Shipbuilding has been a way of life along the Kennebec River in Bath since 1743 when Jonathan Philbrick launched a schooner with the help of his two sons. Smaller fishing and sailing craft had been built for years, but a new industry was now emerging. In 1762 the Earl of Bute, the first full-rigged ship…
The city’s Customs House was an important center for revenue and recording the history of shipping in the area. The nearby elegant City Hall dominates the downtown. Home to Bath Iron Works on the Kennebec River, the city has had a long history of shipbuilding, including nine clipper ships during the 1850’s.
James Bates (1789-1882) a U.S. Representative, was born in Greene on September 24, 1789. He attended the common schools; studied medicine at Harvard Medical University. Bates served as a surgeon during the War of 1812 and was present at the surrender of Fort Erie. He was in charge of the general military hospital near Buffalo,…
Bates was formerly the Maine State Seminary. It changed its identity and was incorporated in 1855. Located in Lewiston, it is recognized as one of the nation’s finest colleges of the liberal arts and sciences. In the U.S. News & World Report 2002 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” Bates was ranked 22nd among 218…
Year Class L & A Class B Class M & C Class D 1922 South Portland 1923 Bangor 1924 Biddeford & Northeast Harbor* 1925 Westbrook 1926 South Portland & Bangor* 1927 Westbrook 1928 South Portland Boys Consecutive Wins Final Year 1929 South Portland School Wins Year 1930 Cheverus Valley…
As was the town of Alexander, it too was named for Alexander Baring, the British envoy who, with Daniel Webster, settled Maine’s northern boundary with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty ending the “Aroostook War.” The town hosts the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. See photos.
Bar Mills is a community on the Saco River in York County centered on the intersection of Maine routes 112 and 4A, otherwise known as Emory Corner. The Grange Hall has been restored and enhanced as a cultural center and theater with…
After Newport, Rhode Island, Bar Harbor was the resort of choice for wealthy eastern Americans until the great fire of 1947 destroyed many homes and forested areas. Acadia National Park dominates tourists’ itineraries when the town’s population swells each summer. The College of the Atlantic is located here.
The Baskenhegan Stream flows through this Aroostook County town, emptying into Baskenhegan Lake in Brookton Township. Rising from Mattawamkeag Lake the Mattawamkeag River flows through the town and the main village.
The Maine Department of Economic Development had a hand in delivering two white tail deer from Maine to the Disney studios in 1938, in response to a request for model photographs for the animation artists in the forthcoming movie Bambi. In 1968, the Department recalled its role, with the help of Maurice “Jake” Day of…
Born Martha Moore in 1735 Oxford, Massachusetts, she married Ephraim Ballard in 1754. In 1777 she joined her husband in Hallowell, to which he had traveled seeking land and work. The following year Ballard began her practice as a midwife. It was not until 1785 that she started her now famous diary, which chronicled daily…
Ephraim was born May 17, 1725 in Billerica, Massachusetts, then moved with his parents to Oxford the following year. In 1754 he married Martha Moore, better known today as Martha Ballard, who kept a diary of her life as a midwife and citizen in Hallowell. He journeyed from Massachusetts up the Kennebec River and leased…
During a period when anti-communism almost became a national hysteria, a number of politicians used the opportunity to attempt to limit civil liberties and to intimidate their political opponents. When very few others would challenge this anti-democratic behavior, U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith delivered a speech on the Senate floor denouncing such tactics. This is…
STATISTICS FROM A SURVEY FOR THE COMMISSIONER OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR STATISTICS REPORT, 1892 [pp. 150-151] Out of a total of 2,583 there are 115 who cannot read and 124 Who cannot write the English language, or between four and five per cent. They are found in seventeen different industries which are given, together with…
[pp. 13-17] LIST OF EMPLOYMENTS. Women were found engaged in the following employments. Artists. Art stores. Bazaars. Cigar stores. Crockery stores. Confectionery stores. Dry goods stores. Dry goods and notion stores. Dry goods and carpet stores. Dry and fancy goods stores. Drug stores. Drug and perfumery stores. Fancy goods stores. Fruit stores. Glove stores. Jewelry…
Text of a 1875 law giving women the authority to solemnize marriage and administer oaths. (Click to enlarge.) Prior to 1875, women, who could not yet vote, had no authority to act as a justice of the peace, administering oaths, acknowledging signatures on deeds, or performing marriages. In 1874 the Maine Supreme Court was asked…
Here are sample town warrants, school and health reports from a variety of times and places. Many more are available at the Maine State Library and the Maine State Archives in Augusta. Such documents give an insight into the concerns about, and responses to, the problems faced by local communities. School Report from Topsham Annual…
Annual Report of the Superintending School Committee and Superintendent of Schools I herewith submit my second annual report as Superintendent of the Schools of the town of Topsham. This is the twenty-first report since the organization of the Brunswick-Topsham District. It is designed by a report of this kind to bring to the attention of…
