Maine Memory Network

Main Street West from Lisbon Street, Lewiston, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Lewiston Public Library Date: circa 1900 Location: Lewiston Media: Phototransparency

Checkley House Hotel, Scarborough, ca. 1938

Contributed by: Scarborough Historical Society & Museum Date: circa 1938 Location: Scarborough Media: Slide, transparency

The Checkley House, Scarborough, 1895

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1895 Location: Scarborough Client: unknown Architect: John Calvin Stevens

Wired! How Electricity Came to Maine

As early as 1633, entrepreneurs along the Piscataqua River in southern Maine utilized the force of the river to power a sawmill, recognizing the potential of the area's natural power sources, but it was not until the 1890s that technology made widespread electricity a reality -- and even then, consumers had to be urged to use it.

A Brief History of Colby College

Colby originated in 1813 as Maine Literary and Theological Institution and is now a small private liberal arts college of about 1,800 students. A timeline of the history and development of Colby College from 1813 until the present.

Presque Isle: The Star City - History of Presque Isle

"… its infrastructure included a sewer system, an electric lighting system powered by a plant with two Edison dynamos, a bank, churches of several…"

Scarborough: They Called It Owascoag - Transportation Through the Years - Page 2 of 4

"… in the 1880s, the horse cars were converted to electrics or “trolleys.” By the early 1900s, electricity came to Scarborough and trolley service…"

The Oakfield Inn
by Rodney Duplisea

This is a summarized article about the opening of the Oakfield Inn. It appeared in the Bangor Daily

Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride Companion Curriculum

Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8 Content Area: Social Studies
These lesson plans were developed by Maine Historical Society for the Seashore Trolley Museum as a companion curriculum for the historical fiction YA novel "Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride" by Jean. M. Flahive (2019). The novel tells the story of Millie Thayer, a young girl who dreams of leaving the family farm, working in the city, and fighting for women's suffrage. Millie's life begins to change when a "flying carpet" shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm and when a fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, Millie finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. The lesson plans in this companion curriculum explore a variety of topics including the history of the trolley use in early 20th century Maine, farm and rural life at the turn of the century, the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his relationship with Maine, WWI, and the flu pandemic of 1918-1920.