Maine Memory Network

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"… to be used as a drink, we hope that the State of Maine will have the honor of leading this glorious reform." Neal Dow, Spring 1846 X The…"

We Saw Lindbergh!

Following his historic flight across the Atlantic in May 1927, aviator Charles Lindbergh commenced a tour across America, greeted by cheering crowds at every stop. He was a day late for his speaking engagement in Portland, due to foggy conditions. Elise Fellows White wrote in her diary about seeing Lindbergh and his plane.

Sagadahoc County through the Eastern Eye

The Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company of Belfast, Maine. employed photographers who traveled by company vehicle through New England each summer, taking pictures of towns and cities, vacation spots and tourist attractions, working waterfronts and local industries, and other subjects postcard recipients might enjoy. The cards were printed by the millions in Belfast into the 1940s.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"The addition of a jug (probably the photographer's prop), suggests the stereotype of drinking. X Portland, Maine."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Reform and Repeal

"1863, Box 3 The Christian Civic League was founded in 1898 and became a mainstay of the dry movement."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"… Portsmouth, New Hampshire Courtesy of The Great State of Maine Beer Book, Will Anderson MHS QJ M 338.476633 An24 Frank Jones ran the largest…"

Student Exhibit: Save the Skowhegan Grange & Granges in General

A brief history of the Grange in Skowhegan, its importance to community history, and a plea to save it from destruction.

Fair Season: Crops, Livestock, and Entertainment

Agricultural fairs, intended to promote new techniques and better farming methods, have been held since the early 19th century. Before long, entertainments were added to the educational focus of the early fairs.

John Dunn, 19th Century Sportsman

John Warner Grigg Dunn was an accomplished amateur photographer, hunter, fisherman and lover of nature. On his trips to Ragged Lake and environs, he became an early innovator among amateur wildlife photographers. His photography left us with a unique record of the Moosehead Lake region in the late nineteenth century.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Overview & Introduction

"It is an outline, an exploration of local connections, an invitation to new discoveries. It is also, in a sense, a prelude to the history of our own…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"949, Ser. 1, vol. 29 During the War of 1812, the Privateer Schooner Dart was launched from the Cape Elizabeth shore of Portland harbor."

Hermann Kotzschmar: Portland's Musical Genius

During the second half of the 19th century, "Hermann Kotzschmar" was a familiar household name in Portland. He spent 59 years in his adopted city as a teacher, choral conductor, concert artist, and church organist.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"X Maine State Temperance Camp-Meeting Sebago Lake, 1876 Collections of Maine Historical Society Coll."

Giving Thanks

Cultures from the ancient Greeks and Chinese to contemporary societies have set aside time to give thanks, especially for the harvest. In 1941, the United States set a permanent date for the observance.

Strike Up the Band

Before the era of recorded music and radio, nearly every community had a band that played at parades and other civic events. Fire departments had bands, military units had bands, theaters had bands. Band music was everywhere.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"A founder of the Maine W.C.T.U., she became the successor of Frances Willard as National President. A social activist on many fronts, Lillian Stevens…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Taverns, People, and Scenes

"Such a bacchanal would have been difficult or impossible in the small ports of Maine, where taverns were closely regulated."

Hiking, Art and Science: Portland's White Mountain Club

In 1873, a group of men, mostly from Portland, formed the second known hiking club in the U.S., the White Mountain Club of Portland, to carry out their scientific interests, their love of hiking and camaraderie, and their artistic interests in painting and drawing the features of several of the White Mountains.

Biddeford, Saco and the Textile Industry

The largest textile factory in the country reached seven stories up on the banks of the Saco River in 1825, ushering in more than a century of making cloth in Biddeford and Saco. Along with the industry came larger populations and commercial, retail, social, and cultural growth.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking Implements

"… States Blown glass Collections of Portland Museum of Art, Maine; bequest of Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat Discovered in the foundation of the museum's…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"Neal Dow, Mayor of Portland and author of the Maine Liquor Law, New York, NY 1852 Collections of Maine Historical Society B D752m X The…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"X Review of the Testimony, Portland, 1855 Collections of Maine Historical Society QJ Mt P837.21a The Portland Rum Riot began on June 2, 1855 when…"

Student Exhibit: Can You Help Our Free Skowhegan Public Library?

The Skowhegan Free Public Library was built in 1889 with money donated by Abner Coburn and the town of Skowhegan. Mr. Coburn left $30,000 in his will towards the building of the library. In 2005, for the library to fully keep up with their programs need to make some renovations. These changes would allow for more use of technology, more room for children's programs, and provide handicap accessibility.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"and Mrs. James M. Cameron X Billy club, ca. 1928 Courtesy of Joyce Butler Owned by George Butler, Police Commissioner in Biddeford."