Maine Memory Network

Oriental Powder Company lithograph, ca. 1863

Contributed by: Windham Historical Society Date: circa 1863 Location: Gorham; Windham Media: Ink on paper

Oriental Powder Mills gunpowder flask, Windham, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Windham Historical Society Date: circa 1900 Location: Windham; Gorham Media: Tin

Alterations in Building for the Oriental Resturaunt Company, Lewiston, 1927

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1927 Location: Lewiston Client: unkown Architect: Harry S. Coombs

Gunpowder for the Civil War

The gunpowder mills at Gambo Falls in Windham and Gorham produced about a quarter of the gunpowder used by Union forces during the Civil War. The complex contained as many as 50 buildings.

Chinese in Maine

In 1857, when Daniel Cough left Amoy Island, China, as a stowaway on a sailing ship from Mt. Desert Island he was on his way into history as the first Chinese person to make his home in Maine. He was soon followed by a cigar maker and a tea merchant who settled in Portland and then by many more Chinese men who spread all over Maine working mostly as laundrymen.

Farmington: Franklin County's Shiretown - Culture

"It was a place for service-oriented societies to meet, it served as a gathering space for citizens with common cultural concerns, and it was…"

John Martin: Expert Observer - Lamps and stove, John Martin store, Bangor, 1864

"Detail oriented and interested in architecture, business, gardening, dancing, and many other topics, Martin wrote and illustrated a journal and…"

From Chinese Laundress to Mother of the Year
by Dr. Andrea Louie

Toy Len Goon's granddaughter recounts her immigration to the US and becoming Mother of the Year.

An enjoyable conference, Portland 2021
by John C. Decker, Danville, Pennsylvania

Some snippets from a 4-day conference by transportation historians in Portland, September 7-11, 2021