The L.C. Bates Museum

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“The L.C. Bates Museum is a little-known but rich and important local museum in Hinckley, ME. It carries an encyclopedic array of collections of natural history, archaeology, history, and the arts, a large number of which have never been exhibited and many are barely cataloged and/or researched.”
– Véronique Plesch, Syllabus for AR393, Colby College, Spring 2020

“The natural history museum belongs to the Good Will School, founded by Reverend George Hinckley in 1889 for boys in need and favoring the same outdoor education that shaped Ernest Hemingway’s childhood: work, play, and scientific exploration in nature.1 A true cabinet of curiosities, the museum is best-known for its beautiful habitat dioramas of Maine birds and mammals, designed by Impressionist artist Charles Hubbard in the 1920s.” – Susan F. Beegel

“The L.C. Bates Museum is an early 20th Century Museum full of unique cabinets of curiosities and Maine wildlife dioramas.  Discover the Wonders of Nature. Explore exhibits of art, Maine Native American Baskets, Minerals, and Maine History and Archaeology.  Experience Maine’s natural beauty first hand on our forest walking trails.” – Good Will-Hinckley

Read more about its history here.