Maine Memory Network

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.

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.

Drawing Together: Art of the Longfellows

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is best know as a poet, but he also was accomplished in drawing and music. He shared his love of drawing with most of his siblings. They all shared the frequent activity of drawing and painting with their children. The extended family included many professional as well as amateur artists, and several architects.

Home: The Longfellow House & the Emergence of Portland

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is the oldest building on the Portland peninsula, the first historic site in Maine, a National Historic Landmark, home to three generations of Wadsworth and Longfellow family members -- including the boyhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The history of the house and its inhabitants provide a unique view of the growth and changes of Portland -- as well as of the immediate surroundings of the home.

People, Pets & Portraits

Informal family photos often include family pets -- but formal, studio portraits and paintings also often feature one person and one pet, in formal attire and pose.

Liberty Threatened: Maine in 1775

At Lexington and Concord, on April 19, 1775, British troops attempted to destroy munitions stored by American colonists. The battles were the opening salvos of the American Revolution. Shortly, the conflict would erupt in Maine.

Music in Maine - Longfellow Family Music

"… language of humankind.” --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Outre Mer, 1835 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and family, Italy, 1869Maine Historical…"

Of Note: Maine Sheet Music

<i>Of Note: Maine Sheet Music</i> features captivating covers of original sheet music along with stories about Maine connections to the songs. Before people had easy access to popular music from records, radios, and the internet, they played songs of the day on instruments at home, using sheet music purchased at music stores. Iconic Maine subjects like lobsters, pine trees, and winter were perfect for lyrics sung by luminaries like Rudy Vallée of Westbrook, and intricate artwork of Maine's landscape graced the sheet music covers.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - People of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House

"… be a memorial to the popular poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who had died in 1882. View: The Wadsworth Era, 1786-1807 View: The Longfellow Era…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Longfellow Era: 1807-1901

"… Historical Society Henry (Hen) Wadsworth Longfellow (1839-1874) Henry (Hen) Wadsworth Longfellow was the son of Stephen and Marianne Longfellow…"

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

"… visiting here on frequent intervals." -- Anne Longfellow Pierce from the Lewiston Journal, 1893 Wadsworth-Longfellow House Nearly HiddenMaine…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The House, 1786-1960

"… the peaceful haven of home." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to his parents, 1826 When Peleg and Elizabeth Bartlett Wadsworth built their brick…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - The Wadsworth Era: 1786-1807

"Her grandson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, later wrote a famous poem about his Pilgrim ancestors. Elizabeth ran the Portland household."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Craigie House, Cambridge, 1881NPS, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site Henry Wadsworth…"

Port of Portland's Custom House and Collectors of Customs

The collector of Portland was the key to federal patronage in Maine, though other ports and towns had collectors. Through the 19th century, the revenue was the major source of Federal Government income. As in Colonial times, the person appointed to head the custom House in Casco Bay was almost always a leading community figure, or a well-connected political personage.

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.

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

"1845 Charles Henry Granger (1812-1893) Oil on canvas Collections of the York Institute Museum, Saco Saco painter Charles Henry Granger created this…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"Parade Bangor, September 15, 1909 Courtesy of Henry Gartley, original from the Herbert Cary family A view of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"… the major figures of American industrialization, Henry Ford (born John Feeney in Portland), was an advocate for Prohibition in the States."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1865 to 1919: The Drys Gain New Adherents and Leaders

"Osgood, and Bangor physician Dr. Henry Reynolds were all instrumental in founding reform groups known for using red or blue ribbons as their symbols."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"He was allied with Dr. Henry A. Reynolds (1839-1922), a Bangor-born graduate of Bowdoin and Harvard colleges who became an alcoholic and a founder of…"

Northern Threads: Civil War-era clothing

An exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads, Part 1," featuring American Civil War civilian and military clothing, 1860 to 1869.

Music in Maine - Civil War drum, ca. 1861

"… by Maine Historical Society Description Henry Green (1832-1901) of Portland carried this military style side drum in the 10th and 17th…"

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.