The Otisfield Historical Society’s final program for 2025 will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, at the Otisfield Town House on Bell Hill Road. Our speaker will be archaeologist Dr. Barry Rodrigue. He will be talking about his work as a professional archaeologist and how his work helps historians understand missing parts of traditional history. Included in his presentation will be the results of his archeological survey of an Otisfield 19th-century site known as Hancockville Village. Shown here is a photo of Nathan Nutting Jr’s building, located in the Village as seen on the 1857 map. It was used for the manufacture and repair of carriages. The building on the left was used for blacksmithing. It was said not to have been much of a commercial success and was torn down before 1950.

OTISFIELD — The Otisfield Historical Society’s final program for 2025 will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, at the Otisfield Town House on Bell Hill Road. Join us as we welcome Dr. Barry Rodrique, a historical archeologist, to Otisfield. His program will include information on how archaeology helps historians understand missing parts of traditional history.

He’ll also talk about his findings from an archeological survey completed in the fall of 2024 at a new development at Gould’s Corner, originally known as the village of Hancockville. This parcel was flagged for evaluation because of wetlands, surface artefacts, a visible foundation, and a farm and a commercial site shown on 19th-century maps.

Dr. Rodrique is a professor of anthropology at the School for Liberal Arts, Symbiosis International University, Pune, Maharashtra, India. As a Fulbright Scholar, he worked as a research geographer at Laval University, from where he co-authored a regional history for the Quebec National Institute of Scientific Research.

Additionally, he is an associate professor of humanities at the University of Southern Maine and a state-certified archaeologist who contracts for cultural resource management surveys.

Refreshments will be available after the Program.