primarily brief biographies of major office holders who also were members of the Maine State Legislature
(1843- c. 1926) In 1911 Wilton was a thriving community whose merchants and factories supplied a wide variety of goods and services from automobiles to granite and steel. Like many of its contemporaries, Wilton had a free public library, an electric light and power company and a private academy. The town’s development was greatly facilitated…
National Register of Historic Places – Listings – Lewiston Photos by James Henderson, and edited text are from nominations to the National Register of Historic Places researched by Maine. Historic Preservation Commission. Full text and National Register photos are at https://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp Androscoggin Mill Block [269-271 Park Street] Due primarily to demands for an increasing labor…
Edwin H. Pert (1933-2016), a long-time fixture in Maine politics, graduated from Morse High School in Bath and the University of Maine in Orono. Pert served a tour in Korea as a public information officer for the U.S. Army. He was reporter for the local newspaper and news director for the local radio station, before…
(1778-1862) A model of early 19th century upward mobility and entrepreneurial skill, Stephen Parsons came to Edgecomb in 1801 with his wife, Margaretta Frederick Randall, daughter of Benjamin Randall, founder of the Free Will Baptist denomination. His career from that point was marked by continuous success for most of the rest of his life. Beginning…
One-hundred sixteen different people have served as Presidents of the Maine Senate since 1820. Until 1880, terms were typically for one year only. In 1880 the Maine Constitution was amended to provide for two-year terms for legislators instead of the one-year terms established in 1820. With that, typical terms for president quickly moved to two…
There have been 101 Speaker-terms in the House of Representatives since 1820. Six Speakers served two separate terms each, making 95 individuals who have held that office through 2013. During that time 93 terms were of one year of less; two terms were two years or less; three were three years, one was five years,…
(1955- ) Rochelle “Chellie” Pingree is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the First Congressional District. She was re-elected in 2012 and 2010, having been elected in 2008 as the first woman representing the district. It marked the first time in American history that women made up the majority of a state’s…
(1941 – ) was born in Eagle Lake June 5, 1941 and attended local schools. He received his B.A. in History and Government from the University of Maine at Orono in 1963, and did advanced graduate study in Political Science at the University of Maine at Orono. First elected to the House of Representatives in…
(1953- ) was a U.S. Representative, born in North Easton, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, March 27, 1953; graduated from North Easton High School. He received a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Bowdoin College in 1976. Executive director of Maine Association of Handicapped Persons, Andrews was a member, Maine House of Representatives (1983-1985) and member of…
(1813-1864) a U.S. Representative was born in Minisink, New York on November 17, 1813. He attended the common schools. Wood engaged in railroad construction in New Jersey, moved to Portland in 1846, and was one of the contractors in the construction of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad. He also engaged in banking. A member…
The main village, North Windham, lies adjacent to Sebago Lake and on the shore of Little Sebago Lake at the junction of U.S. Route 302 and Maine Routes 35 and 115. See photos. While Route 302 is a long commercial strip, an old meeting house is adjacent to the Windham Union Church. Young adult offenders are held at the Maine Correctional Center in South Windham.
(1783-1862) a U.S. Senator, was born in Hallowell on June 2, 1783 and attended Hallowell Academy. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1804, and began his practice in Augusta. Wiliams was a member of the State legislature 1812-1829, 1832, and 1848, and served as commissioner of public buildings in 1831. A presidential…
Benjamin White (1790-1860) a U.S. Representative, was born in Goshen (now Vienna) May 13, 1790. He attended the common schools, moved to Winthrop in 1802 and was employed on a farm until 1808 when he entered Farmington Academy. White taught school for several years. During the War of 1812 he was in Augusta and assisted…
Located across the St. John River from St. Leonard, New Brunswick, the town is at the junction of U.S. Routes 1 and 1A. See photos. Its economic development message is “Gateway to the St. John Valley.” Named for the eighth U.S. President, Martin Van Buren, the area was a haven for Acadians escaping the British oppression of 1755. In 1791 they settled near Keegan, a village just north of the main settlement. A model “Acadian Village” is near Keegan village.
Stanley Tupper was a Republican U.S. Representative; born in Boothbay Harbor, Lincoln County January 25, 1921; educated in Boothbay Harbor public schools, Hebron Academy; Middlebury College in Vermont, and LaSalle Extension University in Chicago. He served in the United States Navy from September 1944 to March 1946; later he was a member of board of…
Lorenzo de Medici Sweat (1818-1898) a U.S. Representative, was born in Parsonsfield on May 26, 1818. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1837 and from the law department of Harvard University in 1840. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1841. He returned to Maine and settled…
John P, Swasey John Philip Swasey(1839-1928) a U.S. Representative, was born in Canton on September 4, 1839. He attended the Canton public schools, Dearborn Academy, Hebron Academy, Maine State Seminary, and Tufts College, Medford, Massachusetts. During the Civil War, Swasey enlisted in the Union Army and was appointed first lieutenant of Company K, Seventeenth…
East-west Maine Route 219 serves Pleasant Pond and the villages of West Sumner and East Sumner on its way from West Paris to North Turner. See photos. After booming for decades, the town was crippled by the Great Depression and eventually by the loss of the railroad in 1952. From Buckfield to Turner, the river is a corridor for canoe trips.
The town lies at the junction of U.S. Routes 1 (east to Bucksport) and 1A (north to Bangor). See photos. Fort Point is a peninsular, just north of Sears Island, that extends almost to the center of Penobscot Bay at its northerly reaches. British Governor Pownall built Fort Pownall there in 1759. Fort Point State Park marks the southern end of Fort Point Cove. Sandy Point Beach is at the northern reach of the cove.
Just 20 miles northwest of Bangor and adjacent to Newport, the town is a growing, but still rural community. Settled in 1800, it was soon organized as a plantation for election purposes. The post office opened in 1829. In the 1880’s Stetson was home to three sawmills, a grist mill, Stetson Cheese Factory, and a carriage factory.