Oliver Otis Howard was born in Leeds, November 8, 1830. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1850 and from the U.S. Military Academy in 1855. On the outbreak of the Civil War, Howard, an opponent of slavery, resigned his regular army commission and became colonel of the Third Maine Volunteers. During the battle at Fair…
in York County north of Ogunquit, Wells Main Street is a commercial strip, hosting some community facilities, including the Junior High and the Historical Society. See photos. Wells Beach is a destination for locals and tourists alike. In 2004 the town estimated its peak summer population at about 39,000, including seasonal homes, lodging houses, and recreational vehicle parks. That is four times the resident population.
Selected works The Mayflower, or, Sketches of scenes and characters among the descendants of the Pilgrims (1843) The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution (1855) An inside View of Slavery; or, A tour among the planters (1855) Dred; a Tale of the great Dismal Swamp (1856) Agnes of Sorrento (1862) Oldtown Folks (1869) The American…
The Darling Marine Center of the University of Maine is located in the village of Walpole. See photos. The population centers in the town’s southern most reaches are on Rutherford Island, perched at the end of a peninsular. The community is home to three nature preserves. Plummer Point is a 74 acre wooded peninsula with over a mile of shoreline. The Tracy Property is a town park with public access to the Damariscotta River. The wooded 18-acre Witch Island Sanctuary, provides two beaches and views of Johns Bay.
While an accepted custom in the colonies, it was practiced in Maine as early as 1660 (see comment below) and in 1733 when the parish at York (then Agamenticus) “VOTED that there be a Slave Bought for the Parish to be Employed for the use of said Parish in Labouring for the Rev. Samuel Moody.”…
Potatoes and strawberries are components of its agricultural economy, and Mount Katahdin is an every day presence. See photos. The town, formed during the Civil War, was named for John Sherman, a prominent abolitionist U.S. Senator.
The City of Portland has over eighty places and historic districts on the National Register, including Eastern Promenade, Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Gorges, Longfellow Monument, Portland City Hall, Portland Observatory, Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Westbrook College Historic District, and Western Promenade
The town is named for John Lovell (or Lovewell), the hero of the Battle of Lovewell’s Pond in 1725, in which he was killed but the remaining Abenaki people abandoned the area. See photos. One of the lodges at Kezar Lake was owned by stage and screen star Rudy Vallee. Center Lovell, in the shadow of Sabattus Mountain, is the primary village, located on the shore of Middle Bay.
Before his illustrious career, Daniel Webster was a teacher at Fryeburg Academy in 1802 before pursuing his legal profession. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, representing the United States, negotiated a new boundary between Maine and what is now Canada with Alexander Baring, Lord Ashburton, “Her Britannic Majesty’s Minister Plenipotentiary on Special Mission.” The treaty, signed…
“I cannot surrender my principles, though the whole world would vote them down. I can make no compromise between truth and error, even though my life be the alternative.“ – – ELIJAH PARISH LOVEJOY, 1835 Elijah Parish Lovejoy (1802-1837) was born in Albion on November 9, 1802, the son of Daniel Lovejoy, a Congregational minister.…
December 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 1607 Half the original number of Popham colonists return to England because of a shortage of supplies and food. 1835 Maine U.S. Representative…
November 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 1755 Earthquake hits Maine at 4:15 AM, possibly the strongest quake ever. 1805 30 women meet at Mrs Silas Lee’s home in Wiscasset, organizes…
November 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 1775 Benedict Arnold expedition through Maine to attach Quebec reached Point Levis, opposite Quebec City. 1802 Birth date in Albion of Elijah Parish Lovejoy…
November 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 1776 Incorporation of the town of Warren 1837 Fearless, anti-slavery journalist Elijah Lovejoy, killed by a mob in Illinois in 1837, is later inducted…
November 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 1799 Massachusetts Bay Colony, foreshadowing the anti-slavery movement, declares freedom of two Africans and orders their return to Africa at public expense. 1828 Birth…
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 1775 Benedict Arnold expedition reaches Skowhegan and makes camp. 1872 Ephraim K. Smart, a member of the Maine House of Representatives, the Maine Senate,…
July 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 1783 Massachusetts Supreme Court declares slavery unconstitutional in the case of Commonwealth v. Jennison, thus applying the ban to Maine. 1863 Milbridge-built vessel…
July 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 1837 Elijah P. Lovejoy, a Maine-born anti-slavery editor in Illinois, writes an editorial that inflames local citizens who destroy his press. 1853 Jeremiah…
January 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 1799 First publication of the newspaper the Castine Journal and Universal Advertiser, printed by David J. Waters. 1841 Portland Anti-Slavery…
1775-1789 1775 Battle of Lexington and Concord begins the Revolutionary War. Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. Benedict Arnold and his expedition reach Swan Island in the Kennebec River, move through the state to Quebec. The British ship Margaretta is captured by Maine citizens in Machias. Falmouth (Portland) is burned by British. Incorporation of the…