Maine Memory Network
Maine's Online Museum

Title: Memorial Day Parade, Thomaston, 1890

Contributed by: Thomaston Historical Society

Date: 1890

Location: Thomaston

Media: Black and White Photograph

Title: Civil War Memorial, Bangor, ca. 1875

Contributed by: Bangor Public Library

Date: circa 1875

Location: Bangor

Media: Stereograph; Stereo photograph

Title: Presque Isle Memorial Day parade, 1944

Contributed by: Presque Isle Air Museum

Date: 1944-05-30

Location: Presque Isle

Media: Photograph

Great War and Armistice Day

In 1954, November 11 became known as Veterans Day, a time to honor American veterans of all wars. The holiday originated, however, as a way to memorialize the end of World War I, November 11, 1918, and to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations." Mainers were involved in World War I as soldiers, nurses, and workers on the homefront aiding the military effort.

Monuments to Civil War Soldiers

Maine supplied a huge number of soldiers to the Union Army during the Civil War -- some 700,000 -- and responded after the war by building monuments to soldiers who had served and soldiers who had died in the epic American struggle.

Bounties and the Need for Soldiers

The continuing need for large numbers of soldiers during the Civil War led the U.S. government to institute a draft and pay bounties for soldiers to enlist and for substitutes. Towns and states had quotas for enlistments.

Maine and the Civil War

A portal to Maine Memory Network images, documents, artifacts, and essays about the Civil War.

Cumberland & North Yarmouth

A unique two-town history. Prince Memorial Library, Cumberland Historical Society, North Yarmouth Historical Society, Skyline Farm, and Greely Middle School partnered to tell the story of how Cumberland and North Yarmouth were originally part of the same community. Libraries, the Civil War, pauper laws, main streets, local industries, and Skyline Farm are some of the topics covered on the site.

Lincoln, Maine

The history of a long-time mill town as depicted by seventh and eighth grade students at Mattanawcook Junior High School, with help from Lincoln Historical Society and Lincoln Memorial Library. The site includes exhibits on the paper industry, founding fathers, wartime Lincoln, Main Street, influential institutions, and communication and transportation.