If part of the job of history educators is to prepare students to be informed, literate, active, and analytical citizens of their communities, then what better place to start than with encouraging them to really learn and contextualize the history of their own communities? This article explores student responses to a semester-long local history assignment--ten local history site visits and write-ups--given every year in the authors History of Maine course. Although a local history assignment certainly makes pedagogical sense in a course about local history, the author argues that the benefits of engaging in local history with students transcend both historical specialization and education level. Similar assignments and activities can be done with elementary, middle school, secondary, and college students.