1850-1899
Joshua Chamberlain
Incorporations of new town across the state was a major theme of this period. Maine’s Hannibal Hamlin was elected Vice-President of the United States with Abraham Lincoln successful presidential campaign. James G. Blaine ran unsuccessfully for president.
The Civil War saw 73,000 Maine soldiers serving; with one in ten killed. Joshua Chamberlain of Brewer, and later Governor, defended Little Roundtop in the crucial Battle of Gettysburg.
During this time the University of Maine was established, the Great Portland Fire destroyed over 1,000 buildings, the paper industry in Maine was born, Bath Iron Works launched its first steel vessel, and the sinking of the Battleship Maine sparked the Spanish-American War.
1850
|
Incorporation of the towns of Kennebec, Tilden, and West Gardiner Population: 583,169. |
1851 |
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written in Brunswick, is first serialized. “The Maine Law” passed by the legislature,1st strong prohibition law in US. Incorporation of the town of Chelsea. |
1852 |
Birth of U.S. Senator (1911-1913) Obadiah Gardner. State government Department of Agriculture established. Incorporation of the towns of Deblois, Farmingdale, Kenduskeag, Grafton, and Holden. |
1853 |
Henry David Thoreau visits “Oldtown,” describes birch canoe making in his Journal. Opening of Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad, joining Montreal and Portland. Incorporation of the town of Veazie. |
1854
|
Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties established. Incorporation of the town of Dayton. |
1855
|
Incorporation of the towns of Morrill and Rangeley. |
1856 |
Incorporation of the towns of Littleton and Orient. |
1857 |
Birth in East Corinth of U.S. Senator (1926-1931) Arthur R. Gould. Hannibal Hamlin elected governor. |
1858 |
Birth in West Poland of U.S. Senator (1916-1926) Bert M. Fernald. Incorporation of the towns of Bridgewater, Fort Fairfield, Prentiss, and Somerville. |
1859 |
Birth in Winslow of U.S. Senator (1911-1917) Charles F. Johnson, who was also U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the first circuit (1917-1929). Incorporation of the towns of Lyndon, Maysville, and Presque Isle. |
1860
|
Knox County established. Hannibal Hamlin elected Vice-President of the United States with Abraham Lincoln. Incorporation of the towns of Danforth, Mattawamkeag (now deorganized), Upton, and Winterport. Population: 628,279. |
1861 |
Civil War begins, 73,000 Maine men serve. Incorporation of the towns of Verona and Washburn. |
1862 |
The State’s regulation of liquor begins with the establishment of a “Commission to Regulate Sale of Intoxicating Liquors.” Incorporation of the towns of Ashland and Sherman. |
1863 |
Joshua Chamberlain and his troops defend Little Round Top at Gettysburg. Incorporation of the town of Columbia Falls. |
1864 |
Incorporation of the towns of Mount Chase and Ludlow. |
1865 |
University of Maine established following the federal Morrill Act of 1862. Incorporation of the town of Easton. Civil War ends, 7,322 Maine soldiers killed. General Thomas W. Hyde, Civil War hero, buys Bath Iron Foundry, later known as Bath Iron Works. |
1866 |
Great Portland Fire destroyed over 1,000 buildings. |
1867
|
Incorporation of the towns of Glenwood and Mars Hill. |
1868
|
First wood pulp produced in Maine, beginning of paper industry. University of Maine admits first students. Edward Sands Frost of Biddeford made his first designs for hooked rugs, using a method of stenciling designs on burlap and was credited as the first person to mass produce hooked rugs. |
1869 |
Birth of poet Edwin Arlington Robinson, whose home town Gardiner served as a model for his characters who lived in “Tilbury Town.” Gypsy moth brought from France to Massachusetts, later infesting Maine forests. Incorporation of the towns of Dickeyville, Fort Kent, Grand Isle, Limestone, Madawaska. |
1870 |
Incorporation of the Town of Lamoine. Population: 626,915. |
1871 |
Incorporation of the towns of Deering and Eustis. |
1872 |
Incorporation of the Town of Island Falls. Swedish colony established in New Sweden and Stockholm. Women admitted to all areas of the University of Maine’s curriculum. |
1873
|
Incorporation of the towns of Benedicta, Eaton, Hersey, Kingman, and West Waterville. First limit on deer – 3 per hunter per year. |
1874 |
Birth of Maine House of Representatives member and U.S. Senator (1917-1941) Frederick Hale. Incorporation of the towns of Blaine, Isle au Haut, and Vanceborough. Maine State Grange is organized in Lewiston. |
1875 |
