History Commons^™

The Darling Estate_ Part I (1940s-1960s), Randy Lackovic

Darling Marine Center Historical Documents

These are pictures of the Darling estate at Wentworth Point in Walpole, Maine from the 1940s. In 1965 Ira C. Darling donated the estate to the University of Maine, and it is now known as the Darling Marine Center. It shows Mervin Rice with horse, and work done at haying time. It shows a former garden and a picture of a clearing between the farmhouse and Lowe's Cove that is now wooded over.

A Child Of The Atlantic: The Maine Years Of John Brown Russwurm, Carl Patrick Burrowes

Maine History

Celebrated in life as co-founder of America’s first black newspaper, John Brown Russwurm was the embodiment of an Atlantic Creole. Born in Jamaica to a white American father and a black Jamaican mother, as a young man Russwurm moved to North America. Throughout his teens and twenties, his “home” was southern Maine, and he was given a good secondary education there. After finishing school, Russwurm taught in several black schools in Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. It was in these cities that he came into contact with America’s free black leaders, some of whom supported the movement to colonize …

A Man Of Many: Mainer Frank Lowell And White-Native Marriages In Territorial Alaska, Sandy Brue

Maine History

Born into a well-known and influential New England family, Frank Lowell left his home in Maine and moved to Alaska soon after the territory was purchased by the United States in 1867. His upbringing in a shipbuilding and seafaring family from Maine prepared Frank well for his new life. His life in sparsely-settled Alaska was quite different, though, from his old life in coastal Maine. During his more than fifty years in Alaska, Frank married three Native women and fathered fifteen children. There were practical reasons for Frank to form such unions, but it also demonstrates that racial boundaries were …

The Transformative Power Of Work: The Early Life Of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Jeannette W. Cockroft

Maine History

Contrary to the conventional narrative of Margaret Chase Smith’s life, her public career did not begin with her 1930 marriage to politician Clyde H. Smith. By the time of that marriage, she was already an experienced political leader and an accomplished professional. Her transformation from an uneducated, working-class girl to an ambitious, upwardly mobile, middle-class woman was the result of her employment at the local newspaper, the Somerset County Independent-Reporter, and her subsequent involvement in the Business and Professional Women’s Club. The author received her Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University and is an associate professor of history …

Glimpses Into The Life Of A Maine Reformer: Elizabeth Upham Yates, Missionary And Woman Suffragist, Shannon M. Risk

Maine History

Raised in a religious family in Bristol, Elizabeth Upham Yates spent much of her adult life as a reformer. While in her twenties, Yates spent six years in China serving as a Methodist missionary trying to spread the gospel and Western culture. Upon returning to the United States she became involved in two domestic reform movements, temperance and women’s suffrage. She was active in the women’s suffrage movement from the 1890s until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 and ran for lieutenant governor of Rhode Island in the election of 1920. Yates was never a nationally renowned figure …

Ambassador To Norway, Historian Of Bethel: The Career Of Margaret Joy Tibbetts, Andy Deroche

Maine History

Margaret Tibbetts grew up in Bethel, graduated from Gould Academy, and later earned a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. As a career Foreign Service officer, she served in Europe and Africa in a variety of positions until being named U.S. ambassador to Norway in 1964. Her work as one of the first female ambassadors set the stage for future women to play even bigger roles in U.S. foreign relations. The author grew up in Hanover, Maine, and attended Rumford High School. Majoring in history, he earned a B.A. from Princeton University, an M.A. from the University of Maine, and a Ph.D. …

Taking The War To The Water: The American Revolution At Sea, 1775-1776, Sarah Kent

Honors College

The story of the land war of the American Revolution has been told many times. However, the naval conflict remains largely ignored except for its most famous aspects, such as the voyages of John Paul Jones. When the sea battles of the Revolution have been discussed it has mostly been in the context of the end of the war when the navy had already existed for some time. Historians such as William Fowler and Nathaniel Miller have attempted comprehensive studies of the Continental Navy, but neither focus on the character and significance of naval combat in the first year of …

The Beautiful Project 2013, Student Women's Association

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Promotional flyer for The Beautiful Project hosted by the Student Women's Association, April 23 through April 25, 2013. The flyer includes dates and times of various sponsored activities.

