Maine Memory Network

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"… Butler, also Collections of Maine Historical Society, B W6612g X Grand Temperance Rally Broadside, 1912 Collections of Maine Historical…"

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

"… Longfellow, Portland, 1827Maine Historical Society Every building has a history. For many people, exploring the history of their home provides a…"

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"… estate accounting, Portland, 1836Maine Historical Society Receipt for piano forte, Portland, 1836Maine Historical Society Stephen…"

Music in Maine - Music in Maine

"… by Tilly Laskey, curator at Maine Historical Society, and installed at Maine Historical Society from March 8, 2024 to December 31, 2024."

Monuments to Civil War Soldiers

Maine supplied a huge number of soldiers to the Union Army during the Civil War -- some 70,000 -- and responded after the war by building monuments to soldiers who had served and soldiers who had died in the epic American struggle.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Acknowledgements

"… which was on display at Maine Historical Society in 1998, was made possible through generous support by the Anheuser-Busch Companies and the Edward…"

Music in Maine - Drum, Portland, ca. 1854

"1854 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Noble and Cooley of East Granville, Massachusetts started manufacturing drums in…"

Music in Maine - Civil War drum, ca. 1861

"1861 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Henry Green (1832-1901) of Portland carried this military style side drum in the…"

Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands

"Chandler's Band uniform, ca. 1950Maine Historical Society Chandler's Band hat, ca. 1950Maine Historical Society Town bands carried on the…"

Music in Maine - HEAR

"… Medical Center, Portland, 1965Maine Historical Society Radios Montgomery Ward radio, Mapleton, 1929Haystack Historical Society While many…"

Music in Maine - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"1904Maine Historical Society Dusty rose opera cape ca. 1895Maine Historical Society For centuries, fashion designers made outfits for…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery

"1840Maine Historical Society Portland Watch or Cracking Notes, ca. 1836 Joseph T. Harris (active 1828-1852) pen on parchment Collections of Maine…"

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.)

Gunpowder for the Civil War

The gunpowder mills at Gambo Falls in Windham and Gorham produced about a quarter of the gunpowder used by Union forces during the Civil War. The complex contained as many as 50 buildings.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Overview & Introduction

"… Cache of liquor, Portland, 1920Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media Maine played a central role in the United States' gradual—and sometimes…"

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.

Ice: A Maine Commodity

Maine's frozen rivers and lakes provided an economic opportunity. The state shipped thousands of tons of ice to ports along the East Coast and to the West Indies that workers had cut and packed in sawdust for shipment or later use.

Maine and the Civil War - Communities and the War

"The Maine Humanities Council and Maine Historical Society collaborated and worked with the 10 communities on the Local and Legendary Civil War…"

Maine and the Civil War - Legendary Participation

"… War veterans, Kittery, 1932Maine Historical Society Maine's participation in the Civil War is legendary: heroes and heroines, a huge per capita…"

Maine and the Civil War - Headstone, unknown Confederate soldier, Gray, 1979

"… Gray, 1979 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description In 1862 a grieving Gray family opened a coffin that was supposed to…"

Music in Maine - MAKE

"… Eric Francis, Sr., Old Town, 2018Maine Historical Society Wabanaki peoples created the first music of Ckuwaponahkiyik when they emerged, singing…"

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"… circa 1925 Courtesy of the American Philosophical Society X Members of the Penobscot Nation toured the country as The Penobscot Band."

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

"1840 Contributed by Maine Historical Society Description Colonel Freeman McGilvery (1823-1864) of Stockton commanded the Artillery at…"

High Water

Melting snow, ice, warmer temperatures, and rain sometimes bring floods to Maine's many rivers and streams. Floods are most frequent in the spring, but can occur at any season.