Maine Memory Network

Fallen Heroes: Maine's Jewish Sailors and Soldiers

Thirty-four young Jewish men from Maine died in the service of their country in the two World Wars. This project, including a Maine Memory Network exhibit, is meant to say a little something about some of them. More than just names on a public memorial marker or grave stone, these men were getting started in adult life. They had newly acquired high school and college diplomas, they had friends, families and communities who loved and valued them, and felt the losses of their deaths.

Music in Maine - Community Music

"Scott worked in Maine logging camps where he sold his professionally printed songs, lessening the need to learn the songs by ear."

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"… were totally immersed—meeting other musicians, camping and playing music together, and forming lifelong friendships."

Music in Maine - Music in Maine

"Yet they are all uniquely Maine sounds. Music from around the world flooded into Maine through maritime trading ports in the 18th and 19th centuries."

From French Canadians to Franco-Americans

French Canadians who emigrated to the Lewiston-Auburn area faced discrimination as children and adults -- such as living in "Little Canada" tenements and being ridiculed for speaking French -- but also adapted to their new lives and sustained many cultural traditions.

Music in Maine - MAKE

"The First Music of Maine Hand drum by James Eric Francis, Sr., Old Town, 2018Maine Historical Society Wabanaki peoples created the first music…"

Music in Maine - HEAR

"… Jesse Walter Fewkes traveled to Calais, Maine in March 1890 to test inventor Thomas Edison’s new phonograph in field conditions."

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 - Music Makers

"… Maine Charitable Mechanics Maine Charitable Mechanic Association Click to see all of the Maine Charitable Mechanics Banners Founded in…"

Sagadahoc County through the Eastern Eye

The Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company of Belfast, Maine. employed photographers who traveled by company vehicle through New England each summer, taking pictures of towns and cities, vacation spots and tourist attractions, working waterfronts and local industries, and other subjects postcard recipients might enjoy. The cards were printed by the millions in Belfast into the 1940s.

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"Beginning in the 1870s, Jewish people arrived in Maine in greater numbers and began setting up synagogues for worship."

Music in Maine - Music stores

"Bull Moose has always worked closely with local musicians and venues, adding millions of dollars directly into the local music economy. Many Maine…"

Music in Maine - Country Music

"Country musicians in Maine were a close-knit group. Curless worked with luminaries of the generation before him, like Hal Lone Pine and Al Hawkes…"

Maine Eats: the food revolution starts here

From Maine's iconic lobsters, blueberries, potatoes, apples, and maple syrup, to local favorites like poutine, baked beans, red hot dogs, Italian sandwiches, and Whoopie Pies, Maine's identity and economy are inextricably linked to food. Sourcing food, preparing food, and eating food are all part of the heartbeat of Maine's culture and economy. Now, a food revolution is taking us back to our roots in Maine: to the traditional sources, preparation, and pleasures of eating food that have sustained Mainers for millennia.

Maine Sweets: Confections and Confectioners

From chocolate to taffy, Mainers are inventive with our sweet treats. In addition to feeding our sweet tooth, it's also an economic driver for the state.

Music in Maine - Kimball Drum, ca. 1860

"F of the 5th Maine Infantry Regiment. The writing probably was added by Maine Historical Society Librarian Nathan Goold."

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 - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"… and Stages Click to learn more about Maine's Opera Houses Many Maine towns in the 19th and early 20th centuries had an “opera house,” used…"

Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands

"Maine Historical Society and Maine State Museum The earliest marching bands in the United States were part of military units, used during drills and…"

We Used to be "Normal": A History of F.S.N.S.

Farmington's Normal School -- a teacher-training facility -- opened in 1863 and, over the decades, offered academic programs that included such unique features as domestic and child-care training, and extra-curricular activities from athletics to music and theater.

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"… 1901, bequeathing the house and property to the Maine Historical Society to honor the memory of her brother, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow."

Begin Again: reckoning with intolerance in Maine

BEGIN AGAIN explores Maine's historic role, going back 528 years, in crisis that brought about the pandemic, social and economic inequities, and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

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.

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…"