Maine Memory Network

Music in Maine - Community Music

"Ives searched out songs in logging camps, especially those by woodsman Joe Scott (1867-1918) from New Brunswick, Canada. Scott worked in Maine…"

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.

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.

A City Awakes: Arts and Artisans of Early 19th Century Portland

Portland's growth from 1786 to 1860 spawned a unique social and cultural environment and fostered artistic opportunity and creative expression in a broad range of the arts, which flowered with the increasing wealth and opportunity in the city.

Music in Maine - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"… orchestra, 138 choral singers comprised of the University of Maine Singers Euphony, Orono’s Chamber Choir and the Oratorio Society, and performed…"

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"Longfellow Family Music “Music is the universal language of humankind.” --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Outre Mer, 1835 Henry Wadsworth…"

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.

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"… Cote, Lewiston, 1918Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries Click to explore Franco Marching Bands Alphonse Côté…"

Trolley Travel

Trolleys were the cleanest and most efficient means of mass transit Maine has ever known.

Music in Maine - Rock and Roll, Punk, and Elvis

"Frances College (UNE), University of Maine Portland and Gorham (USM), Westbrook Junior (UNE), Bates, and Bowdoin."

A Riot of Words: Ballads, Posters, Proclamations and Broadsides

Imagine a day 150 years ago. Looking down a side street, you see the buildings are covered with posters and signs.

Holding up the Sky: Wabanaki people, culture, history, and art

Learn about Native diplomacy and obligation by exploring 13,000 years of Wabanaki residence in Maine through 17th century treaties, historic items, and contemporary artworks—from ash baskets to high fashion. Wabanaki voices contextualize present-day relevance and repercussions of 400 years of shared histories between Wabanakis and settlers to their region.

Farm-yard Frames

Throughout New England, barns attached to houses are fairly common. Why were the buildings connected? What did farmers or families gain by doing this? The phenomenon was captured in the words of a children's song, "Big house, little house, back house, barn," (Thomas C. Hubka <em>Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn, the Connected Farm Buildings of New England,</em> University Press of New England, 1984.)

Unlocking the Declaration's Secrets

Fewer than 30 copies of the first printing of the Declaration of Independence are known to exist. John Dunlap hurriedly printed copies for distribution to assemblies, conventions, committees and military officers. Authenticating authenticity of the document requires examination of numerous details of the broadside.

Carlton P. Fogg, Advocate for Vocational Education

Carlton P. Fogg (1899-1972) was passionate about vocational and technical education. While teaching at the high school level in Waterville, Fogg's lobbying and letter-writing helped create the Kennebec Valley Vocational Technical Institute in 1969.

KVVTI's Gilman Street Campus, 1978-1986

The Gilman Street building began its life in 1913 as Waterville High School, but served from 1978 to 1986 as the campus of Kennebec Valley Vocational Technical Institute. The building helped the school create a sense of community and an identity.

Educating Oneself: Carnegie Libraries

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie gave grants for 20 libraries in Maine between 1897 and 1912, specifying that the town own the land, set aside funds for maintenance, have room to expand -- and offer library services at no charge.

Summer Folk: The Postcard View

Vacationers, "rusticators," or tourists began flooding into Maine in the last quarter of the 19th century. Many arrived by train or steamer. Eventually, automobiles expanded and changed the tourist trade, and some vacationers bought their own "cottages."

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.

Elise Fellows White: World Traveling Violin Prodigy

Elise Fellows White was a violinist from Skowhegan who traveled all over the world to share her music.

Bowdoin College Scientific Expedition to Labrador

"The Bowdoin Boys" -- some students and recent graduates -- traveled to Labrador in 1891 to collect artifacts, specimens, and to try to find Grand Falls, a waterfall deep in Labrador's interior.

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.

Writing Women

Published women authors with ties to Maine are too numerous to count. They have made their marks in all types of literature.

Rumford's Notable Citizens in the Civil War

A number of Rumford area residents played important roles during the Civil War -- and in the community afterwards. Among these are William King Kimball, who commanded the 12th Maine for much of the war.