Maine Memory Network

American Can plant demolition, Lubec, 1992, 1992

Contributed by: Lubec Historical Society Date: 1992 Location: Lubec Media: Photographic print

American Can plant demolition, Lubec, 1995, 1995

Contributed by: Lubec Historical Society Date: 1995 Location: Lubec Media: Photographic print

80-84 Cross Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: American Railway Express Co. Use: Stable

144-226 Read Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: American Can Company Use: Factory

American Legion Building, Wilton, 1950

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1950 Location: Wilton Client: American Legion Architect: Eaton W. Tarbell

Plan of Office for American Express Co., Lewiston, ca. 1912

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1912 Location: Lewiston Client: American Express Co. Architect: Coombs Brothers

"Twenty Nationalities, But All Americans"

Concern about immigrants and their loyalty in the post World War I era led to programs to "Americanize" them -- an effort to help them learn English and otherwise adjust to life in the United States. Clara Soule ran one such program for the Portland Public Schools, hoping it would help the immigrants be accepted.

From French Canadians to Franco-Americans

French Canadians who emigrated to the Lewiston-Auburn area faced discrimination as children and adults -- such as living in "Little Canada" tenements and being ridiculed for speaking French -- but also adapted to their new lives and sustained many cultural traditions.

Franco-American Collection

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Franco-American Heritage Center at St. Mary's

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Alex Mouzas: Passionate about sharing his Greek-American roots
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

A personal, in-depth look into the life and contributions of area Greek-Americans

An Asian American Account
by Zabrina

An account from a Chinese American teen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maine's Acadian Community: "Evangeline," Le Grand Dérangement, and Cultural Survival

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
This lesson plan will introduce students to the history of the forced expulsion of thousands of people from Acadia, the Romantic look back at the tragedy in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous epic poem Evangeline and the heroine's adoption as an Acadian cultural figure, and Maine's Acadian community today, along with their relations with Acadian New Brunswick and Nova Scotia residents and others in the Acadian Diaspora. Students will read and discuss primary documents, compare and contrast Le Grand Dérangement to other forced expulsions in Maine history and discuss the significance of cultural survival amidst hardships brought on by treaties, wars, and legislation.

Chinese in Maine

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12, Postsecondary Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson presents an overview of the history of the Chinese/Chinese Americans in Maine and the U.S. including some of the factors that led to Chinese immigration to the U.S., the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a look into the xenophobia, racism, and discrimination many Chinese Americans have experienced and continue to experience, and the contributions of Chinese Americans to community life and culture in Maine.