Maine Memory Network

Watts Block Fire, Thomaston 1915

Contributed by: Thomaston Historical Society Date: 1915-06-06 Location: Thomaston Media: Photographic print

The Rebuilt Watts Block, Thomaston, 1915

Contributed by: Thomaston Historical Society Date: circa 1915 Location: Thomaston Media: Photographic print

Watts property, Seashore Avenue, Peaks Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Samuel E. Watts Use: Summer Dwelling

473-477 Commercial Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Mary Watts Use: Store

Wired! How Electricity Came to Maine

As early as 1633, entrepreneurs along the Piscataqua River in southern Maine utilized the force of the river to power a sawmill, recognizing the potential of the area's natural power sources, but it was not until the 1890s that technology made widespread electricity a reality -- and even then, consumers had to be urged to use it.

Making Paper, Making Maine

Paper has shaped Maine's economy, molded individual and community identities, and impacted the environment throughout Maine. When Hugh Chisholm opened the Otis Falls Pulp Company in Jay in 1888, the mill was one of the most modern paper-making facilities in the country, and was connected to national and global markets. For the next century, Maine was an international leader in the manufacture of pulp and paper.

Thomaston: The Town that Went to Sea - The Watts Block

"The Watts Block Watts Block, Thomaston, 1890Thomaston Historical Society Captain Samuel Watts purchased the deteriorated building that once…"

Beyond Borders - Mapping Maine and the Northeast Boundary - The Shaping of the Borderlands: Arcane Deeds and Failed Colonies - Page 5 of 5

"… confusion which for so long acted as a block to European expansion would be a false sense of continuity and precedent which would be used to erase…"