Maine Memory Network

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.

Gifts From Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms

According to legend, the Great Spirit created Gluskabe, who shaped the world of the Native People of Maine, and taught them how to use and respect the land and the resources around them. This exhibit celebrates the gifts of Gluskabe with Maine Indian art works from the early nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries.

Lt. Charles Bridges: Getting Ahead in the Army

Sgt. Charles Bridges of Co. B of the 2nd Maine Infantry was close to the end of his two years' enlistment in early 1863 when he took advantage of an opportunity for advancement by seeking and getting a commission as an officer in the 3rd Regiment U.S. Volunteers.

A Parade, an Airplane and Two Weddings

Two couples, a parade from downtown Caribou to the airfield, and two airplane flights were the scene in 1930 when the couples each took off in a single-engine plane to tie the knot high over Aroostook County.

Liberty Threatened: Maine in 1775

At Lexington and Concord, on April 19, 1775, British troops attempted to destroy munitions stored by American colonists. The battles were the opening salvos of the American Revolution. Shortly, the conflict would erupt in Maine.

Father Rasles, the Indians and the English

Father Sebastien Rasle, a French Jesuit, ran a mission for Indians at Norridgewock and, many English settlers believed, encouraged Indian resistance to English settlement. He was killed in a raid on the mission in 1724 that resulted in the remaining Indians fleeing for Canada.

Northern Threads: Civil War-era clothing

An exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads, Part 1," featuring American Civil War civilian and military clothing, 1860 to 1869.

Hannibal Hamlin of Paris Hill

2009 marked the bicentennials of the births of Abraham Lincoln and his first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin of Maine. To observe the anniversary, Paris Hill, where Hamlin was born and raised, honored the native statesman and recalled both his early life in the community and the mark he made on Maine and the nation.

Fallen Heroes: Those Who Gave Their Lives: World War II

At least twenty-three Jewish men from Maine died in the military during World War II. Photographs and other memorabilia are available for fewer than half of them. Read more about them.

Begin Again: reckoning with intolerance in Maine

BEGIN AGAIN explores Maine's historic role, going back 528 years, in crisis that brought about the pandemic, social and economic inequities, and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

Music in Maine - MAKE

"… on Church-music, in order to aid the Native Americans to sing the praises of the Lord…but also to preserve several unwritten national tunes, kept…"

Music in Maine - Community and School Marching Bands

"… Band Penobscot Band, circa 1925 Courtesy of the American Philosophical Society X Members of the Penobscot Nation toured the country as The…"

Music in Maine - Music and Television

"… national tv shows featuring teens and music like American Bandstand, Astor’s performance skits included music, dance, and comedy routines."

Music in Maine - Music Makers

"He played clarinet with the American Cadet Band, and violin with the American Cadet Band Orchestra. Soren Bruns' Violin, ca."

Music in Maine - Radio Cowboys and Country Music

"… Country and bluegrass music emerged in the American South, a blend of English folk songs, Scots-Irish fiddle and dance music, sacred music, and…"

Music in Maine - Rock and Roll, Punk, and Elvis

"… Roll, was one of the most popular entertainers in American history. He played his first and only Maine show at the Augusta Civic Center on May 24…"

Music in Maine - Community Music

"… dance traditions down to numerous younger Franco-American apprentices. After founding two Maine-based dance troupes – La Plume de Ma Tante and Les…"

Music in Maine - Country Music

"… 1966 and1968, he joined the Buck Owens All American Music Show and appeared at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and later as a regular member of…"

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"… ran Tikva Records, a label specializing in Jewish American recordings in Manhattan, New York from the 1940s to the 1970s."

Music in Maine - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"Lillian Nordica made her American opera debut in 1883. Adding to her list of roles, she sang the Brunnhilde of Die Walkure for the first time on any…"

"We are growing to be somewhat cosmopolitan..." Waterville, 1911

Between 1870 and 1911, Waterville more than doubled in size, becoming a center of manufacturing, transportation, and the retail trade and offering a variety of entertainments for its residents.

Land Claims, Economic Opportunities?

The landmark 1980 Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act provided $81.6 million to Maine Indians for economic development, land purchase and other purposes. The money and increased land holdings, however, have not solved economic and employment issues for Maine Indians.

Fallen Heroes: Maine's Jewish Sailors and Soldiers

Thirty-four young Jewish men from Maine died in the service of their country in the two World Wars. This project, including a Maine Memory Network exhibit, is meant to say a little something about some of them. More than just names on a public memorial marker or grave stone, these men were getting started in adult life. They had newly acquired high school and college diplomas, they had friends, families and communities who loved and valued them, and felt the losses of their deaths.

Patriotic Imagery: 1861-1880

Imagery on letterhead soldiers used, on soldiers' memorials produced after the war, and on many other items captured the themes of the American Civil War: union, liberty, and freedom.