Maine Memory Network

Letter about measles, influenza, Brunswick, 1815

Contributed by: Pierce Family Collection through Maine Historical Society Date: 1815 Location: Brunswick Media: Ink on paper

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Elihu Washburne on school and measles at Kents Hill, 1836

Contributed by: Washburn Norlands Living History Center Date: 1836-04-10 Location: Readfield; Augusta ; Boston Media: Ink on paper

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Surgeon General Alonzo Garcelon

Alonzo Garcelon of Lewiston was a physician, politician, businessman, and civic leader when he became Maine's surgeon general during the Civil War, responsible for ensuring regiments had surgeons, for setting up a regimental hospital in Portland, and generally concerned with the well-being of Maine soldiers.

CODE RED: Climate, Justice & Natural History Collections

Explore topics around climate change by reuniting collections from one of the nation's earliest natural history museums, the Portland Society of Natural History. The exhibition focuses on how museums collect, and the role of humans in creating changes in society, climate, and biodiversity.

John Martin: Expert Observer - Intro: pages 534-603

"… Two of Martin's children were quite ill with measles; he looked for a new business prospect, worked as assistant assessor for Ward 6 where many…"

Cumberland & North Yarmouth - Brothers of the Civil War

"… were at first set back; they were quarantined for measles, and had to wait for close to a month before they could leave the camp."

Vegetarians and Zoonosis
by Avery Yale Kamila

Colds, influenza, tuberculosis, measles, smallpox, plague and COVID-19 group under zoonotic diseases

Primary Sources: Healthcare History in Maine

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson plan will give students the opportunity to read and analyze letters, literature, and other primary documents and articles of material culture from the MHS collections relating to how people in Maine have given and received healthcare throughout history. Students will discuss the giving and receiving of medicines and treatments from the 18th-21st centuries, the evolving role of hospitals since the 19th century, and how the nursing profession has changed since the Civil War. Students will also look at how people and healthcare facilities in Maine have addressed epidemics in the past, such as influenza and tuberculosis, and what we can learn today from studying the history of healthcare and medicine.