Americana Corner Grant Helps Arnold Expedition Historical Society Create Permanent Bateau Display
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 8, 2024
CONTACT: Mike Holt
(207) 446-1625
aehs1775@gmail.com
PITTSTON, MAINE – Americana Corner has announced that the Arnold Expedition Historical Society is among 121 organizations selected nationwide for over $1.4 million in Preserving America Grant Program awards for 2024.
The $5,000 received by the Arnold Expedition Historical Society will be used to:
- Build a 22-foot-long replica bateau (flat-bottom riverboat)
- Install interpretive signage
- Upgrade an existing pavilion at the Colburn House State Historic Site in Pittston, Maine
This new display will inform visitors about Colonel Benedict Arnold’s march to Quebec during the American Revolution, as well as about Reuben Colburn, the Pittston shipbuilder who built 220 bateaux for Arnold’s expedition. The display will also serve as a major site for celebrations honoring the expedition’s 250th anniversary in 2025.
“Bateaux played a crucial and significant role in the American Revolution, particularly during Benedict Arnold’s expedition to Quebec in 1775,” says Mike Holt, Board member of the Arnold Expedition Historical Society. “Reuben Colburn built these flat-bottom riverboats to help transport the Arnold expedition’s food and supplies as they trekked through Maine into Canada. The expedition’s failed attack on Quebec and strategic retreat led to the Battle of Saratoga—a decisive turning point in our fight for independence. This display, made possible by Americana Corner’s generous grant, celebrates these bateaux and the role they played in America’s history.”
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About the Arnold Expedition Historical Society
Formed in 1969, the Arnold Expedition Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to preserving sites and trails connected to Colonel Benedict Arnold’s march to Quebec. The Arnold Expedition Historical Society has its headquarters at the Colburn House State Historic Site in Pittston, Maine—where the expedition’s bateaux were built.
To learn more, please visit https://arnoldsmarch.org.
About Americana Corner
Americana Corner was founded by Tom Hand in 2020 as an online resource to help others rediscover America’s incredible founding and first century of expansion. From the American Revolution to the settlement of the American West, from the Declaration of Independence to the Emancipation Proclamation, and from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, Americana Corner contains positive stories of the great events, founding documents, and inspirational leaders who helped create and shape our country. Perhaps most importantly, Tom discusses why these events and people from so long ago still matter to us today.
To learn more, please visit https://www.americanacorner.com.
About the Americana Corner Grant Program
Americana Corner was founded by Tom Hand in 2020 as an online resource to help others rediscover America’s incredible founding and first century of expansion. The Preserving America Grant Program assists organizations that tell the story of our nation’s wonderful past and rekindle a love for American history in all its splendor.
To learn more, please visit https://www.americanacorner.com/grant-recipients.