Maine Memory Network

Music in Maine - Country Music

"… band called Stanhope’s Orchestra that played a few times a year at our local grange hall. Their instruments were horns and drums, and their music…"

Music in Maine - Music and Television

"Astor grew up on Munjoy Hill in Portland. He was a World War II veteran and a lifelong member of Temple Beth El."

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"Our festival featured workshops, a children’s program, and a pot luck dinner that were unique to the festival, plus Canadian bands."

Music in Maine - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"As a member of the Penobscot Nation, I am helping to place Indigenous people in a modern context and I believe that through creative frequencies, we…"

Music in Maine - MAKE

"I like to describe a powwow as a gathering where you’re with good people, eating good food, with good music, and in a good place."

Music in Maine - Music Makers

"Without a formal musical debut—a professional career requirement in Europe—at age 19, she returned to Maine."

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"… Longfellow learned piano and the flute as a youth, and developed a life-long love of music. Sheet music Eliza Wadsworth sheet music, 1798Maine…"

Music in Maine - Music Education

"… and encouraged children to learn how to play a musical instrument and to perform in front of audiences."

Music in Maine - Civil War drum, ca. 1861

"On the battlefield, drummers provided a visual location for the unit, helping to keep soldiers close together."

Music in Maine - Kimball Drum, ca. 1860

"1861-July 1864." Frank Kimball was a drummer in Co. F of the 5th Maine Infantry Regiment. The writing probably was added by Maine Historical Society…"

Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands

"1803 The Portland Light Infantry Muster with a drummer and a horn player in uniform on the muster field."

Music in Maine - HEAR

"… The invention of recording machines opened up a world of choices for listening to music without leaving the home."

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

"A label inside the McGilvery’s drum notes the maker, Frederick Lane, suggesting it might pre-date the Civil War."

Music in Maine - Music in Maine

"Today, Maine music is a bountiful intersection from around the world. Reflecting rural villages and bustling cities, Music in Maine includes content…"

Northern Threads: Silhouettes in Sequence, ca. 1780-1889

A themed exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring a timeline of silhouettes from about 1775 through 1889.

Longfellow: The Man Who Invented America

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a man and a poet of New England conscience. He was influenced by his ancestry and his Portland boyhood home and experience.

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.

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.

Giving Thanks

Cultures from the ancient Greeks and Chinese to contemporary societies have set aside time to give thanks, especially for the harvest. In 1941, the United States set a permanent date for the observance.

Picturing Henry

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's popularity in the 19th century is reflected by the number of images of him -- in a variety of media -- that were produced and reproduced, some to go with published works of his, but many to be sold to the public on cards and postcards.

Art of the People: Folk Art in Maine

For many different reasons people saved and carefully preserved the objects in this exhibit. Eventually, along with the memories they hold, the objects were passed to the Maine Historical Society. Object and memory, serve as a powerful way to explore history and to connect to the lives of people in the past.

Fashion for the People: Maine's Graphic Tees

From their humble beginnings as undergarments to today's fashion runways, t-shirts have evolved into universally worn wardrobe staples. Original graphic t-shirts, graphic t-shirt quilts, and photographs trace the 102-year history of the garment, demonstrating how, through the act of wearing graphic tees, people own a part of history relating to politics, social justice, economics, and commemorative events in 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.

Silk Manufacturing in Westbrook

Cultivation of silkworms and manufacture of silk thread was touted as a new agricultural boon for Maine in the early 19th century. However, only small-scale silk production followed. In 1874, the Haskell Silk Co. of Westbrook changed that, importing raw silk, and producing silk machine twist threat, then fabrics, until its demise in 1930.