York County Records Management Specialist Andrew O’Neill has been preparing some of the county’s historical records for public viewing online next spring or summer. Photo: Tammy Wells
By Tammy Wells
York County Government media
In May 1835, Ivory R. Hatch was unhappy with the result of an interaction with the town of Wells concerning a portion of his land. Selectmen had decided to use 72 rods, or 1,188 feet, of his land to build a new road. The compensation offered left him “aggrieved,” according to historical documents. Hatch hired an attorney and appealed to the York County Commissioners for relief.
The matter is outlined in the May 1835 minutes of York County Commissioners Court. The record does not address the amount Hatch was originally offered – nor the commissioners’ decision, which came later.
In the next several months, however, folks should be able to find out what happened in this matter and many others. By next spring or summer, folks will be able to read about county history online. And the York County Commissioners’ meeting accounts are expected to be just the beginning.
The county was founded in 1636, and while some records are currently held with the Maine State Archives, there are an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 documents in Alfred,according to York County Records Management Specialist Andrew O’Neill.
Back in 2022, York County Commissioners took steps to have the old county records examined, contracting with Lilly Archival of Blue Hill to take a preliminary look at the material.
“What is remarkable is the continuous series of records, between what you have in Alfred on the shelves, and the state archives,” Lilly Archival owner Paige Lilly told commissioners in a report following her 2022 review. “Overall, the preservation status of the physical materials is very sound.”
On Aug. 5, the five-member commissioners board approved a contract with Just Appraised, Inc., a California-based company that will use AI to read scans of the documents and provide an overview of what each of them contains. Folks will be able to access the material online via a link on the York County Government website. They’ll see a scan of the document itself and a summary.
O’Neill said Just Appraised Inc. has estimated that the AI programming they use currently results in 80 to 85 percent accuracy and may hit 90 percent with the county’s records.
Before Just Appraised Inc. can work its magic, the documents must be prepared, and that’s a delicate, careful process.
The handwritten documents were tri folded, at some point in their long history placed in bundles, and then into small metal storage containers. Many are very fragile; the ink has faded, and the handwriting can be difficult to read.
To ready them, O’Neill carefully unfolds the documents page by page, humidifies them, flattens the pages, and then scans them. O’Neill estimated he can prepare up to about 300 a day. The scans will be sent off in batches to Just Appraised, Inc. The physical documents themselves remain with the county and will be preserved.
Since he began working for the county a couple of years ago, O’Neill has deciphered more than 2,500 documents himself, along with tending to other aspects of his multi-faceted job, but it can be slow going. O’Neill and other county officials studied the project thoroughly before presenting it to commissioners in May.
“This is really fascinating, and it makes history come alive,” said Commissioner Justin Chenette.
“It looks like a good plan,” agreed Commissioner Richard Clark.
“There’s a long way to go, but we are excited about the prospect,” said O’Neill. He said the result should be very user-friendly.
The contract, about $88,000 in the first year and about $454,000 total over five years, provides for the online preservation of about 45,000 fragile documents annually.
“We have the funding set aside, and there is absolutely zero tax impact,” County Manager Greg Zinser told commissioners prior to their unanimous Aug. 5 vote. York County has long had a fund dedicated to preservation efforts, funded by user fees.
“We think it’s an exciting opportunity to put the records out to the public,” said Zinser.
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