Peter Edes Memorial drawing and clippings

Collection — Folder: 1

Identifier: S-Coll-0015

Content Description

Original drawing for the Peter Edes Memorial, a bronze tablet installed in front of the Hammond Street Congregational Church in Bangor, Maine, that reads: "Peter Edes: printer, publisher, patriot lived near this spot. He established in 1815 Bangor's first newspaper the Weekly Register. He died March 29, 1840 and is buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery. This tablet to his memory erected by the De Burians, 1929." Collection includes several newspaper clippings and copies of a print depicting the Edes press.

Dates

Creation: 1929 - 1930

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Historical Note

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The DeBurians was an informal club organized in 1900 by Samuel Lane Boardman, editor of the Bangor Commercial. The club got its name from Richard DeBury (1287-1345), who gathered the first private library in England. The DeBurians published several books, the first Peter Edes, Pioneer Printer in Maine.

Peter Edes was born in Boston and at the age of 19 was taken prisoner by the British two days after Bunker Hill. For many years Edes printed papers in Boston, Portland, and Augusta. On Saturday, November 25, 1815 the first Bangor Weekly Register was in circulation. Edes lived at 23 Ohio Street in Bangor.

The tablet to Peter Edes was established within sight of his home on Ohio Street. The money for the statue was donated by a small group of men who were interested in newspaper printing. The granite slab was furnished by the Board of Public Works, and was erected under the City Engineer, H. W. Wright. The tablet bears a replica of the Edes press which was destroyed in the 1911 fire.