Double hanging of Lewis H. F. Wagner and John True Gordon sparks protests leading to the abolition of capital punishment. Incorporation of the towns of Medway and Talmadge. James A. Healy, first Black U.S. Roman Catholic bishop, heads Portland Diocese. Compulsory education law passed. |
1876 |
Birth of Percival P. Baxter, Governor (1921-1925) and founder of Baxter State Park. Great Portland fire destroys buildings and court records. Incorporation of the towns of Haynesville, Kossuth, and Waite. Death penalty abolished for the first time, reinstated in 1883 only to be abolished again in 1887. |
1877 |
Thomas Bracket “Boss” Reed begins the first of his 23 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, six of them as Speaker of the House. |
1878 |
Incorporation of the town of Hurricane Isle. |
1879 |
Sandy River Railroad makes first trip in and out of Phillips Cape Neddick Light is commissioned. A five year ban on moose hunting ends. Disputed election for governor nearly results in violence; Joshua Chamberlain helps keep order. |
1880 |
Neal Dow a Portland native, becomes the Prohibition Party’s candidate for president. Constitutional amendment provides for biennial elections and legislative sessions, changing from annual elections and sessions. Legislative terms increased from one to two years by amendment to the Maine Constitution. Incorporation of the towns of Mapleton and Woodland Population: 648,936. |
1881 |
Incorporation of the towns of Van Buren and Howard. University of Maine awards its first Masters Degrees. |
1882 |
Mount Kineo House, a grand hotel built in 1848, burns to the ground; later replaced. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dies. |
1883
|
Incorporation of the towns of Brookton and Old Orchard. |
1884
|
General Thomas W. Hyde renames Bath Iron Foundry as Bath Iron Works and incorporates company. James G. Blaine (Speaker of U.S. House; U.S. Senator) runs for President. Winslow Homer settles in Prout’s Neck, Scarborough, paints The Life Line. Alcohol prohibition constitutional amendment becomes effective. |
1885 |
Last death penalty hanging on November 20th. |
1886 |
Hunting deer with dogs outlawed. |
1887 |
Death penalty abolished permanently. Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics established. Incorporation of the towns of Forest City and West Pittston. |
1888 |
Birth in Dexter of Governor and U.S. Senator (1941-1952) Ralph Owen Brewster. |
1889
|
Incorporation of the towns of Bancroft and Boothbay Harbor. |
1890 |
Thomas “Czar” Reed of Maine, Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, implements “Reed’s Rules of Parliamentary Procedure,” which are still used in the Maine legislature. Population: 661,086. |
1891 |
Enactment of the first “secret ballot” requirement in Maine elections. Incorporation of the towns of Camden, Dyer Brook, Rockport, and Roque Bluffs. |
1892 |
Birth in Brunswick of poets Robert Tristram Coffin and in Rockland of Edna St. Vincent Millay. First publication of the Saturday Sun newspaper in Portland. Vital records (births, deaths, marriages) first reported to the State government on a regular basis. |
1893 |
Birth of Elizabeth Coatsworth, Newbury Award winning author of children’s books and a longtime resident of Nobleboro. James G. Blaine dies at the Seward House in Washington, D.C. Incorporation of the Town of Mechanic Falls. Gunboat USS Machias is first Bath Iron Works ship built for the U.S. Navy. |
1894 |
Bath Iron Works launches its first steel vessel, the City of Lowell. Steamship the City of Bangor begins 30 years of service to Boston. Thomas Bracket Reed publishes Reed’s Rules of Parliamentary Procedure. |
1895 |
Incorporation of the towns of Cape Elizabeth, New Sweden, Sorrento, South Portland, and Winter Harbor, Woodville. |
1896
|
Llewellyn Powers elected governor from Houlton, the first of only three governors elected while living in Aroostook County, the others being Carl Milliken and John H. Reed. The first Katahdin steamer was placed in service on Moosehead Lake. Sarah Orne Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs is published. |
1897
|
Birth in Skowhegan of U.S. Senator (1949-1973) Margaret Chase Smith. Incorporation of the towns of Oakfield, Perham, Stonington, and Swan’s Island. |
1898 |
Birth of poet Edwin Arlington Robinson, whose home town Gardiner served as a model for his characters who lived in “Tilbury Town.” Battleship Maine sunk in Havana Harbor, sparking Spanish-American War. |
1899 |
International Paper Company and Great Northern Paper Company formed. Incorporation of the town of Saint Agatha. |
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