Finding Katahdin Document Packets, Chapter 5, Section 3
Chapter 5, page 144.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a poet, and a member of Maine's cultural elite.
As a boy, Longfellow attended school in Portland. His father, Stephen Longfellow, impressed the importance of education upon all his children from a very young age
In 1875, it was mandated that Maine children spend at least twelve weeks per year in school. This was a burden on the many children who worked to contribute to their family's support.