HALLOWELL, Maine — Something about history grabbed Earle Shettleworth at a young age, and never let go. Shettleworth has been arguably Maine’s best-known source for state history for decades. Since 2004, he has been the Maine state historian, a position appointed by the governor.
His interest began very young, Shettleworth said, and only grew as he did.
"We took a family trip to Quebec in the summer of 1966 when I was six years old," he recalled while sitting in the Hallowell library, "And I spotted an antique shop in Bingham and said, 'Please, on the way back can I stop there and see what they have?"
The historian recalls that visit, well over 60 years later.
"And I found something I wanted, a print of George Washington."
Shettleworth said he still has the picture, as well as the memory—the first of many in his study of history.
"I joined the Maine Historical Society the spring of 1963, still in my final year of junior high school," he said, noting that a high school teacher had heard of his interest and nominated him to the society, which at the time required that step to become a member.
Asked what it was then that inspired such an interest in history, the reply was simple but eloquent.
"I think the fascination for pursuing history, whether state or national, is that one never exhausts the richness of it. The stories, you find a fragment of information that fascinates you and you pursue that and discover a whole new part of history."
Shettleworth followed that trail through college and graduate school, and eventually to a job at the Maine Historic Preservation Commission that lasted for nearly 40 years. Along the way, he became an expert on the state’s architectural history.
"I kept learning more and more about the state, because the role of the commission was to discover where all the historic resources were in the state, in the way of old buildings, historic areas, and architectural sites. So for me it was a great learning experience and took me all over the state," he explained.
"So in a sense, I learned on the job," Shettleworth laughed.
When asked for one building project for which he is most proud, he pointed to Portland’s Victoria Mansion—a building Shettleworth said he had first visited as a child, with his mother and sister.
Efforts were being made to preserve it, at a time when the federal government was starting to make money available for such projects. Shettleworth said that even before he went to work for the Historic Preservation Commission he was a member of the board, and raised the topic.
"And I said, you know, there’s a major building in Portland that’s very much in need of restoration. The Victoria Mansion organization had acquired the building in the 40s but hadn’t been able to do anything. For example, the gutter cornice system was all deteriorated and the water was pouring down on the brownstone."
Shettleworth said he urged the board to approve funding, and it did.
"Because it is such an important building in terms of mid-19th century architecture in America, it's probably the best example of a Victorian Italianate villa-style house in the country. And remarkable not only for its grand architectural features on the exterior but the entire interior was intact."
Fifty years later, the building has been largely restored, an achievement he said is important for the city and the state and symbolizes the value of historic preservation.
"It's important simply for community and state identity. These are buildings that are our history and past, but also the living, built environment we experience every day. And it gets to quality of life."
He returned to the same theme a short time later.
"This has been the role of historic preservation because these visible remains of the past, whether a single building, a farmstead, a wonderfully preserved downtown like Hallowell, for example. All of these things are what define the character of Maine and make it special and unique, and make it a place with a built environment people want to live in, whether they’ve been here for generations or have come in recent years," he said. "The idea is we have this great natural environment in Maine but we also have this great built environment. Put those together and we have a very special state."
Earle Shettleworth’s lifetime of work preserving and explaining Maine’s history was singled out at a special ceremony last week when he was presented with the Maine History Maker award by the Maine Historical Society. The same organization he joined at age 14.
And while he retired from the commission several years ago, Shettleworth is still the state historian, and still working on research projects and helping local history groups.
His current research is on a little-known but significant artist from Gardiner.
But there is another project, also involving paintings, that he hopes to pursue, taking him right back to his roots at Maine Historical.
"That has led me to understand there is another great, largely unknown collection of artwork at Maine Historical Society that interests me greatly," he said.
It’s a collection, mostly unknown to the public, of 75 to 100 maritime paintings, mostly of ships.
"If there is anything Maine history, it’s the maritime and shipping from earliest days to the present… I think it would be a fascinating piece of research, and I think visually it would be very rich and met with interest and appreciation by people who love Maine's maritime past."
Maine’s State Historian said there are many other stories, waiting to be told.