Preserving the Past.
A select group of juniors and seniors from Nokomis Regional High are doing more than just studying history—they are actively preserving it. Through the Research and Curation Internship, led by instructors Mr. Viles and Mr. Hanish, ten students are participating in a hands-on project to digitize and protect documents in the Levi Stewart Collection at the Stewart Library Building in Corinna. This collaborative initiative serves to protect the area’s cultural heritage while providing students with unique educational opportunities and community service credits.
At the heart of this work is the legacy of Levi Merrick Stewart, a Corinna native born in 1827 who moved to Minneapolis and found great success as a real estate lawyer. A devoted philanthropist, Stewart built the Stewart Library
Building as a memorial to his parents. He later bequeathed his personal collection of over 6,500 books, along with an archive of letters and legal papers to Corinna. While this uncirculated collection has been closed to the public since 1910, a unique program at Nokomis Regional High School is bringing these treasures to light.
Training at the Maine State Archives
To prepare for the course work, the class visited the Maine State Archives in Augusta to learn about best practices for handling and preserving historical documents. Under the guidance of state archivists, students had the rare opportunity to handle significant historical artifacts, including a draft of the Maine State Constitution and Col. Joshua Chamberlain’s battle report from the Battle of Gettysburg. This experience provided them with the skills necessary to work with the delicate materials within the Levi Stewart Collection.
Uncovering Corinna’s Stories
In the second year of the program the students are currently focused on several key areas of research and preservation:
Letters and Documents in the Collection: Using sophisticated photography and transcribing technology student are scanning, transcribing, and archiving the personal letters and legal documents.
Economic Trends and Property Tax Records: Students have digitized tax information for over 20 Corinna residents from 1900–1920. By moving this data into spreadsheets, they are analyzing the town’s economic shifts before and after World War I.
Bringing Portraits to Life: To make history accessible to the public, students are writing biographies for historical figures whose portraits hang in the town hall. The plan is to make these profiles eventually accessible via QR codes, allowing visitors to scan the codes with their phones to learn about the individuals in the portraits.
Innovation in the Vault: Student-Built AI
What makes this project truly unique is the integration of advanced technology. The letters and other documents from the mid to late 1800’s are written in a tight cursive style that is often difficult to decipher. The class is utilizing a student-built AI program that transcribes the documents into readable text. Supported by a new technical setup in the document vault—including a specialized imaging program and both wired and wireless networks—students are now able to digitize and transcribe roughly fifteen documents per class session. This level of efficiency is transforming a massive collection into a searchable, public resource.
Why This Matters
The historical significance of this work cannot be overstated. By digitizing Levi Stewart’s extensive collection of personal letters and legal papers, students are making records that were previously difficult to access available for public research and education. The project is an ongoing effort to ensure that Corinna’s rich history is not only preserved in a vault but is active and accessible for future generations.
The students hope to display their work for the community in late May or June. As the project continues, the class looks forward to “mining” the collection for further insights into the language, grammar, and daily lives of those who shaped the region over a century ago.