Maine Memory Network

Farm Life in New Sweden, ca. 1910

Contributed by: New Sweden Historical Society Date: circa 1910 Location: New Sweden Media: Photographic print

Farm, New Sweden, ca. 1910

Contributed by: New Sweden Historical Society Date: circa 1910 Location: New Sweden Media: Photographic print

Independence and Challenges: The Life of Hannah Pierce

Hannah Pierce (1788-1873) of West Baldwin, who remained single, was the educated daughter of a moderately wealthy landowner and businessman. She stayed at the family farm throughout her life, operating the farm and her various investments -- always in close touch with her siblings.

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons: Staging the Past

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons (1858-1937) of Kingfield, Maine, experimented with the burgeoning artform of photography. Starting in 1897, Emmons documented the lives of people, many in rural and agricultural regions in Maine and around the world. Often described as recalling a bygone era, this exhibition features glass plate negatives and painted lantern slides from the collections of the Stanley Museum in Kingfield on deposit at Maine Historical Society, that present a time of rapid change, from 1897 to 1926.

Life on a Tidal River - Four Important Women of Bangor

"Army Nurse Corps, or as child in a small rural town in Maine, she accomplished numerous achievements."

Strong, a Mussul Unsquit village - Student Research

"… that the War affected so many areas of rural life. For example, because of the need for soldiers’ wool uniforms and blankets, Maine farmers raised…"

Hand carrying water in Marshfield
by Dorothy Gardner

Ways of getting water in rural Maine. From fetching water from a stream to having a well.

My career as a wildlife biologist
by Ron Joseph

Rural Maine provided the foundation of a rewarding career as a wildlife biologist.

Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride Companion Curriculum

Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8 Content Area: Social Studies
These lesson plans were developed by Maine Historical Society for the Seashore Trolley Museum as a companion curriculum for the historical fiction YA novel "Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride" by Jean. M. Flahive (2019). The novel tells the story of Millie Thayer, a young girl who dreams of leaving the family farm, working in the city, and fighting for women's suffrage. Millie's life begins to change when a "flying carpet" shows up in the form of an electric trolley that cuts across her farm and when a fortune-teller predicts that Millie's path will cross that of someone famous. Suddenly, Millie finds herself caught up in events that shake the nation, Maine, and her family. The lesson plans in this companion curriculum explore a variety of topics including the history of the trolley use in early 20th century Maine, farm and rural life at the turn of the century, the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his relationship with Maine, WWI, and the flu pandemic of 1918-1920.