AUGUSTA -- The city today kicks off a series of noontime talks about the Kennebec Dam and Augusta's industrial history from 1837 to 1999.

The talks follow the Sunday unveiling of nine signs on Canal Street detailing the history of the dam and the mills and factories it powered. The lectures take place at individual signs along the street above the city's Mill Park and address a particular topic.

Talks and Topics
Monday: Kennebec Dam
Tuesday: Nathaniel Hawthorne on the dam's construction
Wednesday: Edwards Mill memories
Thursday: State of the river following the dam's removal.

On Thursday night at 7 p.m., William Moran, author of "The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove," speaks at Jewett Hall on the University of Maine at Augusta campus.