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| A mural depicting the history of the community adorns a wall at the Raymond-Casco Historical Society Museum on Watkins Farm in Casco. The historical society has reformed and will hold a meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14 at the museum for new and returning members. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
Frank McDermott has lived in Raymond since 1967 and believes that understanding the history of the community gives everyone a better understanding of the issues and problems that town residents face today.
McDermott, a retired educator and former schools superintendent in Raymond, became an original member of the Raymond-Casco Historical Society when the organization was first formed in 1973 and now serves as the group’s president. After a period of inactivity, the historical society has reformed and is actively looking for new members who wish to learn more about the long and rich history of Raymond and how the community’s past has shaped the direction of what the town is today.
The Town of Raymond is named after Captain William Raymond of Beverly, Massachusetts, who led a 1675 militia attack on Narragansett, a Rhode Island Native American stronghold.
When this same group of Native Americans allied themselves with the French in Quebec to harass English settlers along the eastern coast, Captain Raymond then led an attack on Quebec. To repay the militia for their service, land grants were given to them. In 1765, descendants of Captain Raymond were permitted to select land adjacent to a settled town (Windham) and they chose the area of what is known today as Raymond. The first residents of the community were Joseph Dingley and Dominicus Jordan of Cape Elizabeth, lured here in 1770 by an offer of free 100-acre sites if they settled there permanently.
After the Revolutionary War, more settlers arrived and by 1803, Raymondtown Plantation was incorporated as the Town of Raymond. Through the years, Raymond grew and prospered on Sebago Lake as a commerce center for agricultural and lumber products and later for a gristmill, a sawmill, a sled factory and most recently a television antenna manufacturing facility that employed scores of Raymond residents.
The community of Casco separated from Raymond in 1841 and became a town itself.
According to McDermott, the Raymond-Casco Historical Society at one time had more than 100 participating members, under the leadership of charter president Ernest Knight. Under the direction of President Wayne Holmquist, the historical society established a permanent endowment fund and then collaborated in 2006 with Skip Watkins to create a permanent museum to store historical artifacts from Raymond and display them to the public.
The site of the museum, known as the Watkins Farm in Casco, has been in the ownership of the Watkins family for more than 200 years and can be linked to original Raymond settler Joseph Dingley. On the museum grounds the historical society also maintains a barn and a replica of an original schoolhouse in the community.
McDermott said that the museum is open in the summer and typically invites students to visit the facility in the spring. The museum grounds also include a restored barn and a replica of an old original schoolhouse from the community that had been destroyed by a fire.
Looking to recruit new members for the historical society, McDermott, who moved to Raymond to become a teaching principal at Jordan-Small School, said he’s hopeful that a mix of older residents and younger residents will choose to become participants and show an interest in discovering the history of Raymond.
“This community is steeped in history and the more you learn about Raymond and Casco, the more you understand why this is a wonderful place to live,” he said. “The Raymond-Casco Historical Society is a charitable, educational and nonprofit organization that devotes its resources to the collection, preservation and interpretation of materials and information documenting the history of the towns of Raymond and Casco.”
Membership in the historical society costs $15 annually or $20 for families, although McDermott said that no one will be turned away because of the inability to pay membership fees.
McDermott said that the historical society will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 at the Raymond-Casco Society Museum, off Route 302 on Shadow Lane just before the Casco-Naples town line. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the historical society or having a curiosity about the past is encouraged to attend the upcoming meeting.
“I believe it’s vitally important to honor the history of the area by learning more about it,” McDermott said. “Once you lose it, it’s gone forever and a part of the soul of the community goes with it.”
To find out more about the Raymond-Casco Historical Society, call McDermott at 207-655-4646. <
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