BETHEL — The Bethel Historical Society will host a lecture on the Civil War by Southern Maine Community College professor Eben Miller at 7:30 p.m. June 20.

In his lecture, titled “Daily Evening Journal: A View of the Northern Civil War Home Front, 1861-1863,” Miller will discuss issues that the Lewiston Daily Evening Journal covered around the time of the Civil War to demonstrate how Mainers responded, according to Randall Bennett, executive director of the society.

“Miller’s lecture is a nice tie-in to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War,” Bennett said. “It’s also a nice tie-in to the Civil War exhibit we recently opened here at the Bethel Historical Society.”

In late May, the society opened up a Civil War exhibit featuring, among other things, letters, diaries, photographs, uniforms and vials of unopened powder medicine. The exhibit is a part of the Maine Civil War Trail project, a statewide effort to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It is one of 23 exhibits throughout the state.

Bennett said the society has been “active in retrieving old newspapers and microfilm” published around the time of the Civil War.

“We’re not just looking for Oxford County newspapers either,” Bennett said. “We’re looking at Maine and New Hampshire papers as well. They’re a wonderful resource, sometimes more reliable than documents published at the time.”

Associate Director Stan Howe said Miller’s lecture will likely cover “pro-war sentiments that Mainers had during the Civil War,” as well as “what was going on in Lewiston at the time to support the troops.”

Miller is a history professor and the honors program coordinator at Southern Maine Community College.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call 824-2908.

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