Maine Memory Network

The Kotzschmar Memorial Organ

A fire and two men whose lives were entwined for more than 50 years resulted in what is now considered to be "the Jewel of Portland" -- the Austin organ that was given to the city of Portland in 1912.

Hermann Kotzschmar: Portland's Musical Genius

During the second half of the 19th century, "Hermann Kotzschmar" was a familiar household name in Portland. He spent 59 years in his adopted city as a teacher, choral conductor, concert artist, and church organist.

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

"… it coincided with other big changes in the rock concert world: national concert promoters, electronic ticket sales, and even the music was changing."

Music in Maine - Music Education

"They held annual concerts, drawing crowds of campers’ families and the public. Nina and Paul Wiggin took over the camp in 1937, renaming it the New…"

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.

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."

Music in Maine - Music in Maine

"… content from eighteen collaborators, and is organized by the themes of MAKE, HEAR, and PLAY, exploring musical experiences over thousands of years…"

Music in Maine - Music Makers

"Emma played piano, their daughter Pearl the pump organ, and Pearl’s husband Nathan Noble, accompanied Dunham on bass fiddle."

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"By 1972, Kentucky transplant Jimmy Cox organized the first bluegrass festival in Maine in Phippsburg."

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"… and less expensive than pianos, with a loud organ sound. Parishioners carried this fold-up melodeon to West Cumberland Methodist Church each Sunday…"

Music in Maine - Military Marching Bands

"Jacob S. Paine (1810-1856) founded the first organized band in Portland around 1827, named “The Portland Band.” By 1843, members recruited New…"

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"… Indian School in Pennsylvania from 1902 to 1904, organized to assimilate Indigenous youth with a mission to “Kill the Indian in him, and save the…"

Designing Acadia

For one hundred years, Acadia National Park has captured the American imagination and stood as the most recognizable symbol of Maine’s important natural history and identity. This exhibit highlights Maine Memory content relating to Acadia and Mount Desert Island.

Shaarey Tphiloh, Portland's Orthodox Synagogue

Shaarey Tphiloh was founded in 1904 by immigrants from Eastern Europe. While accommodating to American society, the Orthodox synagogue also has retained many of its traditions.

Le Théâtre

Lewiston, Maine's second largest city, was long looked upon by many as a mill town with grimy smoke stacks, crowded tenements, low-paying jobs, sleazy clubs and little by way of refinement, except for Bates College. Yet, a noted Québec historian, Robert Rumilly, described it as "the French Athens of New England."

Strike Up the Band

Before the era of recorded music and radio, nearly every community had a band that played at parades and other civic events. Fire departments had bands, military units had bands, theaters had bands. Band music was everywhere.

Bookplates Honor Annie Louise Cary

A summer resident of Wayne collected more than 3,000 bookplates to honor Maine native and noted opera singer Annie Louise Cary and to support the Cary Memorial Library.

A Brief History of Colby College

Colby originated in 1813 as Maine Literary and Theological Institution and is now a small private liberal arts college of about 1,800 students. A timeline of the history and development of Colby College from 1813 until the present.

Lincoln County through the Eastern Eye

The Penobscot Marine Museum’s photography collections include nearly 50,000 glass plate negatives of images for "real photo" postcards produced by the Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company of Belfast. This exhibit features postcards from Lincoln County.