Maine Memory Network

Music in Maine - Music stores

"Music stores Mary Curran Leighton and musicians, Portland, ca. 1930Maine Historical Society Hiram Chase & Son, Belfast, ca. 1895, ca."

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"Community and School Marching Bands Click to explore community bands in Maine Community bands, historically comprised of male musicians…"

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

"B-flat fife, ca. 1860 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description This fife was used by John Robbins when he was a drummer in the…"

Music in Maine - Drumsticks, 1861

"Drumsticks, 1861 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Franklin C. Kimball (1844-1912) used these drumsticks while serving…"

Music in Maine - Drum, Portland, ca. 1854

"Drum, Portland, ca. 1854 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Noble and Cooley of East Granville, Massachusetts started…"

Music in Maine - Civil War drum, ca. 1861

"Civil War drum, ca. 1861 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Henry Green (1832-1901) of Portland carried this military…"

Music in Maine - Drum, Stockton Springs, ca. 1840

"Drum, Stockton Springs, ca. 1840 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Colonel Freeman McGilvery (1823-1864) of Stockton…"

Music in Maine - Kimball Drum, ca. 1860

"Kimball Drum, ca. 1860 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Written on the top of the head of this drum is, "Frank C."

Aroostook County Railroads

Construction of the Bangor and Aroostook rail lines into northern Aroostook County in the early twentieth century opened the region to tourism and commerce from the south.

The Irish on the Docks of Portland

Many of the dockworkers -- longshoremen -- in Portland were Irish or of Irish descent. The Irish language was spoken on the docks and Irish traditions followed, including that of giving nicknames to the workers, many of whose given names were similar.

Fallen Heroes: Last of the Jewish WWII Veterans

Listen to recordings from the last of the World War II Jewish veterans.

Father Rasles, the Indians and the English

Father Sebastien Rasle, a French Jesuit, ran a mission for Indians at Norridgewock and, many English settlers believed, encouraged Indian resistance to English settlement. He was killed in a raid on the mission in 1724 that resulted in the remaining Indians fleeing for Canada.

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 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.

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.

Building the International Appalachian Trail

Wildlife biologist Richard Anderson first proposed the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) in 1993. The IAT is a long-distance hiking trail along the modern-day Appalachian, Caledonian, and Atlas Mountain ranges, geological descendants of the ancient Central Pangean Mountains. Today, the IAT stretches from the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine, through portions of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Europe, and into northern Africa.

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.

Le Théâtre

Lewiston, Maine's second largest city, was long looked upon by many as a mill town with grimy smoke stacks, crowded tenements, low-paying jobs, sleazy clubs and little by way of refinement, except for Bates College. Yet, a noted Québec historian, Robert Rumilly, described it as "the French Athens of New England."

"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.

Eastern Fine Paper

The paper mill on the Penobscot River in South Brewer, which became known as Eastern Fine Paper Co., began as a sawmill in 1884 and grew over the years as an important part of the economy of the region and a large presence in the landscape. Its closing in 2005 affected more than the men and women who lost their jobs.

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.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"Pierre & Miquellon became a major entreport for Canadian and American rum runners. "After the last box [alleged to be bootlegged alcohol] had been…"

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.

A Snapshot of Portland, 1924: The Taxman Cometh

In 1924, with Portland was on the verge of profound changes, the Tax Assessors Office undertook a project to document every building in the city -- with photographs and detailed information that provide a unique view into Portland's architecture, neighborhoods, industries, and businesses.