Maine Memory Network

Thomas Brackett Reed monument, Portland, ca. 1910

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1910 Location: Portland Media: Lantern slide

Sketch of gate at Thomas Park, New Sweden, ca. 1930

Contributed by: New Sweden Historical Society Date: circa 1930 Location: New Sweden Media: Lead pencil on paper

Thomas property, Off Leavitt Street, Long Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Gertrude Thomas Use: Summer Dwelling

Thomas property, S. Side Island Avenue, Lot 2, Peaks Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Ameen K. Thomas Use: Summer Dwelling

Renovations to 127 Pleasant Street for John Calvin Stevens II, Portland, 1962-1972

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1962–1972 Location: Portland Client: Thomas Stevens Delano Architect: John Calvin Stevens II

Elias Thomas house alterations, Portland, 1902-1904

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1902–1904 Location: Portland Client: Elias Thomas Architect: John Calvin Stevens

History in Motion: The Era of the Electric Railways

Street railways, whether horse-drawn or electric, required the building of trestles and tracks. The new form of transportation aided industry, workers, vacationers, and other travelers.

Big Timber: the Mast Trade

Britain was especially interested in occupying Maine during the Colonial era to take advantage of the timber resources. The tall, straight, old growth white pines were perfect for ships' masts to help supply the growing Royal Navy.

Lincoln, Maine - Thomas S. Libby

"He is the father of Thomas G. Libby. Thomas S. Libby was a wheelwright and carriage maker in the town of Lincoln, Maine."

Lincoln, Maine - Thomas G. Libby

"After the war Thomas returned safely; however his dad, Thomas S. Libby, did not. If I were fighting next to my dad, and he didn’t make it through the…"

Reverend Thomas Smith of First Parish Portland
by Kristina Minister, Ph.D.

Pastor, Physician, Real Estate Speculator, and Agent for Wabanaki Genocide

Norcross Deer Hunting
by Albert Fowler

How hunting has impacted my life

Maine Statehood and the Missouri Compromise

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies
Using primary sources, students will explore the arguments for and against Maine statehood and the Missouri Compromise, and the far-reaching implications of Maine statehood and the Missouri Compromise such as the preservation and spread of slavery in the United States. Students will gather evidence and arguments to debate the statement: The Missouri Compromise was deeply flawed and ultimately did more harm to the Union than good.

Longfellow Studies: An American Studies Approach to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was truly a man of his time and of his nation; this native of Portland, Maine and graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine became an American icon. Lines from his poems intersperse our daily speech and the characters of his long narrative poems have become part of American myth. Longfellow's fame was international; scholars, politicians, heads-of-state and everyday people read and memorized his poems. Our goal is to show that just as Longfellow reacted to and participated in his times, so his poetry participated in shaping and defining American culture and literature. The following unit plan introduces and demonstrates an American Studies approach to the life and work of Longfellow. Because the collaborative work that forms the basis for this unit was partially responsible for leading the two of us to complete the American & New England Studies Masters program at University of Southern Maine, we returned there for a working definition of "American Studies approach" as it applies to the grade level classroom. Joe Conforti, who was director at the time we both went through the program, offered some useful clarifying comments and explanation. He reminded us that such a focus provides a holistic approach to the life and work of an author. It sets a work of literature in a broad cultural and historical context as well as in the context of the poet's life. The aim of an American Studies approach is to "broaden the context of a work to illuminate the American past" (Conforti) for your students. We have found this approach to have multiple benefits at the classroom and research level. It brings the poems and the poet alive for students and connects with other curricular work, especially social studies. When linked with a Maine history unit, it helps to place Portland and Maine in an historical and cultural context. It also provides an inviting atmosphere for the in-depth study of the mechanics of Longfellow's poetry. What follows is a set of lesson plans that form a unit of study. The biographical "anchor" that we have used for this unit is an out-of-print biography An American Bard: The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, by Ruth Langland Holberg, Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, c1963. Permission has been requested to make this work available as a downloadable file off this web page, but in the meantime, used copies are readily and cheaply available from various vendors. The poem we have chosen to demonstrate our approach is "Paul Revere's Ride." The worksheets were developed by Judy Donahue, the explanatory essays researched and written by the two of us, and our sources are cited below. We have also included a list of helpful links. When possible we have included helpful material in text format, or have supplied site links. Our complete unit includes other Longfellow poems with the same approach, but in the interest of time and space, they are not included. Please feel free to contact us with questions and comments.