Maine Memory Network

Letter seeking protection for New Orleans cargo, 1862

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1862 Location: New Orleans Media: Ink on paper

  view a full transcription

Resolution for the protection of public lands, 1839

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1839-02-20 Location: Augusta Media: Ink on paper

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Sarajo Gallery interior elevations, Portland, 2007

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 2007 Location: Portland Clients: Yosi Barzilai; Sarajo Gallery Architect: Carol A. Wilson; Carol A. Wilson, Architect

Opportunity Farm two fire escapes, New Gloucester, 1944

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1944 Location: New Gloucester Client: Opportunity Farm Association Architect: Megquier & Jones Co.

Waldoboro Fire Department's 175 Years

While the town of Waldoboro was chartered in 1773, it began organized fire protection in 1838 with a volunteer fire department and a hand pump fire engine, the Water Witch.

In Canada During the Civil War

One surviving letter from the family of Francis Pratt to the young man who was in Canada in 1865 suggests that going to Canada to escape military service during the Civil War was not unheard of. The letter also suggests money was removed to Canada to protect it.

Historic Hallowell - Protect and Serve: Hallowell Fireman's Association

"Protect and Serve: Hallowell Fireman's Association From bucket brigades to modern pumpers, the Hallowell Fireman's Association record is a…"

Historic Hallowell - Protect and Serve - Hallowell Fire and Police

"Protect and Serve - Hallowell Fire and Police Hallowell was incorporated as a Town on April 26, 1771 and from its beginning recognized the…"

The centuries-long history of Passamaquoddy Veterans
by Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy Historic Preservation Office

Passamaquoddy Veterans Protecting the Homeland

The gift of a necklace
by Parivash Rohani

When I was born my grandmother gave me a part of a Baha’i prayer for protection.

Longfellow Studies: "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport"

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Longfellow's poem "The Jewish Cemetery at Newport" opens up the issue of the earliest history of the Jews in America, and the significant roles they played as businessmen and later benefactors to the greater community. The history of the building itself is notable in terms of early American architecture, its having been designed, apparently gratis, by the most noted architect of the day. Furthermore, the poem traces the history of Newport as kind of a microcosm of New England commercial cities before the industrialization boom. For almost any age student the poem could be used to open up interest in local cemeteries, which are almost always a wealth of curiousities and history. Longfellow and his friends enjoyed exploring cemeteries, and today our little local cemeteries can be used to teach little local histories and parts of the big picture as well. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the Jewish cemetery in Newport, RI on July 9, 1852. His popular poem about the site, published two years later, was certainly a sympathetic portrayal of the place and its people. In addition to Victorian romantic musings about the "Hebrews in their graves," Longfellow includes in this poem references to the historic persecution of the Jews, as well as very specific references to their religious practices. Since the cemetery and the nearby synagogue were restored and protected with an infusion of funding just a couple years after Longfellow's visit, and later a congregation again assembled, his gloomy predictions about the place proved false (never mind the conclusion of the poem, "And the dead nations never rise again!"). Nevertheless, it is a fascinating poem, and an interesting window into the history of the nation's oldest extant synagogue.