Maine Memory Network

Northern Threads: Mourning Fashions

A themed exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring 18th and 19th century mourning jewelry and fashions.

"We are growing to be somewhat cosmopolitan..." Waterville, 1911

Between 1870 and 1911, Waterville more than doubled in size, becoming a center of manufacturing, transportation, and the retail trade and offering a variety of entertainments for its residents.

John Dunn, 19th Century Sportsman

John Warner Grigg Dunn was an accomplished amateur photographer, hunter, fisherman and lover of nature. On his trips to Ragged Lake and environs, he became an early innovator among amateur wildlife photographers. His photography left us with a unique record of the Moosehead Lake region in the late nineteenth century.

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

"… which was annexed by Massachusetts in the 1650s, women made beer at home and the wealthy imported wine from the Portuguese and Spanish islands."

Luxurious Leisure

From the last decades of the nineteenth century through about the 1920s, vacationers were attracted to large resort hotels that promised a break from the noise, crowds, and pressures of an ever-urbanizing country.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"949, Ser. 1, vol. 29 During the War of 1812, the Privateer Schooner Dart was launched from the Cape Elizabeth shore of Portland harbor."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Taverns, People, and Scenes

"Greele achieved legendary status by extinguishing her burning building during the British bombardment of 1775."

Amazing! Maine Stories

These stories -- that stretch from 1999 back to 1759 -- take you from an amusement park to the halls of Congress. There are inventors, artists, showmen, a railway agent, a man whose civic endeavors helped shape Portland, a man devoted to the pursuit of peace and one known for his military exploits, Maine's first novelist, a woman who recorded everyday life in detail, and an Indian who survived a British attack.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"On dump day the liquor would be poured into a sewer, river, or the ocean often with some fanfare. Not surprisingly, Rum Rooms were often the target…"

Maine's Untold Vegetarian History

Vegetarianism has deep roots in Maine and this first-of-its-kind exhibition explores this untold story.

How Sweet It Is

Desserts have always been a special treat. For centuries, Mainers have enjoyed something sweet as a nice conclusion to a meal or celebrate a special occasion. But many things have changed over the years: how cooks learn to make desserts, what foods and tools were available, what was important to people.

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

"Phelan, 1918 Following the War of 1812, the recovering economy and a new spirit of optimism made leisure activities affordable and popular."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"In Canada the War Measures Act (1916-1919) banned alcoholic beverages. After the war, Quebec became wet, with Ontario following in 1927."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"… Edward Foley Memorial Fund 1997.245 When Civil War came, the Napoleon of Temperance took his campaign to the front by forming his own dry regiment…"

Northern Threads: Adaptive reuse

A themed vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring up-cycled and reused historic fabrics.

Northern Threads: Early Republic era Fashion dolls

A themed exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring Early Repulic-era (ca.1780-1820) fashion dolls.