Maine Memory Network

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"… Many young men and women tended to see Temperance women as old maids, out of step with the roaring 20s—a very different image from the young…"

We Used to be "Normal": A History of F.S.N.S.

Farmington's Normal School -- a teacher-training facility -- opened in 1863 and, over the decades, offered academic programs that included such unique features as domestic and child-care training, and extra-curricular activities from athletics to music and theater.

State of Mind: Becoming Maine

The history of the region now known as Maine did not begin at statehood in 1820. What was Maine before it was a state? How did Maine separate from Massachusetts? How has the Maine we experience today been shaped by thousands of years of history?

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

"For women, the fight against alcohol abuse and other social ills in the later 19th and early 20th centuries led to a growing political, and…"

In Time and Eternity: Shakers in the Industrial Age

"In Time and Eternity: Maine Shakers in the Industrial Age 1872-1918" is a series of images that depict in detail the Shakers in Maine during a little explored time period of expansion and change.

Port of Portland's Custom House and Collectors of Customs

The collector of Portland was the key to federal patronage in Maine, though other ports and towns had collectors. Through the 19th century, the revenue was the major source of Federal Government income. As in Colonial times, the person appointed to head the custom House in Casco Bay was almost always a leading community figure, or a well-connected political personage.

A Brief History of Colby College

Colby originated in 1813 as Maine Literary and Theological Institution and is now a small private liberal arts college of about 1,800 students. A timeline of the history and development of Colby College from 1813 until the present.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking Implements

"… Universalist This mug was presented to Reverend Deane of First Parish Falmouth (now Portland) by 21 young men of the parish in 1775 at a time when…"

Art of the People: Folk Art in Maine

For many different reasons people saved and carefully preserved the objects in this exhibit. Eventually, along with the memories they hold, the objects were passed to the Maine Historical Society. Object and memory, serve as a powerful way to explore history and to connect to the lives of people in the past.

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.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"Women, like the the young women pictured in "Daughters of Temperance", wore sashes or collars over their simple silk "everyday" dresses."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1865 to 1919: The Drys Gain New Adherents and Leaders

"… part of an emerging generation of professional women. During the 1870s, alcoholics including former Portland liquor-dealer Francis Murphy, Gardiner…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"Men and women with solid reputations were granted licenses to run taverns, but as populations grew this social control weakened."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1620 to 1820: New England's Great Secret

"For women, tavern keeping was one of the few professions open to them at all. Polite society considered non-drinkers "crank-brained." Drunkenness…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Reform and Repeal

"… Collection Led by New York's Pauline Sabin, the Womens Organization for National Prohibition Reform became an effective anti-prohibition group."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1820 to 1865: Temperance and the Maine Law

"Abolition of slavery, the fight for women's suffrage, and efforts to care for those less fortunate are all rooted in this era."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"Many of the mixtures were alcohol-based. X X X Wine Press Kendall & Whitney, Portland, early 20th century Courtesy of Doris…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Overview & Introduction

"… the fight to abolish slavery and the struggle for women's suffrage, engaged the nation's full attention."

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

"Greele achieved legendary status by extinguishing her burning building during the British bombardment of 1775."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"GALLERIES: Politics and Enforcement | Women Leaders and Temperance | Quenching the Thirst | Business as Usual"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1919 to 1934: The Nation Follows Maine Into Prohibition

"Many men and women of the 1920s, appalled by the carnage of World War I, were anxious to experiment and enjoy themselves after the war ended."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"GALLERIES: Politics and Enforcement | Women Leaders and Temperance | Quenching the Thirst | Business as Usual"

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…"

Graduation Season

Graduations -- and schools -- in the 19th through the first decade of the 20th century often were small affairs and sometimes featured student presentations that demonstrated what they had learned. They were not necessarily held in May or June, what later became the standard "end of the school year."