Constitutional Convention of Maine Statehood
For more details see https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainebicentennial/1/ Prepared by the University of Maine, Fogler Library, Special Collections
Great Diamond Island
Great Diamond, home to Fort McKinley, is just northeast of its neighbor Little Diamond Island, linked only by a sandbar at low tide. The island has a limited network of roads, used primarily by golf carts and bicycles. Access is by about a half hour ferry ride from Portland Harbor, with two landing sites. Landing site…
A Fading History
As time and tides take their toll, physical remnants of Maine’s history disappear. Fires and intentional demolition, or simple abandonment clean the slate for the next generation. Luckily the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and Maine Preservation, along with local organizations, have protected properties destined for demolition. Unfortunately, many historic community icons have, nevertheless, been lost.…
Constitutional Amendments 1834-2011
The first amendment to the Maine Constitution was initiated fourteen years after statehood. The next few decades produced amendments adjusting the structure and rules of the new state. As the 200th anniversary approached in the year 2020, 172 amendments had been approved. To understand the changes, one must refer to the articles of the constitution…
Portland Historic Register
The City of Portland has over eighty places and historic districts on the National Register, including Eastern Promenade, Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Gorges, Longfellow Monument, Portland City Hall, Portland Observatory, Wadsworth-Longfellow House, Westbrook College Historic District, and Western Promenade
Indian Reservation, Penobscots
The Reservation in Penobscot County, is the home of the Penobscot Tribe of Maine’s Native American population, and is located on Indian Island in the Penobscot River and within the boundaries of the community of Old Town. See photos. The Penobscot Nation Council, headquartered on the Island, is composed of elected members, lead by a Chief and a Vice Chief. It is the birthplace in 1871 of Cleveland Indians baseball player Louis Sockalexis. Dancer and entertainer Molly Spotted Elk was born here in 1903.
Indian Reservation, Pleasant Point
The Pleasant Point Reservation, within the town of Perry just north of Eastport, is know to its members as “Sipayik.” See photos. The Governor is the administrator for all financial determinations, and the Lieutenant Governor is the assistant to the Governor. A six member Council makes policy for the tribe.
Indian Township
Peter Dana Point, in the southwest corner, is the village center for the Passamaquoddy people in the township. U.S. Route 1 hosts another cluster of facilities and population. The tribe’s governing body is the policy maker for the Passamaquoddy People of Indian Township with each member elected for a four year term. Municipal offices, public safety building, housing authority and Boys & Girls Club Fitness Center are in the southeast corner near the town line with Princeton and near the shore of Lewy Lake.
Indian Lands Claim
were pursued in 1977, when the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy and Maliseet Indians sued the State of Maine claiming that all treaties granting land to Maine were null and void because they were never ratified by Congress. According to William Cronin, The Massachusetts Court made its ownership theories quite clear when it declared that “what landes any of…
Celebrating Maine’s Bicentennial A Brief History of Maine
This brief sketch focuses on the highlights of Maine History and is not intended to be as extensive as the many available works on the subject. Each of the sections includes a link to the Timeline for the period covered. To view the Timeline for a particular period, in the Table of Contents click on the dates under the TimeLink column.
Fort Williams
Fort Williams is located in Cape Elizabeth and its grounds constitute Fort Williams City Park. In 1873 construction had begun on earthworks fortifications and was known as the Battery at Portland Head. By 1892, concrete batteries had been placed over the original structure. It remained a sub-post of Fort Preble (near Southern Maine Community College)…
Fort William Henry
is located in the town of Bristol, Lincoln County, in the Pemaquid area. Built in 1692, it was destroyed in 1696 by the French under the leadership of Baron de Castin. The tower, and parade grounds are replicas built in 1908. Three forts have stood on essentially the same grounds. After and Indian attack destroyed…
Fort Pownal
stood on Fort Point in Stockton Springs on the Penobscot River. In 1626 the English set up a trading post at the mouth of the Penobscot River. The French and Indians attacked with great ferocity. In ten years it was abandoned. A crude fortification was build in 1640 and successful enough so that one hundred…
Fort Popham
Fort Popham stands on Hunnewell Point in Phippsburg at the mouth of the Kennebec River. This semi-circular structure was begun in 1862 but never completed. It was then that the Union realized how vulnerable the area was to potential British incursions in support of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Concern was greatest for the…
Fort Gorges
The structure was begun in 1858, a year after Congress authorized funds, on Hog Island in Portland Harbor. By the end of the Civil War it was outdated with the invention of the rifle cannon that could destroy its granite structure. Fort Gorges is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently owned by…
Fort Baldwin
is located on Sabino Hill in Phippsburg. Constructed between 1905 and 1912, three batteries are hidden in the woods overlooking the mouth of the Kennebec River and old Fort Popham. During World War I, it housed two artillery companies guarding access to central Maine from Bath to Augusta. In the Second World War, a tall…
Constitution, Maine
Article I. Declaration of Rights. Article II. Electors. Article III. Distribution of Powers. Article IV. Part First. House of Representatives. Part Second. Senate. Part Third. Legislative Power. Article V. Part First. Executive Power. Part Second. Secretary. Part Third. Treasurer. Article VI. Judicial Power. Article VII. Military. Article VIII. Part First. Education. Part Second. Municipal Home…
Foster, Benen, Revolutionary War Deposition
On this fourth day of December A.D. 1832 personally appeared in open court before the Hon. John Dickinson Judge of the Court of Probate now sitting, Benen Foster a Resident of the Parish of Wakefield, County of York Province of New Brunswick aged seventy two years, who being first sworn according to law doth, on…
Aroostook War
It was the nation’s only war declared by a state and the nation’s only bloodless war. Its roots were planted in the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the Revolutionary War. With inaccurate maps and uncertainty about with local river was the French named St. Croix River, the treaty language left the British termed “Disputed…
A Sample of Governors Addresses
Inaugural Address, Governor William King, 1820 Inaugural Address, Governor Hannibal Hamlin, 1857 Inaugural Address, Governor James B. Longley, 1975 Inaugural Address, Governor Joseph E. Brennan, 1979 Inaugural Address, Governor Joseph E. Brennan, 1983 Inaugural Address, Governor John R. McKernan, Jr., 1987 Inaugural Address, Governor John R. McKernan, Jr., 1991 Inaugural Address, Governor Angus S. King,…