Maine Memory Network

Waldoboro Fire Department's 175 Years

While the town of Waldoboro was chartered in 1773, it began organized fire protection in 1838 with a volunteer fire department and a hand pump fire engine, the Water Witch.

Looking Out: Maine's Fire Towers

Maine, the most heavily forested state in the nation, had the first continuously operational fire lookout tower, beginning a system of fire prevention that lasted much of the twentieth century.

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.

Navy Firefighting School, Little Chebeague Island

Little Chebeague Island in Casco Bay was home to recreational facilities and a firefighting school for WWII sailors. The school was part of a Navy effort to have non-firefighting personnel knowledgeable in dealing with shipboard fires.

Most Inconvenient Storm

A Portland newspaper wrote about an ice storm of January 28, 1886 saying, "The city of Portland was visited yesterday by the most inconvenient storm of the season."

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.

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.

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

"… a third story was added to the house after a fire in 1814, the house itself changed little. Outbuildings disappeared, the fence and surrounding…"

Civil Defense: Fear and Safety

In the 1950s and the 1960s, Maine's Civil Defense effort focused on preparedness for hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters and a more global concern, nuclear war. Civil Defense materials urged awareness, along with measures like storing food and other staple items and preparing underground or other shelters.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Streetscape, 1790-1930

"… house was repaired and expanded after a fire in 1814. A third story was added with a hipped roof and five windows, matching the second floor. Peleg…"

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

"… for records that have been digitized Sanborn Fire Map, Portland, 1877 X Other towns have similar records."

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

"… the house during renovations following a chimney fire in 1814. He then moved his law office to the house."

A Focus on Trees

Maine has some 17 million acres of forest land. But even on a smaller, more local scale, trees have been an important part of the landscape. In many communities, tree-lined commercial and residential streets are a dominant feature of photographs of the communities.

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

"People of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Portland, ca. 1880Maine Historical Society Only two families occupied the…"

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

"The Wadsworth Era: 1786-1807 Silhouette of Peleg Wadsworth, Portland, ca. 1800Maine Historical Society Peleg and Elizabeth Wadsworth lived in…"

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

"The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland "It is but right that the house should belong to the public… Henry always loved the old home above any…"

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Census, Timeline

"Census, Timeline Pages from the manuscript United States census, taken every 10 years, show the changing nature of the Longfellow household -- and…"

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

"The Privy Brown Street, Portland, ca. 1875Maine Historic Preservation Commission In 2006, while rebuilding the garden wall along the original…"

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

"1, Portland, 1846Maine Historical Society Casco Fire Company, ca. 1849 Middle Street near Exchange Daguerreotype Collections of Maine Historical…"

The World's Largest Oxen

Named for the two largest things in Maine at the turn of the 20th century, Mt. Katahdin and Granger of Stetson, were known as the Largest Oxen in the World. Unable to do farm work because of their size, they visited fairs and agricultural events around the Northeast.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1820 to 1865: Temperance and the Maine Law

"… threatened in 1855 when he ordered the militia to fire on civilians as they descended upon Portland's City Hall, looking for a stash of liquor they…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"… Society/Maine Today Media X Coast Guards Fire Truck with Bullets on Brunswick Road Portland Evening Express, October 16, 1934 Even after…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"… by the mob and after a warning, the militia fired into the crowd, wounding several and killing John Robbins of Deer Isle."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"… Metta Victoria Fuller, 1853 X Rum, Fire Water published in Ahiamihewintuhangan: The Prayer Song, 1858 Collections of Maine Historical…"