Mission of the MAINE FOREST AND LOGGING MUSEUM

Experience Living History at Leonard's Mills in Bradley!

Leonard's Mills is the centerpiece of the Maine Forest and Logging Museum, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1960, and dedicated to keeping alive the forest industry of long ago for the present-day citizens of the State of Maine. Located on approximately 400 acres on Blackman Stream in Bradley, Leonard's Mills is at the actual site of an early pioneer settlement, identified by the remains of a stone dam and the foundations of several houses. Today, Leonard's Mills is "alive" once again, as the Museum is represented by an authentic reconstruction of a logging and milling community of the 1790s. The Museum, through our Living History site at Leonard's Mills, teaches people of all ages about the forest and logging history of Maine. Our general purposes are to collect, preserve, and share artifacts, documents, tools, and equipment, and stories relating to the history of the Maine woods - particularly the pioneer and lumbering periods.

The Museum is unique within the State in its focus on forest resources in a cultural context. It combines an interactive Living History format (with volunteers dressed in the clothing of the period) with an operating "up-and-down" sawmill, and a variety of other interpretative sites that include an authentic blacksmith shop, bateaux, trappers’ line camp, and a settlers’ log cabin. With school tours and public programs at Leonard's Mills, the Museum provides to residents of the state and visitors an educational and enjoyable experience through living history. The buildings, collections, research, and – most importantly – the educational and public programs of the Museum are the accomplishments of hundreds of volunteers from throughout the State (drawing from the entire Maine Highlands region, and from points as far as Fryeburg, Millinocket, and Houlton).

In addition to funds we raise at our themed events, we are supported by contributions from individuals, other non-profits, members of the business community, and by grants from foundations and government sources. We are an IRS 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization; contributions to The Maine Forest & Logging Museum are tax-deductible.

The public is invited to participate in a variety of activities, or enjoy hiking nature trails through the adjacent forest. After crossing Blackman Stream through a covered bridge, visitors find our water-powered sawmill, a mill pond and dam, a pit-saw structure, a black- smith shop, an early-American hovel, an authentic log cabin, and a trapper's line camp. The Museum also offers an extensive picnic area and an outdoor amphitheater. A genuine Lombard log hauler allows visitors a look into early 1900s logging.