Volunteers are raising money and support for a self-guided walking tour of historic Wiscasset. Members of the Wiscasset Museum in the Streets committee gave a presentation on their proposed project to Lincoln County commissioners during their September18 meeting. 

Their goal is to place 40 panels depicting photographs and the many stories of Wiscasset's history throughout the village area of the town. The committee is seeking to raise $45,000 to fund the manufacture of the panels, their installation and maintenance, maps, brochures and photo reproductions, according to a press release.

Mary Ellen Barnes, director of Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission, joined Wiscasset residents Bill Phinney and Ed Kavenagh in presenting the information to commissioners. 

“We realize the architecture, the streetscapes and the views are all part of what makes Wiscasset a great place to work and visit,” Barnes said in her overview of the proposed layout of the tour. “We were trying to develop someway of celebrating this year-round.”

The project is designed to boost economic development, as well as a way to engage visitors and students on the town's history, she said. Other communities in Maine and in France, she continued, have created similar walking tours. 

Phinney and Kavenagh have been sorting through and scanning numerous images at the Wiscasset Public Library, which has in its collection over 30,000 historic images documenting Wiscasset's past. Phinney said they scanned 1,200 images and chose 130 of them to be displayed on the panels. 

The volunteers are working with Museum in the Streets, a company based in Cushing, which creates such walking tours across the nation and in Europe. According to its website, the company was launched by former Secretary General at the International Council of Museums in New York Patrick Cardon. So far in Maine, there are nine towns that have created walking history tours such as the one proposed for Wiscasset, from Bar Harbor to Kennebunk.

Local volunteers in Wiscasset have been talking with business people and property owners to gain support for the project. Phinney said they are about one quarter of the way toward meeting their $45,000 goal.

Reactions from commissioners were positive. 

“It's incredible you have that many photos in the library,” Commissioner William Blodgett said. “I'm just blown away by these photos.”

Barnes said their goal is to complete the project by spring 2013. A letter addressed to commissioners states, “These eye-catching panels with incredible photographs and intriguing tales will entice visitors to stay longer and return with friends and family. Building on our already exceptional assets, the project will encourage people to spend more time in Wiscasset's outstanding shops, restaurants, trades, and services.”

For more information about this project, call 882-7511.