Doug Hodgkin / Sunday Author Series

Our fall Sunday Author Series continues on Nov. 1 with Lewiston’s own Douglas Hodgkin talking about his latest work, Lewiston Politics in the Gilded Age, 1863-1900. This free, public program is being co-sponsored by the Friends of LPL and will take place in LPL’s Callahan Hall.

The latter nineteenth Century was a period of rapid growth in New England, economic and otherwise, and in Lewiston it was marked by the construction of our textile mills. At the same time, this same period has been depicted as a shameful one in the nation’s urban history due to the rise of corrupt machine politics.

How well did Lewiston’s government respond to the service challenges and the incorporation of a diverse ethnic population? Was Lewiston governed by an elite of mill managers, by political “bosses,” by a “rum power,” or by democratically responsive officials? This book considers the competition among the political parties, ethnic groups, mill managers, the business community, labor unions, and advocates of liquor prohibition. Chapters are devoted to each service function. The result is a look at how Lewiston managed to govern itself under boomtown conditions during the Gilded Age.

Doug, a native of Lewiston, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Bates College. He is the author of several books about local history, including Lewiston Memories (1994), Historic Lewiston: The Grange at Crowley’s Junction (2003), Frontier to Industrial City: Lewiston Town Politics 1768-1863 (2008), and The Lewiston and Auburn Railroad Company (2010). He currently serves as president and newsletter editor of the Androscoggin Historical Society.

Copies of Lewiston Politics in the Gilded Age will be available for sale at the event and a book signing will follow the talk.

The final presentation in the Sunday Author Series take place on Nov. 8 with Kate Braestrup talking about her latest title, Anchor & Flares: a memoir of motherhood, hope & service. For more information on these events, contact the LPL Adult & Teen Services desk at 513-3135 or LPLReference@Gmail.com