Maine Memory Network

Day's Jewelers, Portland, ca. 1950

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1950 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

Alexander W. Longfellow site drawing, Portland, 1838

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1838-10-28 Location: Portland Media: Ink and pencil on paper

Morton property, N.E. End, Long Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Mabel F. Morton Use: Dwelling

Morton property, E. End, Long Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Annie A. Morton Use: Summer Dwelling

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.

Home: The Longfellow House & the Emergence of Portland

The Wadsworth-Longfellow house is the oldest building on the Portland peninsula, the first historic site in Maine, a National Historic Landmark, home to three generations of Wadsworth and Longfellow family members -- including the boyhood home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The history of the house and its inhabitants provide a unique view of the growth and changes of Portland -- as well as of the immediate surroundings of the home.

Home: The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Portland - Streetscape, 1790-1930

"In its place was the Morton Block, built in 1826. It probably was two stories with a gable roof. The block consisted of five bays of commercial…"

Thomaston: The Town that Went to Sea - Shipbuilding Declines - 1857 to 1861

"Brown, Joshua Morton, J. O. Cushing, William Singer, Lemuel Strout, Burgess and O’Brien, Samuel Watts, Gilchrest, Stetson & Gerry, James Creighton…"