The Boothbay Railway Village is excited to announce that its illustrated talks and hands-on arts classes will now be housed under one program. Primer: Lessons with Experts & Masters launches in October with programs on iron, stone, and underappreciated artistry hidden in plain sight. A primer is text that introduces the reader to the basics of a subject. Primers were common teaching tools in early New England schools, much like the Railway Village’s own one-room schoolhouse. Primer will offer learning opportunities in the arts, culture, history, and technology. What would you like to learn this month?

On Oct. 13, learn the basics of blacksmithing at the Boothbay Railway Village forge. Both a morning intermediate workshop (9 a.m. to noon) for those with some prior blacksmithing experience and an afternoon beginner workshop (1 to 4 p.m.) are available! $90 for Museum Members, $95 for non-members. Limit of two students per class, ages 14 and up. Parents and guardians, please accompany students under 18. Students required to wear safety glasses. Leather work gloves optional. Please be sure to indicate your desired level and time in the comments field when registering. See registration details below.

On October 15 at 7 p.m., join author and historian Ron Romano for an illustrated look at the life and beautiful work of stone carver Bartlett Adams. Bartlett Adams (1776 – 1828) was born and raised near Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he learned the craft of stone-cutting as an apprentice to his brother-in-law. In 1800, at age 24, he moved to Portland and established the area’s first stone-cutting shop. He supplied hearthstones and mantle pieces to area homes, but his more lasting – and visible – impact can be found in the early cemeteries of southern Maine. His busy shop produced hundreds of slate and marble gravestones, some of which are found today in the historic burial grounds of Boothbay and the Midcoast.

A native of Portland, Ron Romano serves on the board of Spirits Alive --- the Friends of Portland’s Eastern Cemetery --- leading their walking tours program (recently named by Yankee Magazine as one of the “Best 5 Cemetery Tours in New England”). Romano also serves as trustee for the National Association for Gravestone Studies. He is a frequent lecturer on the early stonecutters of southern Maine and gravestone symbolism, and has guided groups through many historic cemeteries in the area. His original research on the life and work of stonecutter Bartlett Adams led to the publication of his first book (“Early Gravestones in Southern Maine”) in 2016. His second book, published in 2017 (“Portland’s Historic Eastern Cemetery”), celebrates Portland’s 350-year-old burying ground, on the National Register of Historic Places. Following the lecture, Romano will have copies of his book about Adams available for autograph and sale.

The Art of Bartlett Adams will take place in the 1847 Boothbay Town Hall. Admission is free, a suggested donation of $5 is appreciated. Lectures at Boothbay Railway Village are made possible by Bath Savings Institution. Boothbay Railway Village is located at 586 Wiscasset Road, Route 27 in Boothbay. For more information on either event and to register for blacksmithing lessons, please call 633-4727 or visit www.railwayvillage.org/events.