Pejepscot History Center docent Don Westfall shares stories about the Skolfield-Whittier House on Park Row in Brunswick with a tour group in 2023. Courtesy of Pejepscot History Center

Three southern Midcoast organizations with historic house museums are debuting “Docent College” to train volunteers from 4-:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath.

The collaboration between Lincoln County Historical Association, Maine Maritime Museum and Pejepscot History Center of Brunswick brings together for the first time current and prospective museum tour guides — docents — from six historic house museums.

The event includes socializing over a meal, engaging in facilitated discussion about the value of historic house museums, and games and activities highlighting the best practices of their discipline.

“We wanted to create a fun and substantive — but ‘no lecture’ — networking and learning event for our volunteer tour guides,” said Shannon Gilmore, executive director of Lincoln County Historical Association, which owns and manages Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, Pownalborough Court House in Dresden and the Old Jail in Wiscasset.

“It’s a great way for our collective organizations to pool resources and bring like-minded history enthusiasts together in our region.”

Maine Maritime Museum’s Donnell House in Bath, Pejepscot History Center’s Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum and Skolfield-Whittier House in Brunswick are the other three represented house museums.

Much of this year’s event is geared toward sharing experiences between experienced docents. The evening concludes with a panel of three veteran guides sharing stories and leading a Q&A. The collaborators hope to build on the event in the future, toward a multi-session workshop similar to the Portland History Docent program that several organizations in the Greater Portland region host each year to train new recruits.

If you are interested in learning more about being a docent at one of these museums, contact: Chapman-Hall House, Pownalborough Court House, Old Jail in Wiscasset, at lchamaine1954@gmail.com; Donnell House at hartley@maritimeme.org; Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum or Skolfield-Whittier House at info@pejepscothistorical.org.