Why is Maine called the "Pine Tree State?"
The images and text of this slide show will guide K-2 classrooms through our accompanying bicentennial lesson plan and give students a look at, and prompts about, historic images of iconic Maine plants, animals, and landforms.
This Tichnor Brothers gloss postcard from the 1930s promoted Maine tourism. The image is a combination of photograph and painting, and shows white pine tassels and cones.
Over hundreds of years, Maine was shaped into the state we recognize on a map today. But why do we call Maine the "Pine Tree State?"
States throughout the country choose "state" animals and plants to represent local wildlife and culture. In this lesson, we'll take a look at images from different parts of Maine history that show some of the "state" plants and animals that have been chosen to represent Maine.
Greenville M. Donham created this map of Maine in 1905. Maine didn't have a northern border until the United States and Canada agreed on the boundary line in 1842: 22 years after Maine became a state. You can see part of New Hampshire on this map, as well as the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.
The State Tree of Maine is the White Pine.
Have you ever seen a White Pine tree before? Where? Do White Pine trees grow near your town? How do you know?
White Pine trees grow throughout the Northeast. The sap can be used for many purposes, including as an adhesive. In the 1600s and 1700s, English businessmen would cut down pine trees in the District of Maine to use as masts for their ships. Men who worked for King George would carve a symbol on the bark to show which trees were being reserved for English ship masts.
Pine trees are also popular Christmas trees - this tall tree came from Presque Isle, Maine, and was sent down to Washington, DC to be used as the White House Christmas tree in 1959 for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Maine State Flower is the white pine cone and tassel.
The tassel is made up of the long green needles that grow on white pine tree branches, and the pine cone stores the pine tree seeds. When you see a pine cone that's closed, it means the seeds are still inside, and if the pine cone is open, the seeds have been released. Pine cones and needles can be made edible: pine needles can be brewed into tea.
This 1941 souvenir calendar from Baxter State Park shows a photo of Mt. Katahdin and a drawing of pine cones and pine tassels. Can you tell if the pine cones in the drawing are open or closed?
The Maine State Animal is the moose.
Have you ever seen a moose before? Where? Do moose live near your town? How do you know?
Maine is one of the only Northeastern states with moose populations. The moose that live in Maine are a smaller species than the moose that live in Canada. Moose generally like woodland areas - and they can swim and dive.
This photograph by George W. French from Stoneham, from around 1938, shows a bull moose that walked onto a cow pasture. The local warden, William R. French, named the moose Joe Pete. Joe Pete could be seen around the Speckled Mountain area and was friendly to the cows. Male moose are called "bulls," females called "cows," and babies called "calves," just like dairy cows are. Can you guess how big the moose is by comparing it to the cow standing nearby?
The Maine State Bird is the black-capped chickadee.
Can you tell which of the birds in this painting is the chickadee?
This painting was done in the early 1820s by Jonathan Fisher. The chickadee is in the upper left part of the painting, and is shown along with the pileated woodpecker and the junco, which can also be found in Maine.
Have you ever seen a chickadee before? Where? Do they live near your town? How do you know?
Chickadees are songbirds, and their song sounds like their name. Chickadees live throughout the northern United States and Canada.
The black-capped chickadee is also the state bird of Massachusetts. Maine used to be part of Massachusetts before it became its own state in 1820 - we now share a state bird!
The Maine State Insect is the honeybee.
Have you ever seen a honeybee before? Where? Do honeybees live near your town? How do you know?
Honeybees live throughout North America. They harvest pollen from different plants, and this is made into honey in their hives. A farm, or part of a farm, that keeps beehives and looks after honeybees is called an apiary.
The honey that honeybees make will have different colors and tastes depending on where the bee harvested the pollen. Honey from southern Maine might look and taste different from honey from northern Maine.
This woodcut of honeybees and a honeycomb was made by Jonathan Fisher around 1838. His family farm kept honeybees.
Rosemary brand Maine blueberries can label, Coumbia Falls, ca. 1935
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society
The Maine State Berry is the Wild Blueberry.
Have you ever seen blueberries growing in the wild before? Where? Do they grow near your town? How do you know?
Wild blueberries have been foraged and harvested in Maine for thousands of years. Blueberries play a big part in a lot of Maine diets and food recipes. They grow throughout the state, even on islands.
This image comes from a tin of canned blueberries, from around 1935. The Rosemary brand was based in Columbia Falls, where their blueberries were grown, picked, and canned. The can label contains a recipe for blueberry pie.
Man holding Landlocked Salmon, ca. 1935
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media
The Maine State Fish is the landlocked salmon.
Have you ever seen a landlocked salmon before? Where? Do they live in water near your town? How do you know?
