The overall political party balance in the Legislature is important since a joint convention of both bodies elects the Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, and State Auditor. The Republican party controlled that joint convention from 1917 through 1974 except for 1965-1966 and 2011-2012. Since 1974 the Democratic party has had an overall…
After almost forty years of basically flat lobster landings at about 20,000,000 pounds, the catch has trended upward since 1990. While the value has increased consistently in current dollars, its rate of increased accelerated with higher catch figures. Landings vary by location: counties, towns, and specific ports. YEAR POUNDS POUNDS (millions) VALUE PRICE/LB 1950 18,352,600…
The largest lakes in Maine, those over ten acres in area, are defined as “great ponds.” The following are details about the sixty largest. In the table below “drain” refers to the total drainage that leads water to the lake. “Major Drainage” refers to the river or stream contributing directly into the lake. Secondary drainage…
(1868-1952) was a prominent lawyer, legislator, and women’s rights advocate. She was born on May 7, 1868 as Abbie Hill Laughlin, in Robbinston. She graduated from Portland High School in 1886, receiving the Brown Medal for the highest grades. Laughlin worked as a bookkeeper for four years before saving enough money to attend Wellesley College.…
Lobster Lake in Lobster Township is east of the northernmost portion of Moosehead Lake and of adjoining Northeast Carry Township. Lobster lake, so-named because of its shape, dominates as…
The Canada lynx is a forest cat of northern latitudes and high mountains. While Maine has long been a home to the Lynx, experts believe relatively few have inhabited the state until recently. It is listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, about…
(1825-1892) a U.S. Representative, was born in Portland on February 18, 1825. He attended the public schools, was graduated from the Portland High School in 1842. Lynch engaged in business and was manager of the Portland Daily Press in 1862. A member of the Maine House of Representatives 1862-1864, he was elected as a Republican…
Earlier called Swansfield, it was named after Theodore Lyman of York, a successful businessman and Boston merchant. Goodwins Mills is a village straddling the town lines of Lyman and Dayton. The first saw and grist mills were located there in 1782. Lyman’s United Methodist Church was established in 1840. Dotted with ponds, the area is a rural commuter community with easy access to Sanford and the Biddeford-Saco areas..
From earliest European presence, the Maine woods have been a source for masts, boat building, housing, and other structures. Later, the paper industry and recreational hunting, hiking, and camping, broadened its importance. Still later, people saw its role in absorbing greenhouse gasses, providing wildlife habitat wildlife, and protecting water resources.
This “half-township” (New Limerick occupies the other half of the original township) lies just west of the northern portion of Houlton. Ludlow is an agricultural community in the heart of southern Aroostook potato county. The soybean in the article is an example of the continuous, historic attempts to diversify the county’s farm economy.
Lubec contains the easternmost point in the United States: West Quoddy Head, on which the famous lighthouse of the same name sits. See video and photos. A State Park is nearby. Lubec is the birthplace of Myron Avery, a key to the creation of the Appalachian Trail and a founder of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. The sardine industry important in the late 19th & early 20th centuries.
Joshua Adams Lowell (1801-1874), a U.S. Representative, was born in Thomaston on March 20, 1801. He attended the common schools, taught school, studied law, was admitted to the bar and began his practice in East Machias in 1826. A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1832, 1833, 1835, and 1837, Lowell was elected…
The relatively new town office and community center is in East Lowell on Route 188 near Vinegar Hill Road. See photos. The village is at Eskutarsis Road, Tannery Road and Route 188, known as West Main Road and East Main Road. Mill Stream, the outlet from Eskutarsis Pond, once hosted a grist mill. A piece of its machinery sits on the bank. Lowell has been a high growth town, adding to its population at an average rate of 24% in each census since 1970, though not close to an urban center.
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.
has been a fundraising device for public purposes in Maine for at least 240 years. A tradition brought from England, Harvard College and George Washington both approved them for construction projects. In 1758 the York County Lottery was promoted to build bridges across the Saco and Presumpscot rivers. In the 19th century the Cumberland and…
Beginning in 1952, Loring Air Force Base, and, in 1953, its 42nd Bombardment Wing of B-52 bombers, created an economic supplement to potato processing in Limestone. It was renamed in 1955 for Maine’s Korean War Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Charles J. Loring, Jr. Loring Air Force Base extended for 9,000 acres and its combined…
James B. Longley (1951- ) a U.S. Representative was born in Lewiston July 7, 1951. He graduated Phillips Academy, Holy Cross and the University of Maine Law School. A personal assistant to the late Governor James B. Longley, Sr., his father, he joined the U.S. Marines in 1976. An attorney and small business person, Longley…
(1775-1849) a U.S. Representative; born in Gorham on June 23, 1775, was graduated from Harvard University in 1798. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1801 and began his practice in Portland. In 1807 he became the proud parent of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, at the time an unknown future poet. A member of…
His Work . . . Hyperion, a prose romance and Voices of the Night (1839) “Psalm of Life,” a poem (1839) Ballads and Other Poems, including “The Skeleton in Armor” (1841) Ballads and Other Poems (1842) Poems on Slavery (1842) The Spanish Student (1843) The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems (1846) Evangeline (1847) Kavagh,…
is a town in Cumberland County incorporated in 1992, the first new town in Maine since 1925, from an island in Casco Bay once a part of Portland. See map. It has several beaches, harbors, a fresh water marsh, and a 125 acre conservation area. In addition to the post office, there is one year-round store, and a store and a gift shop open seasonally. A “guest house” is also open all year. The village is at the southwestern end with the town office, community center, library, and a K-5 school.