Maine Memory Network

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"… Back to: 1820 to 1865: Temperance and the Maine Law X Prohibition vs. License Early 19th century Collections of Maine Historical Society…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"GALLERIES: Politics and Enforcement | Women Leaders and Temperance | Quenching the Thirst | Business as Usual"

Walter Wyman and River Power

Walter Wyman's vision to capture the power of Maine's rivers to produce electricity led to the formation of Central Maine Power Co. and to a struggle within the state over what should happen to the power produced by the state's natural resources.

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

"The first state ratified the law in January 1918 and the crucial 36th state gave the law the required three-quarters majority in January 1919."

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.

From Sewers to Skylines: William S. Edwards's 1887 Photo Album

William S. Edwards (1830-1918) was a civil engineer who worked for the City of Portland from 1876-1906. Serving as First Assistant to Chief Engineer William A. Goodwin, then to Commissioner George N. Fernald, Edwards was a fixture in City Hall for 30 consecutive years, proving indispensable throughout the terms of 15 Mayors of Portland, including all six of those held by James Phineas Baxter. Edwards made significant contributions to Portland, was an outstanding mapmaker and planner, and his works continue to benefit historians.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Reform and Repeal

"X Patrick and Marie Cyr, ca. 1940 Biddeford Courtesy of Janet and Ray Verrier Acadian entrepreneurs from Van Buren, Patrick (1897-1959) made beer…"

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.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Acknowledgements

"Daveis Benevolent Fund. Rum, Riot, and Reform: Maine and the History of American Drinking Curators: Bill Barry Nan Cumming Design: Nan Cumming Mark…"

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.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1620 to 1820: New England's Great Secret

"Polite society considered non-drinkers "crank-brained." Drunkenness Although drink was common, drunkenness was a punishable offense in the region."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking Implements

"Schwind, Jr. Antiques GALLERIES: Drinking Implements | Taverns, People, and Scenes | Influential and Interesting Documents"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Society Copes

"Sewall. Keeping, drinking, and serving alcohol was by no means limited to one social, economic, religious, or ethnic part of the population."

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.

The Shape of Maine

The boundaries of Maine are the product of international conflict, economic competition, political fights, and contested development. The boundaries are expressions of human values; people determined the shape of Maine.

Passing the Time: Artwork by World War II German POWs

In 1944, the US Government established Camp Houlton, a prisoner of war (POW) internment camp for captured German soldiers during World War II. Many of the prisoners worked on local farms planting and harvesting potatoes. Some created artwork and handicrafts they sold or gave to camp guards. Camp Houlton processed and held about 3500 prisoners and operated until May 1946.

Looking Out: Maine's Fire Towers

Maine, the most heavily forested state in the nation, had the first continuously operational fire lookout tower, beginning a system of fire prevention that lasted much of the twentieth century.

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.

Great War and Armistice Day

In 1954, November 11 became known as Veterans Day, a time to honor American veterans of all wars. The holiday originated, however, as a way to memorialize the end of World War I, November 11, 1918, and to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations." Mainers were involved in World War I as soldiers, nurses, and workers on the homefront aiding the military effort.

Redact: Obscuring the Maine Constitution

In 2015, Maliseet Representative Henry Bear drew the Maine legislature’s attention to a historic redaction of the Maine Constitution. Through legislation drafted in February 1875, approved by voters in September 1875, and enacted on January 1, 1876, the Sections 1, 2, and 5 of Article X (ten) of the Maine Constitution ceased to be printed. Since 1876, these sections are redacted from the document. Although they are obscured, they retain their validity.

Settling along the Androscoggin and Kennebec

The Proprietors of the Township of Brunswick was a land company formed in 1714 and it set out to settle lands along the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers in Maine.

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.

This Rebellion: Maine and the Civil War

For Mainers like many other people in both the North and the South, the Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, had a profound effect on their lives. Letters, artifacts, relics, and other items saved by participants at home and on the battlefield help illuminate the nature of the Civil War experience for Mainers.

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

"… property, paper records found in libraries and government offices, neighbors and others who knew prior occupants, and online resources such as…"