Maine Memory Network

Shaarey Tphiloh, Portland's Orthodox Synagogue

Shaarey Tphiloh was founded in 1904 by immigrants from Eastern Europe. While accommodating to American society, the Orthodox synagogue also has retained many of its traditions.

John Hancock's Relation to Maine

The president of the Continental Congress and the Declaration's most notable signatory, John Hancock, has ties to Maine through politics, and commercial businesses, substantial property, vacations, and family.

West Baldwin Methodist Church

The West Baldwin Methodist Church, founded in 1826, was one of three original churches in Baldwin. While its location has remained the same, the church has undergone numerous changes to serve the changing community.

Maine Medical Center, Bramhall Campus

Maine Medical Center, founded as Maine General Hospital, has dominated Portland’s West End since its construction in 1871 on Bramhall Hill. As the medical field grew in both technological and social practice, the facility of the hospital also changed. This exhibit tracks the expansion and additions to that original building as the hospital adapted to its patients’ needs.

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.

Working Women of the Old Port

Women at the turn of the 20th century were increasingly involved in paid work outside the home. For wage-earning women in the Old Port section of Portland, the jobs ranged from canning fish and vegetables to setting type. A study done in 1907 found many women did not earn living wages.

Popham Colony

George Popham and a group of fellow Englishmen arrived at the mouth of the Kennebec River, hoping to trade with Native Americans, find gold and other valuable minerals, and discover a Northwest passage. In 18 months, the fledgling colony was gone.

Carlton P. Fogg, Advocate for Vocational Education

Carlton P. Fogg (1899-1972) was passionate about vocational and technical education. While teaching at the high school level in Waterville, Fogg's lobbying and letter-writing helped create the Kennebec Valley Vocational Technical Institute in 1969.

Maine and the Civil War - Headstone, unknown Confederate soldier, Gray, 1979

"Instead they found the body of a stranger, a confederate soldier in uniform. The gravestone reads, "Stranger, A soldier of the late war died 1862…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was founded in Cleveland in December of 1874. Sons of Temperance certificate for John Gunnelsen…"

Student Exhibit: Logging on Kennebec River

I became interested in the Kennebec River log drive when my grandfather would tell me stories. He remembers watching the logs flow down the river from his home in Fairfield, a small town along the Kennebec River.

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

"… include the building fabric and physical features found on the property, paper records found in libraries and government offices, neighbors and…"

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

"… Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), was founded in 1874. Though originating in Ohio, this countrywide group of politically activated women had…"

A Handwritten Community Newspaper

The eight issues of South Freeport's handwritten newspaper, distributed in 1859, provided "general interest and amusement" to the coastal community.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Why Study the History of Drinking?

"… alcoholic beverages has, at the same time, always found deep acceptance in our culture. Indeed, for the first settlers, strong drink was simply an…"

The Washburns of Livermore

Members of the Washburn family of Livermore participated in the Civil War in a variety of ways -- from Caroline at the homefront, to Samuel at sea, Elihu, as a Congressman from Illinois, and Israel governor of Maine. The family had considerable influence politically on several fronts.

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"Stephen Longfellow found "a very pretty drum, with an eagle painted on it" that cost two dollars. However, he was not able to ship it because of the…"

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.

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.

Les Raquetteurs

In the early 1600s, French explorers and colonizers in the New World quickly adopted a Native American mode of transportation to get around during the harsh winter months: the snowshoe. Most Northern societies had some form of snowshoe, but the Native Americans turned it into a highly functional item. French settlers named snowshoes "raquettes" because they resembled the tennis racket then in use.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Reform and Repeal

"1863, Box 3 The Christian Civic League was founded in 1898 and became a mainstay of the dry movement."

Music in Maine - Music stores

"… learn more Bowdoin College junior Brett Wickard founded Bull Moose Music in 1989. The original Brunswick Bull Moose Music location only carried…"

Jay & Livermore Falls, Pioneers in Paper Making

Alvin Record and Hugh J. Chisholm were instrumental in building paper mills in Jay, Livermore, and Livermore Falls. The two industrialists helped make the towns prosperous.

Student Exhibit: Benedict Arnold's March Through Skowhegan

Benedict Arnold arrived in Skowhegan on October 4th, 1775, and it was here that Arnold received his first offer of help from the colonists. Joseph Weston and his sons helped Benedict Arnold and his army cross over the Skowhegan Falls, but Joseph later got a severe cold from exposure and died of a fever on Oct.16th. His sons went back to the family home along the Kennebec for they were the first family to settle in Old Canaan or what is now Skowhegan.