The Castine Historical Society, located in the Abbott School and Samuel P. Grindle House on the town common in the beautiful village of Castine, is a 501(c)3 organization that serves as a window into Castine’s extraordinary past. Our permanent and summer exhibitions, lectures, and house and garden tours highlight the stories of the past.

Although officially founded in 1966, previous incarnations of the organization have been recorded as early as 1865. Sharing a common desire to document Castine history, all of these organizations have been a part of creating the mission and vision of the Castine Historical Society as it exists today.

Our collections include a wide variety of photographs, documents, artifacts, maps, essays, research notes, books, publications and paintings documenting the historical development of Castine and the surrounding area. The collections are available to the public for research throughout the year.