Maine Memory Network

Thomaston: The Town that Went to Sea - Montpelier

"Bullfinch’s travels to Europe in the late 18th century acquainted him with the Scottish architect Robert Adams, who popularized the Adamesque style…"

Biddeford History & Heritage Project - II. Ripples of change: European exploration & settlement at Winter Harbor - Page 1 of 2

"… and John Oldham, "containing in breadth by the sea four miles, and eight miles up to the mainland." The interior lands were referred to at that…"

Blue Hill, Maine - Welcome to the town of Blue Hill!

"… stands as a beacon for travelers from land and sea. Blue Hill – named by early explorers – has served as a navigational landmark since the early…"

Historic Clothing Collection - 1850-1870 - Page 1 of 4

"… is a reminder that, probably thanks to local sea captains, some Maine ladies received lengths of the Chinese silks made for the Western market."

Surry by the Bay - Late Twentieth Century

"… continued to make their livings from the sea and from the land, and some of them worked at the paper mill in Bucksport."

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Activities for Rusticators

"… Horse Show Clear skies, a bright sun, and a mild sea breeze made the second day of the Horse Show at Bar Harbor a brilliant picture."

Blue Hill, Maine - Long Island: The Forgotten Community - Page 1 of 3

"The island communities were a close-knit group, a sea-going people who fraternized with each other largely because of the isolation of island living…"

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Harbor Cottage, The Old Ell (“Mame’s House”), and the Big Barn

"… away from home in these years to make a living at sea and bring home necessities and a few small luxury items to his growing family."

Islesboro--An Island in Penobscot Bay - Summer Resorts

"Soon individuals bought their own property, built family cottages and “camps,” and the Ryder’s cove summer community began, with people travelling…"

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Basketball: From Rivals to Teammates

"Later when travel became easier, the towns remained insular. MDI had several principal high schools before they all consolidated into Mount Desert…"

Skowhegan Community History - Abenakis in the Norridgewock/Skowhegan Area

"The children would hunt sea birds and spear crabs and lobsters. The men went deep sea spearing for (Passamaquoddy) porpoises and seals."

Surry by the Bay - Nineteenth Century

"The older boys in almost every family went to sea as ordinary seamen and many of them died at sea. The heyday of American shipping was from 1815 to…"

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - The Champlain Society - Page 2 of 2

"… have but this one short stretch of Atlantic sea-coast where a pleasant summer climate and real picturesqueness of scenery are to be found together…"

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Beginnings

"… which translates to “range of mountains.” Rising sea levels over the past 10,000 years have flooded older village sites, but a combination of…"

Swan's Island: Six miles east of ordinary - V. Changing times: the Swan’s Island Ferry

"… settlers scraped a living from the soil and the sea. Here you will still find a community of a different nature, where even strangers wave to each…"

Swan's Island: Six miles east of ordinary - II. Pinkies, wherries, skiffs and chebaccos: Early Settlement

"Champlain voyaged along this coast in 1604, naming islands as he traveled. Champlain’s early map gives this island the name “Brule-Cote,” meaning…"

Scarborough: They Called It Owascoag - Maritime Tales: Shipyards and Shipwrecks - Page 2 of 2

"Over the years, stormy seas and wave action have continued pounding on the ship’s remains and today some of those remains can still be seen at…"

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Rustication

"… Claremont, built by Deacon Clark's niece and her sea-captain husband a half mile from the family's wharf."

Farmington: Franklin County's Shiretown - Early Settlers

"… Gilbert Hillman, a bit of a wanderer, went to sea on a whaling ship that sailed around Cape Horn."

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Big Thunder

"… was gray and the fog was drifting about, and the sea made our little canoe dance like a cockle-shell."

Lubec, Maine - Lubec History

"Lubec History Lubec: A Border Town Shaped by the Sea Text by Jennifer Multhopp With images from Lubec Memorial Library, Lubec Historical Society…"

Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Islesboro--An Island in Penobscot Bay - Early Settlements

"For those who did not go to sea for a living, time was spent clearing, farming and tending to the cattle, hogs, sheep, goats and chickens."

Swan's Island: Six miles east of ordinary - III. Boom, bustle, bust: The Steamboat Years to WWII

"… in hard times Swan’s Islanders turned to the sea to make ends meet—fishing for their family’s food and for profit."