How a Single Historical Document Can Affect Today's World

Abstract

Edwin A. Churchill received his BS (1965) and MST (1969) at the Wisconsin State University at River Falls and his PhD at the University of Maine in 1979. He was employed by the Maine State Museum from 1971 to 2007, retiring as Chief Curator. Churchill has co-authored or co-edited Maine: The Pine Tree State (1995), American Beginnings: Exploration, Culture and Cartography in the Land of Norumbega (1995), and The Great Land Grab: Maine Beaches Ripped from the True Owners: The Towns’ Inhabitants (2019). He has also authored Simple Forms and Vivid Colors: An Exhibition of Maine Paint Decorated Furniture, 1800-1850 (1983; reprinted 2007) and Hail Britannia: An Exhibition of Maine Pewter and Silverplate, 1828-1941 (1992). Churchill has twice been awarded the James P. Baxter Award for best writings in Maine History (1979 & 1986) and the Neal Allen Award for outstanding Contributions in the fields of Maine History and Genealogy (1995). From 1985 to present, he has done extensive research on the question of whether Maine beaches were privately or publicly owned and served as an expert witness in several state trials regarding that matter. Churchill is presently developing a manuscript on English and Penobscot interactions between 1713 and 1786 and is continuing research on Maine’s coastal land patterns from 1640 to present.