WOODSTOCK — A six-month volunteer project to reorganize The Maine Room at Whitman Memorial Library has uncovered rare historical artifacts, century-old books, and a handwritten dedication from the 1800s.

“I think I have touched almost every book in this room,” said Suzanne Marshall, who helped lead the renovation effort. She worked alongside Library Director Pat Little, Deb Whitman and Library Board President Sue Staples. The group began meeting weekly in January and wrapped up the project in June.

“We didn’t know what we had, so we had to go book by book,” added Staples.

The Maine Room, once a disorganized space “with no rhyme or reason as to how (it) was set up,” now includes clearly organized collections of Maine history, genealogy records, rare photo books and local art.

“We knew there were treasures in here, but it was a mish-mash,” said Staples.

Among the discoveries: a reverse-painted mirror in excellent condition. According to a handwritten note on the back, the mirror was brought to Woodstock in 1824 by Elizabeth Bryant, mother of the woman who later endowed the library. The note dedicates it “to the children of the library.”

Also found were etchings and photo books from the Civil War and World War II, newspapers from the 1800s, and journals by local historian Ruby C. Emery.

“She wrote about ‘every town around here,’” said Whitman. “She dug up stuff people didn’t even know about their families.”

Emery chronicled Woodstock families, local quarries, Lake Christopher Pines, and small-town events across South Woodstock, North Woodstock, Greenwood, Bethel and Rumford. Another collection includes about 100 journals from a turn-of-the-century author believed to be the town overseer.

The genealogy section, spearheaded by Whitman, includes town records dating back to the 1800s. “I could be here for 10 hours,” she said of the project.

The room also holds Maine-related memoirs, poetry, a 1939 book on the Maine Rebekahs, and a Park Service history. “We have books over 100 years old,” said Staples.

Furniture in the space — including upholstered chairs, a grandfather clock and the chairs at the table at the center of the room — was donated, as was all the artwork. A 1949 photo of local schoolchildren hangs on one wall beneath a carved wood sign that reads “The Maine Room.”

Little and Marshall organized the Maine authors and fiction sections, while Staples and Marshall tackled non-fiction.

Though much of the room’s decor reflects the library’s early-20th-century origins — tin ceilings, a fireplace and dark wood bookcases — a rotary phone on a corner desk now looks almost out of place.

The library was built in 1910 with a $1,500 bequest from Eleanor Bryant Whitman and an additional $4,500 for books and furnishings. Today, it receives $13,000 annually from the town and raises additional money through donations and events.

The next phase includes organizing the library’s collection of Eureka yearbooks from Woodstock schools, which span several decades. Marshall said only a few years of the town’s official reports, which begin in the 1800s, are missing from their archives.

Two upcoming events aim to share the fruits of their work with the public:

• Sept. 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. — A free book fair at the library

• Oct. 6, 1 p.m. — A talk by archivist Rhonda Chadwick on preserving family and local history

“If you’re a book nerd — it was fun,” said Whitman of the project.

The Whitman Memorial Library, 28 South Main Street, Woodstock, is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 207-665-2505 or email [email protected].