Maine Memory Network

Independence and Challenges: The Life of Hannah Pierce

Hannah Pierce (1788-1873) of West Baldwin, who remained single, was the educated daughter of a moderately wealthy landowner and businessman. She stayed at the family farm throughout her life, operating the farm and her various investments -- always in close touch with her siblings.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Privy

"In later years, many of the residents were immigrants from Canada, Ireland, or Germany. In 1874, sewers came to Brown Street."

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland

"… except that, in 1901, it changed from a private residence to a historic house museum, preserving the history of the Wadsworth and Longfellow…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Wadsworth Era: 1786-1807

"Other notable residents: Henry Wadsworth (1785-1804) was a middle son of Peleg and Elizabeth Wadworth. Henry left home to join the Navy around 1800."

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Streetscape, 1790-1930

"… and Congress streets), is a two-story, wood-frame residence that was built in about 1760. It had a gable roof and possibly had a center chimney."

The Life and Legacy of the George Tate Family

Captain George Tate, mast agent for the King of England from 1751 to the Revolutionary War, and his descendants helped shape the development of Portland (first known as Falmouth) through activities such as commerce, shipping, and real estate.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Longfellow Era: 1807-1901

"Louisa Houghton is listed in residence in the 1870 census, age 23. Nancy Erskine is listed in the 1880 census as servant, age 45. Mary E."

A Tour of Sanford in 1900

This collection of images portrays many buildings in Sanford and Springvale. The images were taken around the turn of the twentieth century.

Great Cranberry Island's Preble House

The Preble House, built in 1827 on a hilltop over Preble Cove on Great Cranberry Island, was the home to several generations of Hadlock, Preble, and Spurling family members -- and featured in several books.

A Town Is Born: South Bristol, 1915

After being part of the town of Bristol for nearly 150 years, residents of South Bristol determined that their interests would be better served by becoming a separate town and they broke away from the large community of Bristol.

"We are growing to be somewhat cosmopolitan..." Waterville, 1911

Between 1870 and 1911, Waterville more than doubled in size, becoming a center of manufacturing, transportation, and the retail trade and offering a variety of entertainments for its residents.

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.

Slavery's Defenders and Foes

Mainers, like residents of other states, had differing views about slavery and abolition in the early to mid decades of the 19th century. Religion and economic factors were among the considerations in determining people's leanings.

Bookplates Honor Annie Louise Cary

A summer resident of Wayne collected more than 3,000 bookplates to honor Maine native and noted opera singer Annie Louise Cary and to support the Cary Memorial Library.

Pigeon's Mainer Project: who decides who belongs?

Street artist Pigeon's artwork tackles the multifaceted topic of immigration. He portrays Maine residents, some who are asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants—people who are often marginalized through state and federal policies—to ask questions about the dynamics of power in society, and who gets to call themselves a “Mainer.”

Guarding Maine Rail Lines

Black soldiers served in Maine during World War II, assigned in small numbers throughout the state to guard Grand Trunk rail lines from a possible German attack. The soldiers, who lived in railroad cars near their posts often interacted with local residents.

Presque Isle and the Civil War

Presque Isle had fewer than 1,000 residents in 1860, but it still felt the impact of the Civil War. About half of the town's men went off to war. Of those, a third died. The effects of the war were widespread in the small community.

Home: The Longfellow House & the Emergence of Portland

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is the oldest building on the Portland peninsula, the first historic site in Maine, a National Historic Landmark, home to three generations of Wadsworth and Longfellow family members -- including the boyhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The history of the house and its inhabitants provide a unique view of the growth and changes of Portland -- as well as of the immediate surroundings of the home.

Holding up the Sky: Wabanaki people, culture, history, and art

Learn about Native diplomacy and obligation by exploring 13,000 years of Wabanaki residence in Maine through 17th century treaties, historic items, and contemporary artworks—from ash baskets to high fashion. Wabanaki voices contextualize present-day relevance and repercussions of 400 years of shared histories between Wabanakis and settlers to their region.

Inside the Yellow House

Photographer Elijah Cobb's 1985 portfolio of the Laura E. Richards House, with text by Rosalind Cobb Wiggins and Laura E. Putnam.

Fashionable Maine: early twentieth century clothing

Maine residents kept pace with the dramatic shift in women’s dress that occurred during the short number of years preceding and immediately following World War I. The long restrictive skirts, stiff collars, body molding corsets and formal behavior of earlier decades quickly faded away and the new straight, dropped waist easy-to-wear clothing gave mobility and freedom of movement in tune with the young independent women of the casual, post-war jazz age generation.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - People of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House

"People of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, ca. 1880Maine Historical Society Only two families occupied the…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Researching Your Home

"Researching Your Home Every House has a History Peleg Wadsworth deed of land to Stephen Longfellow, Portland, 1827Maine Historical Society…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The House, 1786-1960

"The House, 1786-1960 "…but happier is he whose heart rides quietly at anchor in the peaceful haven of home." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to his…"