Landlocked salmon are freshwater fish, which means they live in Maine's lakes and ponds, but not in the ocean. They are related to Atlantic salmon, which do live in the ocean. The landlocked salmon was officially made the Maine State Fish in 1969, but this photograph of a fisherman showing his salmon catch is from around 1935. Can you tell how big the salmon is from the photo?
Sylvia Bragg and Fluffy the Third, Portland, 1936
Item Contributed by
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media
The Maine State Animal is the moose, but Maine also has a State Cat - the Maine Coon Cat.
Have you ever seen a Maine Coon Cat before? Where? Do you know of any Maine Coon Cats in your town?
The Maine Coon Cat is the oldest breed of domestic cat in New England. They have long, thick fur, which is good for the cats in the winter. Maine Coon Cats were popular to have on farms in Maine throughout the 1800s. They are large and friendly; they get along well with people and with other animals, and have some dog-like qualities.
This photograph from 1936 shows a pre-school student, Sylvia Bragg, and a cat named Fluffy the Third at a pretend tea party at the Rosa E. True school. Fluffy and two other cats were adopted by schools in the Portland area. What can you tell about Fluffy the Third from this photograph that shows he might have some common Maine Coon Cat qualities?
Maine is also known for many other animals and plants besides the ones it has officially adopted as "state" animals and plants.
Lobsters live in cold salt water and can be caught along the Maine coast, since the Gulf of Maine has the right kind of temperatures and environment for lobsters. This postcard from around 1925 in Port Clyde shows a man named Eldridge Stone holding a lobster that probably weighed about 8 pounds.
Lobsters are generally a brownish-greenish color. They are only bright red after they have been cooked. Rare lobsters are blue or even white. Lobsters are sought after as a delicacy and are one of Maine's most popular products.
Harbor seals live along the Maine coast. While they aren't a "state" animal, they are easy to spot on coastal rocks and islands, and were important animals in the fur trade between the Wabanaki and Europeans starting around the 1500s.
This photograph shows a famous harbor seal, Andre the Seal (1961-1986). Andre was adopted and trained by Harry Goodridge, the Rockport Harbormaster. Andre is shown tugging at Harry's leg in this photo from 1982. Andre would swim from the New England Aquarium in Boston, where he spent the winter, all the way back to Rockport in the summer. In this photo, Maine Governor Joseph Brennan is paying Andre and Harry a visit while running for re-election. The photo's newspaper caption says that Andre endorsed Joseph Brennan for governor.
Wild blueberries are an iconic and important crop harvested in Maine, but potatoes are also a Maine staple, especially in Aroostook County.
Maine soils aren't as good for some types of farming as the soils in other states, but several farms have had success growing potatoes. Potatoes are root vegetables, which means they grow underground. They have been cultivated in Maine for hundreds if not thousands of years.
This photograph of Aroostook County potatoes from 1909 also includes a ruler to show their size. They were grown by John Crawford of Littleton.
This map was created around the year 1635, almost 200 years before Maine became a state. It shows the New England coast, and is illustrated with many different types of animals, including bears, moose, beavers, foxes, wild turkeys, otters, and deer.
Have you seen any of those animals in the wild in Maine? Where in Maine do they live? This map was drawn in 1635; do you think someone drawing a map in 2020 might choose to illustrate it with the same kinds of animals? What animals would you choose to represent Maine? Why?
Maine has diverse wildlife due to many different ecosystems. Ecosystems are all the moving parts of a particular environment, from the people, animals, bodies of water, and trees to the soil, bugs, and small plants. About 15,000 years ago, glaciers receded from this area, leaving behind certain soil and mineral deposits, vast lake and river formations, and other ideal conditions for the plants and animals we see today.
What kind of animals and plants do you think might live and grow in the environment pictured here? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find, think, and wonder about this environment?
Vivian Akers took this photograph in 1923; it shows a grassy pond and Mount Katahdin.
What kind of animals and plants do you think might live and grow in the environment pictured here? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find, think, and wonder about this environment?
This postcard image from around 1911 shows Schooner Head in Bar Harbor.
What kind of animals and plants do you think might live and grow in the environment pictured here? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can you find, think, and wonder about this environment?
This photograph of a mill pond in Denmark, Maine was taken in 1911 by Harry Miles Freeman.
Why do you think Maine is called the "Pine Tree State?" What other animals and plants represent Maine? Do you think the "Pine Tree State" is a good nickname for Maine, or would you choose something else? Why?
The pine tree and moose, Maine's State Tree and State Animal, are represented in the Maine State Seal. This seal was made for the Third Maine Regiment (armed forces) around 1828, not long after Maine became a state.
