was born in Portland and lived in the Riverside-Warren Avenue area until she was 11 when her family, consisting of parents Annie & Russell Cousens and sister Pat, moved to Westbrook. She graduated from Westbrook High School in 1958 and made a “great trek” to Baltimore, Maryland where she entered The Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1961. After driving across the country with a classmate and working in San Francisco for two years, Donna returned to Westbrook and began a thirty-six-year nursing career at the Maine Medical Center. Donna married Norm Conley of Portland in 1966. They have a daughter, Patricia and a son, Marc.

After their retirements in 2000, Donna started to fulfill some of her “retirement goals” by becoming active in the Westbrook Historical Society, the Buxton Historical Society (where her ancestors had lived) and the Maine Old Cemeteries Association. “I never cared for history in school,” she said, “but working at the historical societies, doing my genealogy, and transcribing old cemetery stones, have given me a deeper appreciation and respect for the past.”

Since Donna joined the Westbrook Historical Society she has seen a vast increase in the Society’s acquisitions. She foresees these next two years in office as a time for organizing and computerizing the Society’s collection so that there will be easy access to items.

Standing Committee Assignments
Finance	Bruce Allen – Phil Curran – James Burrill; Ex-officio - Nancy Curran
Library and Museum	Ellie Saunders – Rowena Walton – Roberta Morrill
Publicity	Donna Conley
Program	Suzan Norton – Mike Sanphy – Evelyn Meserve
Membership	Nancy Curran
Hospitality	Diane Dyer – Margaret Lowell
Friendship	Ellen Burrill
Telephone	Bob Barton – Polly Hodgkins - Ruth Knight – Ellie Saunders – Virginia Wentworth Lucille Waite - Cora Duchaineau
Necrology	Vaun Born
The President is a member of all committees by virtue of her office.
Newsletter Editor	Peter Murray

President: Donna Cousens Conley Vice President: Suzan Roberts Norton Secretary: Evelyn Libby Meserve Treasurer: Nancy Joy Curran

Directors Diane Turgeon Dyer – Alwyn Waite James Burrill - Beverly Marion

Immediate Past President Robert Smith

President: Donna Cousens Conley
Vice President: Suzan Roberts Norton
Secretary: Evelyn Libby Meserve
Treasurer: Nancy Joy Curran

Directors
Diane Turgeon Dyer – Alwyn Waite
James Burrill - Beverly Marion

Immediate Past President
Robert Smith