Maine Memory Network

Driving crew, Pleasant River, ca. 1900

Contributed by: Patten Lumbermen's Museum Date: circa 1900 Media: Photographic print

Log Drive, Androscoggin River, Turner, ca. 1890

Contributed by: Turner Museum and Historical Society Date: circa 1890 Location: Turner Media: Photographic print

Grandstand for the Gardiner Driving Association, Gardiner, 1921

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1921 Location: Gardiner Client: Gardiner Driving Association Architect: Harry S. Coombs

Dorsey Housing, Old Town, ca. 1977

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1977 Location: Old Town Client: Dorsey Housing Architect: Eaton W. Tarbell

Student Exhibit: Logging on Kennebec River

I became interested in the Kennebec River log drive when my grandfather would tell me stories. He remembers watching the logs flow down the river from his home in Fairfield, a small town along the Kennebec River.

Moosehead Steamboats

After the canoe, steamboats became the favored method of transportation on Moosehead Lake. They revolutionized movement of logs and helped promote tourism in the region.

Skowhegan Community History - Kennebec River Log Drive

"Kennebec River Log Drive by Michael Hoy Log driving began in Maine on the Saco river in the 18th century."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - The Continuing Debate

"… as Alcoholics Anonymous, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, D.A.R.E., and the W.C.T.U. still work to resolve some of its problems."

Ted Truman (Throumoulos): A treasure trove of stories
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

A son of Greek immigrants’ insight into his entrepreneurial family, culture and life experiences

How Belfast was the Chicken Capital of the Northeast
by Ralph Chavis

My memories of spending time in Belfast as a child when my father worked in the chicken industry.

Nation to Nation: Treaties and Legislation between the Wabanaki Nations and the State of Maine

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson plan asks high school students to think critically about and look closely at documentation regarding the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the Wabanaki Tribes/Nations and the State of Maine. This lesson asks students to participate in discussions about morality and legislative actions over time. Students will gain experience examining and responding to primary and secondary sources by taking a close look at documents relating to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (MICSA) and the issues that preceded and have followed the Act.

Longfellow Studies: The Birth of An American Hero in "Paul Revere's Ride"

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
The period of American history just prior to the Civil War required a mythology that would celebrate the strength of the individual, while fostering a sense of Nationalism. Longfellow saw Nationalism as a driving force, particularly important during this period and set out in his poem, "Paul Revere's Ride" to arm the people with the necessary ideology to face the oncoming hardships. "Paul Revere's Ride" was perfectly suited for such an age and is responsible for embedding in the American consciousness a sense of the cultural identity that was born during this defining period in American History. It is Longfellow's interpretation and not the actual event that became what Dana Gioia terms "a timeless emblem of American courage and independence." Gioia credits the poem's perseverance to the ease of the poem's presentation and subject matter. "Paul Revere's Ride" takes a complicated historical incident embedded in the politics of Revolutionary America and retells it with narrative clarity, emotional power, and masterful pacing,"(2). Although there have been several movements to debunk "Paul Revere's Ride," due to its lack of historical accuracy, the poem has remained very much alive in our national consciousness. Warren Harding, president during the fashionable reign of debunk criticism, perhaps said it best when he remarked, "An iconoclastic American said there never was a ride by Paul Revere. Somebody made the ride, and stirred the minutemen in the colonies to fight the battle of Lexington, which was the beginning of independence in the new Republic of America. I love the story of Paul Revere, whether he rode or not" (Fischer 337). Thus, "despite every well-intentioned effort to correct it historically, Revere's story is for all practical purposes the one Longfellow created for him," (Calhoun 261). It was what Paul Revere's Ride came to symbolize that was important, not the actual details of the ride itself.