1820-1849
Early Maine State House
After a brief stint in Portland, in 1827 the permanent State Capital was designated to be Augusta; in 1832 the state government moved into the new, small State House. Expansions and improvements continued for decades.
Maine’s northern boundary with Canada was in dispute, fostered the “Aroostook War,” and finally was settled by the Webster-Ashburtion Treaty.
Nathaniel Hawthorn and Henry Wadwsorth Longfelllow graduated from Bowdoin College, and Henry David Thoreau traveled to northern Maine, climbed Mount Katahdin, and wrote about his trip, thus publicizing the new state.
1820
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Maine Statehood becomes official. Incorporation of the towns of Kennebunk and Williamsburg. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow publishes his first poem, “The Battle of Lovell’s Pond” [now Lovewell’s Pond] in the Portland Gazette. He is 13 years-old. Population 298,335 |
1821 |
Incorporation of the towns of Canton, Concord, and Peru. |
1822 |
First official election on the question of Maine’s separation fromMaine Historical Society established. Incorporation of the towns of Cooper, Dover, Cumberland, Dutton, Monson, and Parkman. |
1823 |
Incorporation of the towns of Milburn, Milo, North Salem, and Richmond. |
1824
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Incorporation of the towns of Berlin, Brownville, Burnham, Kilmarnock, and Maxfield. Kents Hill School, then the Maine Wesleyan Seminary, was established. |
1825
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Kennebec Journal newspaper started by Luther Severance. Nathanial Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow graduate from Bowdoin College. Incorporation of the towns of Alexander, Baring, Charlotte, Franklin, Kirkland, and Whiting. |
1826 |
Incorporation of the towns of Carthage, Cutler, East Machias, Howland, Machiasport, Plymouth, Sebago, West Machias. First black graduate of Bowdoin College: John Brown Russwurm. |
1827 |
Waldo County formed. Incorporation of the towns of Abbot, Liberty, and Trescott. Augusta established as the future State Capital with a bill signed by Governor Enoch Lincoln. The U.S. and Great Britain submit the Maine and New Brunswick boundary dispute to arbitration by the King of the Netherlands whose compromise was accepted by the British but rejected by the U.S. |
1828 |
Birth in Brewer of Joshua L. Chamberlain, Civil War General, Governor (1867-1871), and President of Bowdoin College. Birth of Governor (1881-1883) Harris M. Plaisted, a Major General in the Union Army during the Civil War. Incorporation of the towns of Adams, Baileyville, Bremen, Chandlerville, Edmunds, Hancock, Wellington, and Westport. |
1829 |
Cornerstone for the Capitol Building is laid in Augusta. Incorporation of the towns of Appleton, Lincoln, and Oxford. |
1830
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Birth of James G. Blaine, Speaker of the US House, U.S. Senator, Presidential candidate (1884), and US Secretary of State (1881; 1889-1892). Birth in Lewiston of U.S. Senator (1881-1911) William P. Frye, who also served as Maine Attorney General from 1867 to 1869. Hannibal Hamlin edits the weekly The Oxford Jeffersonian, a Democratic newspaper, then moves to Portland to study law under abolitionist General Samuel Fessenden Incorporation of the towns of Acton and Cranberry Isles. First restrictions on deer hunting; season September 1st – December 31st; no bag limit. Population 399,455 |
1831 |
Incorporation of the towns of Amherst, Blanchard, Bradford, Hampton, Houlton, Madawaska, North Berwick, and Stetson |
1832 |
Birth in Durham of Nelson Dingley, Jr., Speaker of the Maine House, Governor (1874), and Member of Congress. Augusta becomes operational as Maine’s State Capital. Incorporation of the towns of Burlington, Hodgdon, Jonesport, Lagrange, Lee, Milton, Pembroke, and Princeton. |
1833 |
Bath Iron Foundry established on the Kennebec River Incorporation of the towns of Beddington, Byron, Lexington, Milford, Stow, Waltham, and Wesley. |
1834 |
Incorporation of the towns of Barnard, Cambridge, Chester, Greenbush, Greenfield, Marion, Naples, Shirley, Springfield, and Stoneham. |
1835 |
Incorporation of the towns of Bradley, Edinburg, Eliotsville, Enfield, Otis, Passadumkeag, and Roxbury. |
1836 |
Birth in Waterford of Charles F. Brown, who, under the name Artemus Ward, was a nationally renowned humorist. Birth in Turner of U.S. Senator (1881-1911) Eugene Hale, also a member of the Maine House and a Congressman. Incorporation of the towns of Amity, Greenville, Kingsbury, Linneus, Madrid, Mariaville, Mayfield, and Wilson. |
1837
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Incorporation of the towns of Dedham, Eastbrook, Huntressville, and New Limerick. |
1838
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The “Aroostook War” begins; ends in 1839. Franklin and Piscataquis counties established Incorporation of the towns of Northfield, Seaville, and Topsfield. |
1839 |
Birth in Portland of Thomas Brackett “Boss” Reed, a member (1877-1899) and powerful Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Maine State Library established. Aroostook County established Incorporation of the towns of Argyle, Bowerbank, Masardis, Mattamiscontis (now deorganized), and Smyrna. |
1840 |
Incorporation of the towns of Smithfield, Old Town, and Webster. Population 501,793 |
1841 |
Incorporation of the towns of Arrowsic, Casco, Meddybemps, and Patten. |
1842 |
Webster-Ashburton Treaty settles boundary dispute with England. Incorporation of the towns of Auburn, Centreville, Sebasticook, and Townsend. |
1843
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Katahdin Iron Works begins operation Birth in Linneus of Edwin C. Burleigh, Governor (1889-1892), Congressman (1897-1911), and newspaper publisher. Incorporation of the towns of Mason and Hanover. |
1844 |
Birth of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written in Brunswick. Incorporation of the towns of Alton, East Livermore, and West Bath. |
1845 |
Incorporation of the towns of Carroll, North Anson, Searsport, Waldo, and Whitneyville. |
1846 |
Henry David Thoreau leaves Concord, Massachusetts for “Bangor and the backwoods” to explore and write about his observations, including his climb of Mount Katahdin that year. Incorporation of the towns of Fox Isle, Marshfield, Monticello, and Perkins. In Aroostook County, Scottish and Irish immigrants begin planting potatoes, thereby introducing an agricultural product that has sustained the County for may years.. |
1847 |
First child labor laws in Maine enacted. |
1848 |
Mount Kineo House, a tourist hotel in Greenville, completed, beginning a century long resort tradition. Incorporation of the towns of Damariscotta, East Thomaston, Maine, Mansel, Milbridge, and South Thomaston. |
1849 |
Incorporation of the City of Augusta Incorporation of the towns of Port Watson, renamed Brooklin, and Yarmouth. |
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