Keywords: Massachusetts Bay
Item 11929
Flying Point at Maquoit Bay, Freeport, ca. 1770
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1770 Location: Freeport; Brunswick Media: Ink on paper
Item 13054
Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin College, 1962
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1962 Location: Brunswick Media: Photographic print
Exhibit
The history of the region now known as Maine did not begin at statehood in 1820. What was Maine before it was a state? How did Maine separate from Massachusetts? How has the Maine we experience today been shaped by thousands of years of history?
Exhibit
MHS in Pictures: exploring our first 200 years
Two years after separating from Massachusetts, Maine leaders—many who were part of the push for statehood—also separated from Massachusetts Historical Society, creating the Maine Historical Society in 1822. The legislation signed on February 5, 1822 positioned MHS as the third-oldest state dedicated historical organization in the nation. The exhibition features MHS's five locations over the institution's two centuries, alongside images of leaders who have steered the organization through pivotal times.
Site Page
Surry by the Bay - History of Surry
"… back from the rugged shores of a beautiful bay. No echo of human industry to break the silence of the savage region, only the red man and his wild…"
Site Page
Surry by the Bay - Early Settlement
"Patten's Bay, Patten's Pond and Patten's Pond Stream were named after him. In Samuel Wasson's Journal of East Surry, he attributes Jonathan Flye, an…"
Lesson Plan
Becoming Maine: The District of Maine's Coastal Economy
Grade Level: 3-5
Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson plan will introduce students to the maritime economy of Maine prior to statehood and to the Coasting Law that impacted the separation debate. Students will examine primary documents, take part in an activity that will put the Coasting Law in the context of late 18th century – early 19th century New England, and learn about how the Embargo Act of 1807 affected Maine in the decades leading to statehood.
