Maine Memory Network

Ruins of the Merchant Exchange / U.S. Custom House, Portland, 1854

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1857 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

Custom house and post office from northeast, Rockland, ca. 1875

Contributed by: Rockland Historical Society Date: circa 1875 Location: Rockland Media: Stereograph

John Hancock's Relation to Maine

The president of the Continental Congress and the Declaration's most notable signatory, John Hancock, has ties to Maine through politics, and commercial businesses, substantial property, vacations, and family.

Port of Portland's Custom House and Collectors of Customs

The collector of Portland was the key to federal patronage in Maine, though other ports and towns had collectors. Through the 19th century, the revenue was the major source of Federal Government income. As in Colonial times, the person appointed to head the custom House in Casco Bay was almost always a leading community figure, or a well-connected political personage.