Maine Memory Network

We Saw Lindbergh!

Following his historic flight across the Atlantic in May 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh commenced a tour across America, greeted by cheering crowds at every stop. He was a day late for his speaking engagement in Portland, due to foggy conditions. Elise Fellows White wrote in her diary about seeing Lindbergh and his plane.

Gifts From Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms

According to legend, the Great Spirit created Gluskabe, who shaped the world of the Native People of Maine, and taught them how to use and respect the land and the resources around them. This exhibit celebrates the gifts of Gluskabe with Maine Indian art works from the early nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"X A Moral and Physical Thermometer From An Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits on the Human Mind and Body, Boston, 1790 Dr."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"… ways to drink, hide, transport, and sell spirits. Illegal roadhouses, kitchen bars, and clubs joined those already operating in violation of state…"

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

"… major Maine forum to advocate temperate use of spirits. GALLERIES: Drinking Implements | Taverns, People, and Scenes | Influential and…"

"Twenty Nationalities, But All Americans"

Concern about immigrants and their loyalty in the post World War I era led to programs to "Americanize" them -- an effort to help them learn English and otherwise adjust to life in the United States. Clara Soule ran one such program for the Portland Public Schools, hoping it would help the immigrants be accepted.

Student Exhibit: Benedict Arnold's March Through Skowhegan

Benedict Arnold arrived in Skowhegan on October 4th, 1775, and it was here that Arnold received his first offer of help from the colonists. Joseph Weston and his sons helped Benedict Arnold and his army cross over the Skowhegan Falls, but Joseph later got a severe cold from exposure and died of a fever on Oct.16th. His sons went back to the family home along the Kennebec for they were the first family to settle in Old Canaan or what is now Skowhegan.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"… gift of Mark Skinner, 1997 The agency sold ardent spirits for medicinal and mechanical purposes. Located at 135 Congress Street, it was a hot bed…"

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

"… out, on which are uncouth inscriptions offering spiritous liquors for sale." Tavern sign, Raymond, ca."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"Though not an abuser of ardent spirits, Longfellow frowned on the more fanatic Temperance leaders. One of his last letters was to his wine merchant…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"… the passage of the Maine Law and reflects the spirit of a number of Mainers opposed to the dry ideal."

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"… a Shaker song” because the singer must feel the spirit of the music from the bottom of their feet to the top of the head."

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

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

Umbazooksus & Beyond

Visitors to the Maine woods in the early twentieth century often recorded their adventures in private diaries or journals and in photographs. Their remembrances of canoeing, camping, hunting and fishing helped equate Maine with wilderness.

Popham Colony

George Popham and a group of fellow Englishmen arrived at the mouth of the Kennebec River, hoping to trade with Native Americans, find gold and other valuable minerals, and discover a Northwest passage. In 18 months, the fledgling colony was gone.

Maine Through the Eyes of George W. French

George French, a native of Kezar Falls and graduate of Bates College, worked at several jobs before turning to photography as his career. He served for many years as photographer for the Maine Development Commission, taking pictures intended to promote both development and tourism.

Writing Women

Published women authors with ties to Maine are too numerous to count. They have made their marks in all types of literature.

Building the International Appalachian Trail

Wildlife biologist Richard Anderson first proposed the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) in 1993. The IAT is a long-distance hiking trail along the modern-day Appalachian, Caledonian, and Atlas Mountain ranges, geological descendants of the ancient Central Pangean Mountains. Today, the IAT stretches from the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine, through portions of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Europe, and into northern Africa.

Inside the Yellow House

Photographer Elijah Cobb's 1985 portfolio of the Laura E. Richards House, with text by Rosalind Cobb Wiggins and Laura E. Putnam.

From French Canadians to Franco-Americans

French Canadians who emigrated to the Lewiston-Auburn area faced discrimination as children and adults -- such as living in "Little Canada" tenements and being ridiculed for speaking French -- but also adapted to their new lives and sustained many cultural traditions.

Summer Camps

Maine is home to dozens of summer-long youth camps and untold numbers of day camps that take advantage of water, woods, and fresh air. While the children, counselors, and other staff come to Maine in the summer, the camps live on throughout the year and throughout the lives of many of the campers.

Northern Threads: Mourning Fashions

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

John P. Sheahan, 1st Maine Cavalry, 31st Maine Infantry

John P. Sheahan of Dennysville served in the 1st Maine Cavalry from August 1862 until March 1864 when he was commissioned as a lieutenant in Co. E of the 31st Maine Infantry. His letters reveal much about the life of a soldier, including political views and thoughts about the war.

Lt. Charles Bridges: Getting Ahead in the Army

Sgt. Charles Bridges of Co. B of the 2nd Maine Infantry was close to the end of his two years' enlistment in early 1863 when he took advantage of an opportunity for advancement by seeking and getting a commission as an officer in the 3rd Regiment U.S. Volunteers.