The governor heads the executive branch of Maine government, which is composed of the Executive Department and the various specialized departments. (The other branches are the judicial and the legislative.) Executive agencies have been frequently “reorganized” with mergers, divisions, and occasionally abolition. See some resources describing the history of “government reorganization” efforts in the Additional…
Prior to 1975 known as the Department of Health and Welfare, the mission of this executive department is to protect and preserve the health and welfare of Maine citizens. More recently known as the Department of Human Services, it is now the Department of Health and Human Services. The change reflects the fact that the…
The Commission is responsible for the identification, evaluation, and protection of Maine’s significant cultural resources as directed by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. It is located at 55 Capitol Street in Augusta. It consists of eleven members as follows: The Commissioner of Transportation or representative, the Commissioner of Conservation or representative and 9…
This was the name of the former Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, now merged with the Department of Health and Human Services. (Even earlier its functions were embedded in the old Department of Mental Health and Corrections.) See an early “Maine Insane Hospital” at Kennebec Arsenal Its pre-merger mission statement was described as…
was closed in February of 2002 after 178 years of housing inmates. In 1823, construction of the prison was approved by the Legislature. It was opened officially in July, 1824 to serve as a penitentiary where convicts were sentenced to hard labor for life or for any terms of time not less than one year.…
Richardson Pond in Adamstown Township from Richardson Pond Road in Lincoln Plantation (2018) History “Maine’s “Public Reserved Lands” have a unique history. Separate from the state park system and Baxter State Park, and from more recent purchases under the “Land for Maine’s Future” program, these lands have their origin in the “public lots” that…