In her second LCHA Winter Lecture Series talk, "Silent Witnesses: The Architecture of Justice in Early New England", Aimée Keithan delves into the people behind the crimes. She shares how social biases impacted prisoners’ lives.

 

Colonial gaols or jails were often small, makeshift spaces, intended as holding places before criminal punishment was executed. Keithan examines the development of penal and judicial architecture using the Pownalborough Courthouse, Wiscasset Old Jail, and other examples to illustrate that changes in architectural design were intended to deliberately manipulate the behavior of those accused of crime, attempting to shape them into “productive” members of society.

 

This talk, to be held via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m., is open to all, but pre-registration is required. Please visit www.lincolncountyhistory.org to receive a link and navigate to upcoming events. There is no charge, although donations are welcome. The program will be recorded, and all registrants will be sent a link to the video that can be viewed at will by those who are unable to attend the live presentation.
 
Aimée Keithan, Ph.D. is a buildings archaeologist and architectural historian, currently working as Pejepscot History Center’s Museum Services Manager in Brunswick. She has held research fellowships at George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the Preservation of Newport County in Rhode Island. Her research focuses on using the material culture of architecture to reveal the history of marginalized populations.

 

Lincoln County Historical Association is a non-profit organization that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset.  For more information, please visit www.lincolncountyhistory.org or Facebook at Lincoln County Historical Association (Maine).