Public education has been an integral part of the Wells and Ogunquit communities for more than 300 years. Beginning with small group instruction in private homes in the early 1700s, by 1872 the Town had grown to include 17 different schoolhouses. Residents fondly recall their school experiences and the educators they met along the way, people like Nellie Littlefield, Ethyl Weymouth, and Esselyn Gilman Perkins, for whom our research library is named.

 

These colorful stories are illustrated by the schoolhouses still standing throughout Town, like the restored one-room Division 9 “Pine Hill” School and the impressive 1937 Wells High School edifice on Post Road. Visitors will enjoy hearing these stories while browsing our extensive collection of school photographs, ephemera, and yearbooks.