Maine Memory Network

Woman's Literary Union gavel, Portland, 1903

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1903 Location: Portland Media: Oak, silver

Eunice Nichols Frye, Portland, ca. 1910

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1910 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

76-78 Spring Street (Pt Ex.), Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: The Women's Literary Union Use: Club

Assessor's Record, 76 Spring Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: The Women's Literary Union Use: hall

Longfellow's Birthplace on corner of Fore and Hancock, Portland, 1950

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1950-04-26 Location: Portland Client: unknown Architect: John Howard Stevens and John Calvin Stevens II Architects

A Brief History of Colby College

Colby originated in 1813 as Maine Literary and Theological Institution and is now a small private liberal arts college of about 1,800 students. A timeline of the history and development of Colby College from 1813 until the present.

A Handwritten Community Newspaper

The eight issues of South Freeport's handwritten newspaper, distributed in 1859, provided "general interest and amusement" to the coastal community.

Farmington: Franklin County's Shiretown - Four sons of Jacob Abbott, Farmington, ca. 1865

"Edward was the editor of the highly regarded "Literary World" and author of various American history books."

Skowhegan Community History - Bloomfield Academy

"In 1815 there was a proposal made to the Maine Literary and Theological Institution offering Bloomfield, now Skowhegan, as the site of a new college…"

In an Old, Abandoned Island House, I Found my Mentor and my Muse
by Robin Clifford Wood

An aspiring writer finds inspiration and a mentor from the past in an old island home.

Longfellow Studies: "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie"--Selected Lines and Illustrations

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies, Visual & Performing Arts
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Maine's native son, is the epitome of Victorian Romanticism. Aroostook County is well acquainted with Longfellow's epic poem, Evangeline, because it is the story of the plight of the Acadians, who were deported from Acadie between 1755 and 1760. The descendants of these hard-working people inhabit much of Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The students enjoy hearing the story and seeing the ink drawings. The illustrations are my interpretations. The collection took approximately two months to complete. The illustrations are presented in a Victorian-style folio, reminiscent of the family gathered in the parlor for a Sunday afternoon reading of Evangeline, which was published in 1847. Preparation Required/Preliminary Discussion: Have students read "Evangeline A Tale of Acadie". Give a background of the Acadia Diaspora. Suggested Follow-up Activities: Students could illustrate their own poems, as well as other Longfellow poems, such as: "Paul Revere's Ride," "The Village Blacksmith," or "The Children's Hour." "Tales of the Wayside Inn" is a colonial Canterbury Tales. The guest of the inn each tell stories. Student could write or illustrate their own characters or stories. Appropriate calligraphy assignments could include short poems and captions for their illustrations. Inks, pastels, watercolors, and colored pencils would be other appropriate illustrative media that could be applicable to other illustrated poems and stories. Each illustration in this exhibit was made in India ink on file folder paper. The dimensions, including the burgundy-colors mat, are 9" x 12". A friend made the calligraphy.

Longfellow Studies: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow & Harriet Beecher Stowe

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies
As a graduate of Bowdoin College and a longtime resident of Brunswick, I have a distinct interest in Longfellow. Yet the history of Brunswick includes other famous writers as well, including Harriet Beecher Stowe. Although they did not reside in Brunswick contemporaneously, and Longfellow was already world-renowned before Stowe began her literary career, did these two notables have any interaction? More particularly, did Longfellow have any opinion of Stowe's work? If so, what was it?