BETHEL – The Dr. Moses Mason House Museum, with its Rufus Porter murals, opened for summer tours and its 33rd season on July 1. The museum will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. except Mondays until Labor Day.

In addition to several volunteers who have been giving tours for some time, Amy Davis, Allan Marcotte, Nancy Mercer, Jim Macgregor and Kathy Kunkel, the museum will also be staffed by two interns, David Jones, a graduate student in public history at the University of Southern Maine’s New England and American Studies program, and Maureen Doyle of Bethel, this year’s Judith Haskell intern.

This year’s exhibit in the Dr. Mason House meeting room will be “The Bethel Historical Society: A 40th Anniversary.” There will be a number of exhibits and special programs during July and August, including an exhibit opening, “Cohen, Congress and Controversy: Rediscovering Civic in the Archives,” and presentation by Chris Potholm of Bowdoin College on Tuesday, July 25, the Yankee Brass Band concert on the grounds of the Dr. Mason House (weather permitting) on Saturday, July 29, and Sudbury Canada Days on Friday through Sunday, Aug. 11 to 13.

Two lectures in the Dr. Moses Mason House meeting room will take place during Sudbury Canada Days. David H. Watters, University of New Hampshire, will talk on “New England’s Legacy: Memory and Identity in an American Region,” and Thomas C. Hubka of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, on “Maine’s Connected Farm Buildings: The Uncommon Architecture of Common Farmers.”

Next door the O’Neil Robinson House will also be open six days a week 1 from 4 p.m. as well as offer morning hours from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Friday. There will be four exhibits as well as the museum shop and an opportunity to view a number of historical videos relating to local and regional history.

More information about the Bethel Historical Society and its activities may be obtained by calling 824-2908 or 1-800-824-2910, e-mailing [email protected] or visiting www.bethelhistorical.org.