Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library

04/21/2026

We had a great afternoon cleaning graves with a class in the cemetery last week!

04/13/2026

Mark your calendars! The Muskie Archives will be hosting a Jane's Walk of Frye Street on Saturday, May 2nd at 1:30pm! Click the link for more info about the tour and find other Jane's Walks!

Join archivists from the Muskie Archives at Bates College for a historic walking tour of Frye Street.

02/17/2026

Building spotlight from the new campus map! Take a look at Hathorn Hall as campus grew around it and the building itself changed over time. The video at the end shows how the map works so you can explore the map yourself!

01/30/2026

A great article about the new historic campus map!

For at least 151 years, a hemlock and its close neighbor, a red oak, have grown up together on the Bates campus, close enough to overlap branches, while buildings popped up around them. Their survival is a mystery but thanks to a new interactive historic map of Bates, their shared history can at lea...

01/23/2026

Exciting news! We have officially launched our Bates College Historic Campus Map!

The new Historic Campus Map shows the history of the college campus with an interactive timeline, descriptions of campus features, and historic images. The map includes not just buildings, but also ivy stones, class gifts, memorials, and a selection of trees. We are excited to share this exciting new resource!

https://www.bates.edu/map/historical/

01/20/2026

12/23/2025

The Muskie Archives will be closed for the college break starting at the end of the day today (December 23rd) and will reopen on Monday, January 5th. In the spirit of the snow coming tonight to send us off to break, enjoy this photo of a snow-covered Frye Street from the early 1900s, and see you in the new year!

12/04/2025

Roger Williams Hall was dedicated on September 10, 1895, for use by the Cobb Divinity School. Funds for the building were given in memory of Mrs. Britannia Anthony, a descendant of Roger Williams, for whom the building is named. It originally housed a variety of facilities, including a chapel and a library.

After the Cobb Divinity School closed in 1908, Roger Williams was used both as a dormitory and to house administrative offices—dean of men, dean of women, registrar, bursar, and the president. Often referred to as “Roger Bill,” “The Bill,” or “The Monastery,” it became a full dormitory around 1964 when Lane Hall was built to house the administrative offices. In 2010, Roger Williams was renovated for a full return to academic use.

📸 #1: Roger Williams hall as photographed by George French, circa 1950s.

📸 #2: Oscar Fuller, Class of 1899, and Lester Pease, Class of 1895 and Cobb Divinity School Class of 1898, sit in their room in Roger Williams Hall, ca. 1897-88.

📸 #3: Students standing outside Roger Williams, circa 1940s.

📸 #4: The bursar’s office in Roger Williams, 1948.

11/07/2025

Hedge Hall, named for Dr. Isaiah H. Hedge, was built by G. M. Coombs in 1890 as a chemical laboratory. An additional wing was added to the building in 1926. In 1950, the new wing was given a second story (and a roof.). Hedge was converted into a dorm building in 1965 after the building of Dana Chemistry Building, and in 2010 was again refurbished for academic purposes. Today, Hedge has offices for the departments of Religious Studies, Environmental Studies, and Philosophy.

📸 #1: Hedge Hall pre-1926, before the second wing was added.

📸 #2: Hedge Hall, circa 1930s.

📸 #3: Bates Students in Hedge Laboratory, studying chemistry.

📸 #4: Hedge Hall after both its renovations.

10/11/2025

Staff at the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library love giving walking tours of the campus. They function like walking Bates encyclopedias, dropping tidbits about everything from which building was the first one on Frye Street to which are the oldest trees on campus.