The Arrival of Winter


Snowball hammer, ca. 1750

Snowball hammer, ca. 1750
Item 14589   info
Davistown Museum

Also called a snowshoe hammer or snow knocker, this tool is used for removing ice and snow from the shoes of horses.

Size: 9 1/2" long, iron handle 4 1/2" long, 1/2" round face.

Oxford Street after ice storm, Portland, 1886

Oxford Street after ice storm, Portland, 1886
Item 6062   info
Maine Historical Society

These children are standing beneath an ice-covered tree on Oxford Street in Portland after the ice storm of January 1886.

After the snowstorm, Topsham, 1887

After the snowstorm, Topsham, 1887
Item 12177   info
Pejepscot History Center

A horse and cart come down Elm Street, near the watering trough, in Topsham. They are beyond the fairgrounds. The photo was taken after the ice storm of April 2, 1887.

Lumber camp in winter, ca. 1893

Lumber camp in winter, ca. 1893
Item 8434   info
Patten Lumbermen's Museum

An unidentified lumber camp in northern Maine is nearly buried in deep snow. The photo was taken about 1893.

Snow roller, Waterford, ca. 1900

Snow roller, Waterford, ca. 1900
Item 8761   info
Waterford Historical Society

A large wooden roller pulled by a team of six horses in Waterford. Rolling was an early method of dealing with snow on roadways.

Two-horse open sleigh, ca. 1900

Two-horse open sleigh, ca. 1900
Item 9790   info
Sanford-Springvale Historical Society

This photo of a winter scene - woods and snow, a sleigh with four people drawn by two horses, and a man standing alone, was taken about 1900.

Edith Knight Moulton, ca. 1900

Edith Knight Moulton, ca. 1900
Item 6274   info
Maine Historical Society

Edith Knight Moulton shoveling snow. This photograph is part of the Jewett Family collection.

Horse-drawn snow plow, ca. 1900

Horse-drawn snow plow, ca. 1900
Item 8485   info
Patten Lumbermen's Museum

A horse drawn snowplow, used somewhere in northern Maine in about 1900.

Snowshoe train, ca. 1900

Snowshoe train, ca. 1900
Item 6032   info
Maine Historical Society

Members of the Hicks family making a sled out of their snow shoes. This photograph comes from an album owned by the Hicks family.

Lisbon Street, Lewiston, ca. 1905

Lisbon Street, Lewiston, ca. 1905
Item 7070   info
Lewiston Public Library

Lisbon Street in Lewiston near the Music Hall after a winter storm. A trolley car can be seen going down the street. I.H. Estes Confectioner, a stationery shop, and an old clock line the street.

Deering Oaks Park, Portland, 1909-1910

Deering Oaks Park, Portland, 1909-1910
Item 7450   info
Maine Historical Society

Deering Oaks Park in Portland was photographed during the winter of 1909-1910.

Ski racers, ca. 1914

Ski racers, ca. 1914
Item 6279   info
Maine Historical Society

The Theodore A. Johnsen Company of Portland manufactured skis, sleds, snowshoes and ash cans.

On the back of this photograph is written, "The frontman of the forest racer. Red ribbons are tied at intervals onto the trees for miles by which they have to find their way to a given spot."

An exceptionally fine jump, ca. 1915

An exceptionally fine jump, ca. 1915
Item 6280   info
Maine Historical Society

This photograph comes from a collection of the Theodore A. Johnsen Co. of Portland, manufacturer of skis, snowshoes, sleds and ash cans.

Snowball fight, Good Will Homes, ca. 1919

Snowball fight, Good Will Homes, ca. 1919
Item 7605   info
L.C. Bates Museum / Good Will-Hinckley Homes

Children at Good Will Homes for Boys and Girls in Fairfield having a snowball fight with campus cottages in background.

Ice Palace, Lewiston, 1925

Ice Palace, Lewiston, 1925
Item 6556   info
Androscoggin Historical Society

The Ice Palace in City Park (south), Lewiston.

"The snowshoe clubs were an important part of local French culture. . . . The winter festivities centered around an ice palace constructed in the city park . . . or in Hulett Square on Main Street . . . . Most snowshoers arrived by train from Canada on a Saturday morning at the Grand Trunk station.

"In 1925, they raced on snowshoes to 'capture' city hall; in 1935 the sham attack was upon the ice palace. The weekend featured snowshoe races and a parade displaying colorful uniforms, bands, choral performances, and stunts such as throwing and catching persons in a blanket.

"The Sunday morning parade ended with mass in SS. Peter and Paul Church." From Douglas I. Hodgkin's pictorial history of Lewiston entitled "Lewiston Memories," page 117.

Winter carnival, Portland, 1924

Winter carnival, Portland, 1924
Item 89   info
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media

The King and Queen of the Winter Carnival in Portland. The Queen, Winona Drew, sits in a sleigh resting on the snow while the King, Major Edward E. Philbrook, stands behind the sleigh holding a long whip.

The automobile is a Rickenbacker, identified by the "hat-in-the-ring" symbol on the radiator.

Regina Carrier, Mary Ann Vachon, Biddeford, 1927

Regina Carrier, Mary Ann Vachon, Biddeford, 1927
Item 111   info
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media

Regina Carrier of Lewiston, left, came in first in the 100-yard snowshoe race at the American Snowshoe Union competition. Mary Ann Vachon, at right, also of Lewiston, came in second.

Biddeford hosted the annual competition that drew some 400 delegates from 12 clubs.

Club Voltigeur of Biddeford, which formed in 1926, hosted the event.

Sargent snow loader, Portland, 1927

Sargent snow loader, Portland, 1927
Item 8945   info
Maine Historical Society

The Portland Company manufactured the Sargent snow loader, Portland Company No. 1., winter, 1927-1928.

It is pictured at the foot of India Street at Commercial Street in Portland.

Tractor plowing snow, Lovell,  ca. 1930

Tractor plowing snow, Lovell, ca. 1930
Item 6721   info
Lovell Historical Society

A tractor with a "V" shaped plow that pushes the snow to the side in both directions plowing snow in Lovell, ca. 1930.

Snow roller, Caribou, ca. 1930

Snow roller, Caribou, ca. 1930
Item 13190   info
Caribou Public Library

A snow roller pulled by horses owned by John Hamilton. The driver is Albert White.

A road roller was an improvement over a snowplow because it packed down the snow on the roads to make a wide, hard, smooth surface. In a snow storm, banks made from plowing a road trapped the blowing snow and the road would drift in.

The road roller did not make large snow banks. Rolled roads also were wider than plowed ones, allowing cars to more easily pass one another and did not confine teams of horses or upset sleighs, pungs or sleds.

A road roller was made from planks bolted to a drum-like frame.

April blizzard, Portland, 1982

April blizzard, Portland, 1982
Item 11221   info
Maine Historical Society

Cars and buses littered Portland's Congress Street in the wake of an April blizzard that dumped 16 inches of snow. Strong winds whipped it into deep drifts, stranding vehicles throughout the area.

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