1790-1819

1790

Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light lighthouse, located on Shore Road in what is now Cape Elizabeth, is established on order of President George Washington.

Population 96,540, first U.S. census.

1791

Incorporation of the towns of Bangor, Camden, and Readfield.

1792

First official election on the question of Maine’s separation from Massachusetts, with low turnout and a narrow majority against separation.
Incorporation of the towns of Buckstown, Hebron, Limington, Monmouth, Mount Vernon and Sidney.

1793

Incorporation of the towns of Buckfield and Paris.

1794

Birth in Brunswick of Governor (1834-1838) Robert Pinckney Dunlap, who also served in the Maine House and Senate.
Incorporation of the towns of Bridgton, Cornish, Dresden, Farmington, Hampden, New Milford, New Sharon, Newfield, Prospect.
Bowdoin College founded.

1795

Birth in Newcastle of Governor (1843-1844) Edward Kavanaugh.
Major fire in the Katahdin area, attributed to careless lumbermen.
Incorporation of the towns of Clinton, Fayette, Jay, Lewiston, Litchfield, Livermore, Poland, Starks and Steuben.

1796

Incorporation of the towns of Belgrade, Bethel, Castine, Columbia, Eden, Harlem and Northport.
Penobscot Indians cede land in their river valley to Massachusetts by treaty, reserving the islands in the river above Old Town, including Old Town Island.

1797

Non-binding referendum on separation from Massachusetts favors separation in a low turnout vote.
Birth in Hallowell of U.S. Senator (1841-1847) George Evans, Speaker of the Maine House and member of the U.S. Congress.
Birth in Saco of U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator (1843-1847) John Fairfield.

1798

Incorporation of the towns of Anson, Cornville, Eastport, Hartford, Otisfield, Phillipsburg, Sumner and Wayne.

1799

Americans defeated in disastrous attack on British at Castine.
Incorporation of the Town of Thompsonborough.
Kennebec County established from the northern part of Lincoln County.

1800

Incorporation of the towns of Ellsworth, Orland, Lovell and Rumford.Population 151,719

1801

Birth of Governor (1844-1847) Hugh Johnston Anderson of Wiscasset.
Incorporation of the towns of Leeds and Strong.

1802

Birth in Albion of Elijah Parish Lovejoy an anti-slavery advocate and pioneer in the defense of the freedom of the press.
Birth in Parsonsfield of James Ware Bradbury, U.S. Senator.
Incorporation of the towns of Avon, Baldwin, Brownfield, Chesterville, Lincolnville, Minot, New Vineyard, Pejepscot, Vienna and Waterville.

1803

Birth of Nathan Clifford, Maine Attorney General, Maine House Speaker, and U.S. Attorney General (1846-1848), U.S. Supreme Court (1858-1881).
Incorporation of the towns of Albany, Dixfield, Gardiner, Harmony, Industry, Raymond, Rome, St. George, Surry, Temple, and Wilton.
Louisiana Purchase treaty ratified by Congress.

1804

Birth in Portland of Neal Dow, alcohol prohibitionist and Prohibition Party candidate for President in 1880.
Charles Turner, Jr. and a party of eleven make first recorded climb of Mount Katahdin.
Incorporation of the towns of Athens, East Andover, Emden, Fairfax, Gilead, Hope, Madison, Mercer, Palermo, and Unity.

1805

Incorporation of the towns of Harrison, Newry, and Orono.Oxford County established from the northern portions of Cumberland and York.

1806

Birth of U.S. Senator (1854-1864) William Pitt Fessenden, who was Secretary of the Treasury (1864-1865) under President Lincoln.
General Henry Knox dies.
Bowdoin College graduates first class, seven students took degrees.

1807

Incorporation of the towns of Denmark, Dixmont, Jefferson, Montville, Palmyra, and Porter.

1808

Incorporation of the towns of Alfred, Freeman, New Portland, and Pownal.

1809

Birth of Hannibal Hamlin, the only Maine person to be Vice-President of the U.S., was Congressman, Governor and U.S. Senator.
Somerset County established from a portion of Kennebec.
Incorporation of the towns of Calais, Jonesborough, Malta, Solon, Whitfield.

1810

Incorporation of the Town of Eliot.
Population 228,705.

1811

Birth in Waterville of U.S. Senator (1848) Wyman B. S. Moor.
Incorporation of the towns of Carmel, New Charleston, Corinth, Eddington, Exeter, Garland, Lubeck, Putnam, Robbinston.

1812

Birth in Unity of U.S. Senator (1865-1865) Nathan Allen Farwell.
British and Americans fight naval battles off Maine coast.
U.S. Congress declares war on Britain in protest over shipping interference.
Incorporation of the towns of Bingham, Brewer, Dearborn, Foxcroft, Kingville, Phillips, and Sebec.

1813

Birth in Belfast of Governor (1858-1860) Lot M. Morrill, also a U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses Grant.
Incorporation of the towns of Freedom, Levant, and Sweden.
Capture of the British brig Boxer by the American brig Enterprise off Portland.

1814

British attack Maine, occupy Downeast coast beginning at Eastport.
Incorporation of the towns of Belmont, Bloomfield, Hermon, Hiram, Newport, Phippsburg, Sangerville, Searsmont, South Berwick, and Stroudwater.

1815

Incorporation of the Town of Woodstock.

1816

Penobscot County established from the northern part of Hancock.
Incorporation of the towns of Brooks, Cherryfield, Corinna, Dexter, Greenwood, Guilford, Kingfield, Moscow, North Hill, Ripley, Wales, and Weld.

1817

Incorporation of the Town of Brooksville

1818

Incorporation of the towns of China, Dennysville, Jackson, Mexico, Monroe, Perry, and Swanville.

1819

Constitutional Convention drafts Maine’s state Constitution, which went into effect with congressional approval the following year.
Incorporation of the towns of Atkinson, Knox, Newburgh, Thorndike, and Warsaw.

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