Creating W8banakiak Historical Markers for Bath, Maine
a presentation by MHC Undergraduate Fellow Emma Beauregard
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
5:00 PM
IMRC Center 104
5:00 PM
IMRC Center 104
Fernald Adaptive Presentation and Performance Environment
University of Maine, Orono, ME
University of Maine, Orono, ME
Emma Beauregard is a student in the Honors College and a History and Accounting double majorÌýwhose project Creating W8banakiak Historical Markers for Bath, MaineÌýis a public history project involving research and design for the implementation of four new historical markers that focus on the Abenaki in Bath, Maine. For this research, Beauregard worked with faculty mentor Tobias Hrynick, Lecturer in the Honors College. Beauregard’s Fellowship is supported by the Liam Riordan Humanities Fellowship Fund.
Info:
Abenaki groups lived in the area we call Bath, Maine for thousands of years, and the land and rivers continue to be their homeland. Despite this, out of the 34 historical markers currently on display around Bath, only one mentions the Abenaki, and it is only to explain the context for European colonial settlers. To counter this, a project began to research and design four new historical markers that focus solely on the Abenaki. Through this public history project, connections were established with the W8banakiak, Bath Historical Society, and Bath City Hall. While this project remains in its early stages, the ground has been set for new historical markers to be designed in collaboration with the W8banakiak and erected around the city of Bath. This presentation discusses how the goals of this project changed along its course, and what the process has looked like thus far. It will then dive into what the future of this project looks like, including the collaboration involved and the steps that will be taken to ensure these new historical markers are installed to create a fuller and more accurate picture of the history of Bath, Maine.
For more details, email mhc@maine.edu