STRATTON — The Dead River Area Historical Society will pay tribute to “The Townsend’s of Stratton,” hosted by Luke Townsend on Saturday, Aug. 18.

Townsend, who grew up in Stratton, said, “From what I can tell, it was the early 1900s when the Townsends showed up in the Stratton area. My great-grandfather, Fred, was born in Bradford in 1880 and died in Stratton in 1918. His father, Charles Henry, died in 1920. Charles grave was moved from Flagstaff to Eustis when they flooded the lake.

“Our Townsends came from Massachusetts to Maine in the late 1700s, from England to Massachusetts in the mid 1600s. Luckily, my sixth great-grandfather, Benjamin (1711-1810), survived the Revolutionary War after being left for dead on the battlefield and captured by the British. Had he perished, none of us would be here.”

The society’s special days are not presentations, but a gathering of people knowledgeable about the featured subject.

On display in the museum are artifacts, manuscripts, and photographs that have been donated or loaned by interested townspeople and descendants of original families of the Dead River Region. For more information, call 246-2271