Maine Memory Network

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Acknowledgements

"… Burden Collection Joyce Butler The Herbert Cary Family Charles and Joanne Cochrane The First Parish in Portland, Maine Unitarian Universalist W."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Why Study the History of Drinking?

"While the danger of drunkenness—to individuals, families, and the social order—was recognized from the earliest period, the use of alcoholic…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"… as brave young heroines fighting for home and family. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was founded in Cleveland in December of 1874."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"Many Irish-American families such as the Feeney clan were proud of their connection with the saloon."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"… from a barroom suggests that many people saw the family in serious jeopardy. X Come Home Father, mid 19th century Ink on paper Collections…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Society Copes

"Masterman This whiskey is labeled "For Family and Medicinal Purposes," the only way alcohol could be legally sold during Prohibition."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"… of Henry Gartley, original from the Herbert Cary family A view of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union marching down Columbia Street in Bangor…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery

"It was owned by a Portland doctor and his family. X Coaster American, probably New York, 1855-1860 Silver and birds eye maple; silver…"

Music in Maine - Sacred Music

"The family, including five sons, moved to Maine in 1946 where Zimelman worked as a cantor at Shaarey Tphiloh in Portland."

Music in Maine - Music Education

"Family and school bands and encouraged children to learn how to play a musical instrument and to perform in front of audiences."

Music in Maine - Community Music

"Kemp Family Singers Kemp Family Singers broadside, Leeds, ca. 1895Maine Historical Society George Washington Kemp, Leeds, ca."

Music in Maine - Music and Television

"For fifteen years, teens and their families gathered around the TV to watch Dave Astor on Saturday nights."

Music in Maine - Country Music

"There was a small family band called Stanhope’s Orchestra that played a few times a year at our local grange hall."

Music in Maine - Music Makers

"… (1873-1953) noted in her autobiography that her family was musical, saying that her father, “played the violin, and though self-taught, he had a…"

Music in Maine - Bluegrass Music

"… promoting bluegrass events around the State as family entertainment, providing workshops and educational opportunities, supporting local musicians…"

Music in Maine - Radio Cowboys and Country Music

"1945Maine Historical Society The Breau family lived on a farm in Auburn where they kept two horses and a pony for “Lone Pine Junior,” the nickname…"

Music in Maine - Opera, Orchestras and Stages

"Aunt Lu, as she was called by the family, did a lot to improve our tribe through her notoriety at home and nationwide."

400 years of New Mainers

Immigration is one of the most debated topics in Maine. Controversy aside, immigration is also America's oldest tradition, and along with religious tolerance, what our nation was built upon. Since the first people--the Wabanaki--permitted Europeans to settle in the land now known as Maine, we have been a state of immigrants.

MHS in Pictures: exploring our first 200 years

Two years after separating from Massachusetts, Maine leaders—many who were part of the push for statehood—also separated from Massachusetts Historical Society, creating the Maine Historical Society in 1822. The legislation signed on February 5, 1822 positioned MHS as the third-oldest state dedicated historical organization in the nation. The exhibition features MHS's five locations over the institution's two centuries, alongside images of leaders who have steered the organization through pivotal times.

Lock of George Washington's Hair

Correspondence between Elizabeth Wadsworth, her father Peleg Wadsworth and Martha Washington's secretary about the gift of a lock of George Washington's hair to Eliza.

A City Awakes: Arts and Artisans of Early 19th Century Portland

Portland's growth from 1786 to 1860 spawned a unique social and cultural environment and fostered artistic opportunity and creative expression in a broad range of the arts, which flowered with the increasing wealth and opportunity in the city.

Amazing! Maine Stories

These stories -- that stretch from 1999 back to 1759 -- take you from an amusement park to the halls of Congress. There are inventors, artists, showmen, a railway agent, a man whose civic endeavors helped shape Portland, a man devoted to the pursuit of peace and one known for his military exploits, Maine's first novelist, a woman who recorded everyday life in detail, and an Indian who survived a British attack.

Northern Threads: The rise and fall of the gigot sleeve

A themed exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring the balloon-like gigot sleeve of the 1830s.

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.