BETHEL — One of the largest homes within the Broad Street Historic District is destined to become a unique history museum under the management of a newly created nonprofit, the Hastings Homestead Museum Inc.

Standing at Broad and Mason streets, directly across from the Bethel Inn and next to the Dr. Moses Mason House, the Hastings Homestead has been occupied by five generations of the same family since its construction in 1819.

A classic example of the “big house, little house, back house, barn” configuration, with the house and all service buildings connected, the homestead and all its contents were recently transferred to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit by Stanley R. Howe, a descendant of the home’s first occupants John and Abigail (Straw) Hastings, through their son, John Decatur Hastings, who developed a large farm in East Bethel still occupied by another branch of the family.

 

The transfer of ownership benefited from the expertise and generosity of Fryeburg lawyer David R. Hastings III, whose ancestor, David Robinson Hastings, was born at the Bethel homestead in 1823.

The nonprofit corporation was organized in March of 2021. Trustees Robert W. Hastings, Bettyann Butters Hastings, Stanley R. Howe, Sue J. Howe, James L. Haines, Randall H. Bennett and William F. Chapman will coordinate exhibits and programming with the nearby museums of the Bethel Historical Society.

The late Barbara Hastings Honkala, who spent much time organizing the homestead’s archives of family journals, letters and photos, has posthumously received the title of Honorary Founding Trustee.

The homestead tells a story of change over time as members of the Hastings family enlarged and updated their house but left unchanged many furnishings and interior arrangements.

As a museum, the homestead will present extraordinary opportunities for teaching and learning about everyday life in northern New England’s past. A virtual treasure house of local and regional history, the interior of the homestead remains closed for the present while a general inventory of its contents. They include 18 fully furnished rooms, an attached barn and carriage house containing wagons, carriages, farm equipment, and the stored accumulations of multiple generations.

Future plans include a complete update of the farming and logging exhibit in the barn that was created for Sudbury Canada Days in the 1990s. In addition, an extremely important upgrade to the rooms of the main residence will be the introduction of UV-blocking window films to protect fragile fabrics and works of art, which are many and varied.

 

In the coming days and months, the new nonprofit will share information and historic and contemporary images about the homestead on its Facebook page and website as a way of encouraging financial support from individuals, businesses and grant-funding agencies for the future preservation and interpretation of the property.

Donations in any amount may be designated for either the Hastings Fund, which is directed toward the museum’s general operations, or the Endowment Fund, which has been established to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the homestead and its collections as a teaching tool for scholars, students and the general public.

Donations to the Hastings Homestead Museum Inc., are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Anyone interested in learning more about this project may contact the museum at info@hastingshomestead.org or by writing to P.O. Box 1642, Bethel, ME 04217.

 

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