Parker Cleaveland House, National Historic Landmark [75 Federal Street in Brunswick] Parker Cleaveland, nationally known for his contributions to the study of mineralogy, lived here from 1806 to 1858. A professor at Bowdoin College, he conducted some of the earliest studies of mineralogy in the United States. In 1816 his Elementary Treatise on Mineralogy and Geology was the…
Donald Baxter MacMillan (1872-1970), though born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, lived in Freeport as a boy, and graduated from Freeport High School and Bowdoin College in Brunswick. He later taught at schools in Maine and Massachusetts. After joining Admiral Robert E. Peary’s successful expedition to the North Pole in 1908, MacMillan began to explore, eventually accompanied…
(1775-1849) a U.S. Representative; born in Gorham on June 23, 1775, was graduated from Harvard University in 1798. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1801 and began his practice in Portland. In 1807 he became the proud parent of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, at the time an unknown future poet. A member of…
The Coastal Studies Center of Bowdoin College is located on Orrs Island in Harpswell. In 1981 Irma and William Thalheimer gave the 118 acre property, including the farmhouse and barn, to Bowdoin “to be protected in its natural environment and used as a research and teaching resource for faculty and students.”1 It offers low stress…
Since the demise of textile and shoe manufacturing, Brunswick has become a service center for the region and a residential community for commuters to the greater Portland area. With Bowdoin College, Maine State Music Theater, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Pejepscot Historical Society, and many historic buildings, it is a powerful cultural magnet. AMTRAK service to Boston resumed in 2012. The town has a 66 mile ocean shoreline and 12 miles along the Androscoggin River.
(1802-1901) a U. S. Senator from Maine was born in Parsonsfield, June 10, 1802, attended the common schools and Gorham Academy. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825. Bradbury was principal of Hallowell Academy and founder of the first normal school in New England, at Effingham, New Hampshire in 1829. He studied law, was…
(1726-1790) was an investor in the Kennebec Purchase Company, which owned substantial property in Maine. His son, James III, arranged for the establishment of Bowdoin College, naming it for his father, James II. He owned several thousand acres in Bowdoinham at his death. Born in Boston on August 7, 1726, he was well placed in…
is a liberal arts institution located in Brunswick. In June 1794 Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams signed an act to establish Bowdoin College promoted by James Bowdoin III, who gave financial support to its formation and named it in honor of his father, James Bowdoin II. Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin’s first building was constructed, with delays, between…
(1804-1876) a U.S. Representative, was born in Winthrop on November 28, 1804. He received instruction from private teachers and attended the Monmouth Academy, was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825. Benson studied law, was admitted to the Kennebec County bar in 1828, and began his practice in Unity. He returned to Winthrop and practiced…
(1837-1911) was a U.S. Representative born in Waterboro on March 17, 1837. He attended the common schools, Whitestown Seminary, Whitestown, New York, and was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1860. Allen studied law at Columbia Law School, Washington, D.C., was admitted to the bar of York County in 1866 but never practiced. He served…
was born in Brunswick on September 18, 1805. He was a brother of Jacob Abbott. Having graduated Bowdoin College in 1825, with Longfellow and Hawthorne. He later attended Andover Theological Seminary, serving as a minister between 1830 and 1844 when he retired. John Abbot was a historian and author of fifty-four books, including a partisan…
(1803-1879) was born in Hallowell, graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820 and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1825. He was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College from 1825-1829. He was ordained in 1834 at Elliot Church, Boston Highlands. An author, he wrote extensively for juveniles, including his first success, The Young Christian…
(1828-1914) was born September 8, 1828, in Brewer the eldest of five children. He worked on his father’s farm and, like many other promising young men, taught school for a time. Entering Bowdoin College in Brunswick in 1848, Chamberlain studied the traditional classical curriculum and showed particular skill at languages. At First Parish Church, he…
September 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1802 Dedication of Massachusetts Hall, the first building erected on the Bowdoin College campus. 1816 Voters support statehood for Maine 12,007 to 10,382, but…
June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Saint Jean-Baptiste Day to “commemorate the feast of Saint John the Baptist as an important observance and show of appreciation for the significant cultural,…
May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1725 Birth date in Massachusetts of Ephraim Ballard, early settler and political leader in Hallowell, who was the husband of midwife Martha Ballard.…
1900-1929 The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the expansion of pulp and paper mills, including the new Great Northern Paper Company mill in Millinocket. Eastern Maunfacturing in Brewer became Eastern Fine Paper Company. Lakewood summer theater in Madison symbolized the growing summer tourist industry. The economy was strong enough for labor law…
is a town in Piscataquis County, incorporated on January 31, 1827. It was one of several tracts granted to Bowdoin College in 1794 and was named for the College’s treasurer, John Abbott. (The final “t” in the town’s name seems to have been lost over the years.) In the 1870’s the town was prospering with two railway stations and a rail link to Bangor. Two covered bridges spanned the Piscataquis River.