Item 10084
Chapter 8, page 228-229.
Abby Hobby Campbell (1806-1886) of East Sangerville wrote to Elizabeth Mountfort (1806-1886) of Portland about her activities. Campbell was the niece of Mountfort's sister-in-law and the letter highlights the types of work women did on farms in the mid nineteenth century.
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Item 9605
Selected entries from the Chamberlain family day book, 1851 / Maine Historical Society
Chapter 8, page 229-230.
The Chamberlain family of Bristol kept a daily journal of farming and community activities. The journal was kept by William Chamberlain, his sons, David and Henry, and his grandson Henry H. Chamberlain.
Included are entries about the weather, sailing ships arriving and departing, guests, planting, mowing and harvesting activities.
These entries are from Sept. 11-Sept. 19, 1851.
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Item 9576
Chapter 8, page 232.
In the winter of 1845, Canada was planning a railroad to connect Montreal with the Atlantic seacoast.
It looked as though the Board of Trade in Montreal had decided upon Boston as the destination port for the proposed railroad.
John Alfred Poor, determined to bring the rail line to Portland instead, embarked on a trip to Montreal to petition the board to select Portland.
In this memorandum, Poor recounts the daring sleigh ride he made through a fierce blizzard to make it to the meeting. Poor's effort paid off and he succeeded in securing Portland as the railroad's destination port.
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Item 5747
Chapter 8, page 232.
John Alfred Poor connected Portland to Montreal by rail after his epic sleigh ride in 1845.
Item 9532
Copy of a letter from William Pitt Preble to Sir Charles Metcafe, Feb. 4, 1845 / Maine Historical Society
Chapter 8, page 232.
Sir Charles Metcafe, Governor General of Canada, wrote to William Pitt Preble in 1845 about a charter from the Maine Legislature for the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad.
The letter speaks of the mutual advantages afforded to Maine and Canada by the completion of such a road, and discounts the efforts of regional competitors to build the line.
Portland was in competition with Boston to become the Atlantic terminus of the rail line.
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Item 9533
Chapter 8, page 231-233.
Bangor celebrated the opening of the European and North American Railway in October 1871.
This printed card of invitation describes the two-day event and announces that President Grant will be in attendance.
Item 9539
Railroad map of northern New England and the Maritime Provinces, 1882 / Maine Historical Society
Chapter 8, page 232-233.
By 1882, a vast network of railroads had been established in Maine connecting Portland and all major towns and cities in Maine and throughout New England.
Item 9536
Chapter 8, page 232-233.
In 1853 the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence Railway, which connected Portland to Canada, became known as the Grand Trunk Railway.
This map shows Grand Trunk and connecting lines in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, and the vast network of railroads throughout the whole country and Canada.
Item 5788
Chapter 8, page 232-233.
A Grand Trunk engine in the 1850s.
Item 4338
Chapter 7, page 233.
This advertising card describes the products of the Willimantic Thread Company and is stamped with the name of one of the distributors: Mrs. Warren J. Conlan of Biddeford.
The Willimantic Thread Co. of Willimantic, Connecticut, opened a spool mill on Wilson's Stream in Township 8 Range 8.
The mill featured the first electric light in Piscataquis County and a modern facility.
In 1881 the town was incorporated as Howard, but the name was changed to Willimantic in 1883.
