Maine Memory Network

Umbazooksus & Beyond

Visitors to the Maine woods in the early twentieth century often recorded their adventures in private diaries or journals and in photographs. Their remembrances of canoeing, camping, hunting and fishing helped equate Maine with wilderness.

Hunting Season

Maine's ample woods historically provided numerous game animals and birds for hunters seeking food, fur, or hides. The promotion of hunting as tourism and concerns about conservation toward the end of the nineteenth century changed the nature of hunting in Maine.

J.A. Poor and the Portland-Montreal Connection

John A. Poor's determination in 1845 to bring rail service to Maine and to make Portland the winter port for Montreal, along with the steel foundry he started to build locomotives and many other products, helped boost the economy of Portland the state.

The Establishment of the Troy Town Forest

Seavey Piper, a selectman, farmer, landowner, and leader of the Town of Troy in the 1920s through the early 1950s helped establish a town forest on abandoned farm land in Troy. The exhibit details his work over ten years.

Student Exhibit: A Civil War Soldier from Skowhegan

Alexander Crawford a soldier from Skowhegan, was born in 1839 on a farm on the Dudley Corner Road in Skowhegan. He served in the Civil War and returned to Skowhegan to run the family farm.

Power of Potential

The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NFBPWC) held their seventh annual convention in Portland during July 12 to July 18, 1925. Over 2,000 working women from around the country visited the city.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"Parade Bangor, September 15, 1909 Courtesy of Henry Gartley, original from the Herbert Cary family A view of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union…"

Hermann Kotzschmar: Portland's Musical Genius

During the second half of the 19th century, "Hermann Kotzschmar" was a familiar household name in Portland. He spent 59 years in his adopted city as a teacher, choral conductor, concert artist, and church organist.

Port of Portland's Custom House and Collectors of Customs

The collector of Portland was the key to federal patronage in Maine, though other ports and towns had collectors. Through the 19th century, the revenue was the major source of Federal Government income. As in Colonial times, the person appointed to head the custom House in Casco Bay was almost always a leading community figure, or a well-connected political personage.

Student Exhibit: Historic Buildings on Madison Ave in Skowhegan

Take a tour and see some of the beautiful old buildings that used to be on Madison Avenue, Skowhegan? A few still remain, but most have been torn down.

Music in Maine - Music in Maine

"The Lone Pine Mountaineers, Bangor, ca. 1940Maine Historical Society Curated by Tilly Laskey, curator at Maine Historical Society, and installed at…"

Music in Maine - Radio Cowboys and Country Music

"… Maine embraced country and bluegrass music, with Bangor called “the Nashville of the North.” Radio stations developed regional broadcasts like…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"X Bangor House Joseph F. Hatch,1883 Oil on canvas Collections of Bangor Historical Society Maine's grand city hotel is said to have always served…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"… Society Al Brady and Partner, Gunned Down Bangor, October 12, 1937 Collections of Bangor Historical Society The return of ardent spirits, plainly…"

The Jews of Maine

Like other immigrant groups, Jews came to Maine to make a living and enjoy the natural and cultural environment. Their experiences have been shaped by their occupational choices, Jewish values and, until recently, experiences of anti-Semitism.

Field & Homefront: Bethel during the Civil War

Like many towns, Bethel responded to the Civil War by sending many soldiers and those at the homefront sent aid and supported families. The town grew during the war, but suffered after its end.

Shepard Cary: Lumberman, Legislator, Leader and Legend

Shepard Cary (1805-1866) was one of the leading -- and wealthiest -- residents of early Aroostook County. He was a lumberman, merchant, mill operator, and legislator.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Acknowledgements

"… Anderson, The Great, State of Maine Beer Book Bangor Historical Society Debra Verrier Barry Baxter Memorial Library Bowdoin College Library…"

The Public Face of Christmas

Christmas, a Christian holiday observed by many Mainers, has a very public, seasonal face that makes it visible to those of all beliefs.

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

"Osgood, and Bangor physician Dr. Henry Reynolds were all instrumental in founding reform groups known for using red or blue ribbons as their symbols."

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"… show and on a weekly live radio broadcast in Bangor. They had a hit, Casco Bay, in 1965.Starting in the 1960s, Cox inspired musicians to play…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"Bunker found Bangor "the one place east of Boston where you can enter a gilded saloon and get an honest drink of pure liquor." Meanwhile, Portland…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"On July 4, 1863, Capt. John Franklin of Bangor wrote of Dow's capture, "A small squad of rebels gobbled him up and took him to the confederacy, where…"

Princeton: Woods and Water Built This Town

Princeton benefited from its location on a river -- the St. Croix -- that was useful for transportation of people and lumber and for powering mills as well as on its proximity to forests.