A featured event of this ongoing exhibit, "Twelve Maine Women: Portraits of Change," will take place at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at the Ellsworth Public Library, 20 State Street.

Reserve your space for this free event here

The New Deal at Work: Frances Perkins, Labor Reform, and the Continuing Legacy

In the depths of the Great Depression, the New Deal did more than rebuild America’s infrastructure; It charted a new course for the American worker. Under the visionary leadership of Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, the federal government created programs to shore up the national economy following the nation’s most serious economic crisis- helping to create the modern middle class. These groundbreaking efforts included: the Social Security Act of 1935, which established old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and survivor benefits; the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which established the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively; and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which implemented maximum hours and minimum wages in all interstate industries and restrictions on child labor.

This panel explores the legacy of Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member, the Labor Reform of the New Deal, and how these programs must continue to evolve to support workers in America into the future.