Maine Memory Network

Sliding Bridge, Songo River, ca. 1925

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1925 Location: Naples; Naples Media: Postcard

Good Will Boys Sliding at Black's Mills, ca. 1925

Contributed by: L.C. Bates Museum / Good Will-Hinckley Homes Date: circa 1925 Location: Fairfield Media: Photographic print

Selections from the Collections

Maine Historical Society staff come across unique and unforgettable items in our collections every day. While it's difficult to choose favorites from a dynamic collection, this exhibit features memorable highlights as selected by members of the MHS staff.

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.

Historic Clothing Collection - Men's Wear

"Men's Wear View the Men's Wear Slide Show This slide show features examples from the small men’s wear collection at Maine Historical Society…"

Historic Clothing Collection - Active & Casual Wear

"… & Casual Wear View the Active & Casual Wear Slide Show The growing and changing range of outdoor and indoor activities pursued by the…"

What did I do during the Covid quarantine?
by Nasser Rohani from Baha'i Community

Individuals response to Covid and social distancing.

My Mom was a nurse in the 8055 MASH, Korea
by Pat MacPherson

I’m so proud of my mother and the thousands of Army & Navy nurses who served in WWII & Korea

Portland History: "My Lost Youth" - Longfellow's Portland, Then and Now

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow loved his boyhood home of Portland, Maine. Born on Fore Street, the family moved to his maternal grandparents' home on Congress Street when Henry was eight months old. While he would go on to Bowdoin College and travel extensively abroad, ultimately living most of his adult years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he never forgot his beloved Portland. Years after his childhood, in 1855, he wrote "My Lost Youth" about his undiminished love for and memories of growing up in Portland. This exhibit, using the poem as its focus, will present the Portland of Longfellow's boyhood. In many cases the old photos will be followed by contemporary images of what that site looked like 2004. Following the exhibit of 68 slides are five suggested lessons that can be adapted for any grade level, 3–12.

Chinese in Maine

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12, Postsecondary Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson presents an overview of the history of the Chinese/Chinese Americans in Maine and the U.S. including some of the factors that led to Chinese immigration to the U.S., the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a look into the xenophobia, racism, and discrimination many Chinese Americans have experienced and continue to experience, and the contributions of Chinese Americans to community life and culture in Maine.