Readers may wonder how the Boothbay Region Historical Society, the Elizabeth Freeman Reed House at 72 Oak Street, the Boothbay Harbor Monday Club, and Tea are woven together in the fabric of history. Everyone driving into Boothbay Harbor past the triangle passes by the tall stately building on the right and might get a view of the outside. Some are curious enough to park and come inside the house built in 1873 by Captain Freeman K. Reed on the estate of his wife Annie Fisher Blair’s family. The master of the schooner James S. Lowell found himself a single father after his wife died a few days following the birth of their third child, Elizabeth Freeman Reed on Dec. 12, 1874.

As a member and volunteer of the historical society, I have had the pleasure of being inside the building. I often listen carefully, hoping that the walls could speak, or at least whisper to me, about the people who occupied the space for more than 150 years. No walls have yet spoken to me. However, after discovering some historical documents about the Reed family and the papers belonging to the Boothbay Harbor Monday Club that were tucked away in a desk, I have been able to weave together some of the connections.

Following their mother’s death, the Reed children – Kate Leslie Reed (1872-1927), Fullerton Paul Reed (1870-1949), and Elizabeth Freeman Reed (1874-1952) - were raised by Captain Reed, along with the assistance of friends and relatives. He often took his children to sea with him in the summer to trade lumber, ice, and potatoes for fruits and sugar in Santo Domingo and the West Indies. Another tragedy struck the Reed children when their father met an untimely death in 1887. At the age of 46, Captain Reed was washed overboard the James S. Lowell during hurricane force winds in the general area of the Nantucket South Light Ship. The schooner drifted for two days, but his body was never found.

Elizabeth’s life is what has most fascinated me. She grew from a student in local schools, graduating from Lincoln Academy in 1892 and then from Mount Holyoke College four years later. She began her teaching career at No. 6 Schoolhouse in West Boothbay Harbor and continued teaching in Boston area schools in the early 1900s. Her father’s influence had led her to become active in the important matter of women’s rights and the suffrage movement. Another influence in Elizabeth’s life was her mother’s sister, Annie Blair Kenniston, one of the founding mothers of the Boothbay Harbor Monday Club. This literary and civic-minded club was formed by and for local Boothbay Harbor women in 1895.

Elizabeth lived and worked as a teacher in New York City until her retirement. After joining the Interboro Association of Women’s Teachers, she worked with others to win equal pay for equal work in 1911. She became the vice chairman of the Women’s Suffrage Association of Boothbay Harbor in 1917. At that time she entertained at a Suffrage Tea on the lawn of her home at 72 Oak Street. In the 1920s, she was involved in the Silver Teas held by the Monday Club to raise funds for the Lincoln Home in Newcastle. She went on to write a pageant titled “The Progress of Women” to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the Monday Club. The pageant was performed by club members on April 30, 1940 at the Congregational Church.

Elizabeth Freeman Reed became the president of the Monday Club in 1942 and was very active in the club’s activities until her death on Jan. 30, 1953. Knowing that there was a need for a place for the Monday Club to meet, she magnanimously bequeathed her home to the Monday Club to use as their Club House. The club had their meetings there until 1984 when they could no longer maintain the house. At that time the house was transferred to the Town of Boothbay Harbor. The Historical Society has leased the house and grounds ever since.

In the tradition of the Silver Teas of yesteryear, the Boothbay Region Historical Society will host “Tea, Treats, and Tales.” The event will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club at 156 Western Ave., West Boothbay Harbor and will include a presentation by Julia O’Brien-Merrill who will share some of the tales of The Monday Club. There will be a limit of 60 guests, with tickets at $50 per person.

To purchase tickets, send a check with your phone number to “Tea, Treats, and Tales,” Boothbay Region Historical Society, P.O. Box 272, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538 or stop by the museum at 72 Oak Street, Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. To pay by credit card, please call the office 207-633-0820 or visit our website at www.boothbayhistorical.org.

For questions, please contact Connie Hartley at chart@boothbayhistorical.org.