Maine Memory Network

La St-Jean in Lewiston-Auburn

St-Jean-Baptiste Day -- June 24th -- in Lewiston-Auburn was a very public display of ethnic pride for nearly a century. Since about 1830, French Canadians had used St. John the Baptist's birthdate as a demonstration of French-Canadian nationalism.

The Barns of the St. John River Valley: Maine's Crowning Jewels

Maine's St. John River Valley boasts a unique architectural landscape. A number of historical factors led to the proliferation of a local architectural style, the Madawaska twin barn, as well as a number of building techniques rarely seen elsewhere. Today, these are in danger of being lost to time.

Westbrook Seminary: Educating Women

Westbrook Seminary, built on Stevens Plain in 1831, was founded to educate young men and young women. Seminaries traditionally were a form of advanced secondary education. Westbrook Seminary served an important function in admitting women students, for whom education was less available in the early and mid nineteenth century.

Surgeon General Alonzo Garcelon

Alonzo Garcelon of Lewiston was a physician, politician, businessman, and civic leader when he became Maine's surgeon general during the Civil War, responsible for ensuring regiments had surgeons, for setting up a regimental hospital in Portland, and generally concerned with the well-being of Maine soldiers.

The Arrival of Winter

The astronomical arrival of winter -- also known as the winter solstice -- marks the year's shortest day and the season of snow and cold. It usually arrives on December 21.

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?

Dressing Up, Standing Out, Fitting In

Adorning oneself to look one's "best" has varied over time, gender, economic class, and by event. Adornments suggest one's sense of identity and one's intent to stand out or fit in.

The Nativist Klan

In Maine, like many other states, a newly formed Ku Klux Klan organization began recruiting members in the years just before the United States entered World War I. A message of patriotism and cautions about immigrants and non-Protestants drew many thousands of members into the secret organization in the early 1920s. By the end of the decade, the group was largely gone from Maine.

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

"… clarets, sauternes, Champagnes, Ports, and French liqueurs. Casco Engine Co. No. 1, Portland, 1846Maine Historical Society Casco Fire…"

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"… Band in 1907, at a time when preserving the French language in oral and written forms was important for passing cultural traditions to the next…"

Northern Threads: Outerwear, Militia & Cadet uniforms

A themed vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring 19th century outerwear, bonnets, militia and cadet uniforms.

Music in Maine - Community Music

"… designated me a Master Artist in traditional French Canadian dance, providing the chance to pass the French dance traditions down to numerous…"

Patriotic Imagery: 1861-1880

Imagery on letterhead soldiers used, on soldiers' memorials produced after the war, and on many other items captured the themes of the American Civil War: union, liberty, and freedom.

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.

Music in Maine - B-flat fife, ca. 1860

"… Description This fife was used by John Robbins when he was a drummer in the Civil War."

Amazing! Maine Stories

These stories -- that stretch from 1999 back to 1759 -- take you from an amusement park to the halls of Congress. There are inventors, artists, showmen, a railway agent, a man whose civic endeavors helped shape Portland, a man devoted to the pursuit of peace and one known for his military exploits, Maine's first novelist, a woman who recorded everyday life in detail, and an Indian who survived a British attack.

Music in Maine - Rock and Roll, Punk, and Elvis

"The studio provided a space for John and his friends, including me, Joe Wainer, Bart Gross, Ozzie Gross, and Mike Guimond to play music together, and…"

Music in Maine - Music stores

"… done events at Bull Moose, including Rihanna, John Densmore, Bonnie Raitt, Jack Black, Grace Potter, Keifer Sutherland, Sharon Jones, Graham Nash…"

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"John Parker of London, England made this bassoon. Parker was an oboist, bass singer and bassoon player who made bassoons for the Goulding music…"

Music in Maine - Radio Cowboys and Country Music

"In Maine, French ballad traditions added unique sounds to the music. Starting in the 1930s, Maine embraced country and bluegrass music, with Bangor…"

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

"For Maine and Massachusetts residents, buying a bottle was as easy as driving across the boundary into Canada—and bringing the booze back into Maine…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"The French Island of St. Pierre & Miquellon became a major entreport for Canadian and American rum runners."

George F. Shepley: Lawyer, Soldier, Administrator

George F. Shepley of Portland had achieved renown as a lawyer and as U.S. Attorney for Maine when, at age 42 he formed the 12th Maine Infantry and went off to war. Shepley became military governor of Louisiana early in 1862 and remained in the military for the duration of the war.

World Alpine Ski Racing in Maine

Sugarloaf -- a small ski area by European standards -- entered ski racing history in 1971 by hosting an event that was part of the World Cup Alpine Ski Championships. The "Tall Timber Classic," as the event was known, had a decidedly Maine flavor.