Maine Memory Network

Prisoners of War

Mainers have been held prisoners in conflicts fought on Maine and American soil and in those fought overseas. In addition, enemy prisoners from several wars have been brought to Maine soil for the duration of the war.

World War I and the Maine Experience

With a long history of patriotism and service, Maine experienced the war in a truly distinct way. Its individual experiences tell the story of not only what it means to be an American, but what it means to be from Maine during the war to end all wars.

Passing the Time: Artwork by World War II German POWs

In 1944, the US Government established Camp Houlton, a prisoner of war (POW) internment camp for captured German soldiers during World War II. Many of the prisoners worked on local farms planting and harvesting potatoes. Some created artwork and handicrafts they sold or gave to camp guards. Camp Houlton processed and held about 3500 prisoners and operated until May 1946.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"… than are all other sources of evil combined. All crimes united from petty theiving to burglary, house burning, murder, piracy and rebellion inflict…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1919 to 1934: The Nation Follows Maine Into Prohibition

"… popular that it helped stimulate new heights of crime and evasion. Underground brewers, distillers, and merchants found new opportunities to…"

Prohibition in Maine in the 1920s

Federal Prohibition took hold of America in 1920 with the passing of the Volstead Act that banned the sale and consumption of all alcohol in the US. However, Maine had the Temperance movement long before anyone was prohibited from taking part in one of America's most popular past times. Starting in 1851, the struggles between the "drys" and the "wets" of Maine lasted for 82 years, a period of time that was everything but dry and rife with nothing but illegal activity.

The Devil and the Wilderness

Anglo-Americans in northern New England sometimes interpreted their own anxieties about the Wilderness, their faith, and their conflicts with Native Americans as signs that the Devil and his handmaidens, witches, were active in their midst.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1865 to 1919: The Drys Gain New Adherents and Leaders

"… Historical Society New Leaders Between the Civil War and the end of World War I, the anti-liquor cause, now led by both reformers and Republican…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"… of Oxford County in the decades before the Civil War. Painted by one of the members of Rumford Corner's talented family of artists, it reflects an…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1620 to 1820: New England's Great Secret

"… population decreased in the face of disease and war, the bottle became a growing problem for many Native Americans."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"949, Ser. 1, vol. 29 During the War of 1812, the Privateer Schooner Dart was launched from the Cape Elizabeth shore of Portland harbor."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"… Society B St 96 A native of Ireland, Civil War veteran Murphy was pulled from jail by Capt. Studivant having told the latter, "I have been a…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Taverns, People, and Scenes

"… Billy Hans was a veteran of the Revolutionary War who had become an alcoholic and fallen on hard times."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"In Canada the War Measures Act (1916-1919) banned alcoholic beverages. After the war, Quebec became wet, with Ontario following in 1927."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery

"… survives as a virtual time capsule of pre-Civil War grandeur. Morse made his fortune operating luxury hotels in New Orleans during the 2nd half of…"

Begin Again: reckoning with intolerance in Maine

BEGIN AGAIN explores Maine's historic role, going back 528 years, in crisis that brought about the pandemic, social and economic inequities, and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Protests

Throughout the history of the state, residents have protested, on paper or in the streets, to increase rights for various groups, to effect social change, to prevent social change, or to let their feelings be known about important issues.

Summer's Favorite Game

Baseball often is called the National Pastime. For many people, baseball is encountered in the backyard and down the street, a game played by a few or the full contingent of a team.

Biddeford, Saco and the Textile Industry

The largest textile factory in the country reached seven stories up on the banks of the Saco River in 1825, ushering in more than a century of making cloth in Biddeford and Saco. Along with the industry came larger populations and commercial, retail, social, and cultural growth.

Longfellow: The Man Who Invented America

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a man and a poet of New England conscience. He was influenced by his ancestry and his Portland boyhood home and experience.

400 years of New Mainers

Immigration is one of the most debated topics in Maine. Controversy aside, immigration is also America's oldest tradition, and along with religious tolerance, what our nation was built upon. Since the first people--the Wabanaki--permitted Europeans to settle in the land now known as Maine, we have been a state of immigrants.

Portland Hotels

Since the establishment of the area's first licensed hotel in 1681, Portland has had a dramatic, grand and boisterous hotel tradition. The Portland hotel industry has in many ways reflected the growth and development of the city itself. As Portland grew with greater numbers of people moving through the city or calling it home, the hotel business expanded to fit the increasing demand.

State of Mind: Becoming Maine

The history of the region now known as Maine did not begin at statehood in 1820. What was Maine before it was a state? How did Maine separate from Massachusetts? How has the Maine we experience today been shaped by thousands of years of history?