The 'A' Word: Memoir Of A Maine Abortion Rights Activist, Student Women's Association

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Promotional flyer for a presentation about the life of feminist activist JoAnne Dauphinee who spent 40 years advocating for women's reproductive autonomy, access to reproductive health care, and preservation of abortion rights. Also appearing Abbie Strout, Erika Richardson, and Sarah Brasslett.

History, Status And Future Trends Of Working Waterfronts, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts, Boston

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Working waterfronts have been important to the U.S. economy and culture from the earliest days of this country’s founding. The origin of many coastal communities is strongly linked to the advantages afforded by their shoreside locations. This report provides a brief history of working waterfronts, describes their major industries, and identifies significant drivers of past changes and future trends.

Despite their long histories, many working waterfronts have been, and continue to be in various states of transition. Changes in technologies, national interests, economies, and environmental conditions impact the way people use and value these places. While the exact future of …

Annual Report 2012, Starks, Maine, Starks, (Me.).

Maine Town Documents

No abstract provided.

Town Of Bristol 2012 Annual Report, Bristol, (Me.)., Heather Houston

Maine Town Documents

No abstract provided.

Pro-Choice Week 2013, Student Women's Association

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Promotional flyer for Pro-Choice Week hosted by the Student Women's Association, Jan. 22 through 24, 2013. The flyer includes dates and times of various sponsored activities.

Seeing Beyond The Frontier: Maine Borders, The Borderlands, And American History, Sasha Mullally

Maine History

Sasha Mullally is an associate professor of History at the University of New Brunswick. She is the author of the forthcoming book Unpacking the Black Bag: Country Doctor Stories from the Maritimes and Northern New England, 1900-1950, which will be published by the University of Toronto Press.

“Yankees” And “Bluenosers” At The Races: Harness Racing, Group Identity, And The Creation Of A Maine-New Brunswick Sporting Region, 1870-1930, Leah Grandy

Maine History

Borders, divisions, and connections can be physical or intellectual, and the borders and regions created by the sport of harness racing were large and small, geographical and social. The eastern North American origin and focus of the sport demonstrated the character of the region; the sport had grassroots origins in the region, and expanded to the level of a major spectator sport by the last decades of the nineteenth century. Harness racing in the Maritimes and New England in the nineteenth century demonstrated the social and economic cohesion of the region and helped to solidify group and personal identities. Maine …

“Maine And Her Soil, Or Blood!”: Political Rhetoric And Spatial Identity During The Aroostook War In Maine, Michael T. Perry

Maine History

The Aroostook War was a two-month standoff during the winter of 1839 between Maine and New Brunswick. Overlapping boundary claims had created a disputed territory rich in timber but lacking organization. Troops were mobilized, but war was averted when national leaders in Washington and London recoiled at the prospect of a third war between the two nations. The “war” has been dismissed by contemporary observers and historians alike because of the lack of shots fired. What has largely been overlooked, however, is the large body of political rhetoric churned out by Maine’s Democrats and Whigs during the dispute. In examining …

“News Of Provisions Ahead”: Accommodation In A Wilderness Borderland During The American Invasion Of Quebec, 1775, Daniel S. Soucier

Maine History

Soon after the American Revolutionary War began, Colonel Benedict Arnold led an American invasion force from Maine into Quebec in an effort to capture the British province. The trek through the wilderness of western Maine did not go smoothly. This territory was a unique borderland area that was not inhabited by colonists as a frontier society, but instead remained a largely unsettled region still under the control of the Wabanakis. On the northern periphery of this borderland the Quebecois and Wabanakis supplied Arnold and his men with provisions, aid, and intelligence. It was the assistance of French habitants and Wabanakis …

Creating An Indian Enemy In The Borderlands: King Philip’S War In Maine, 1675-1678, Christopher J. Bilodeau

Maine History

In the borderlands space between New England and Québec, the Wabanaki Indians had their own reasons for getting embroiled in a conflict that started in southern New England, King Philip’s War (1675-1678). This essay argues that, ironically, the English vision of a monolithic Indian enemy was the key to Wabanaki success in this war. The Wabanakis were a heterogeneous group when it came to the issue of fighting the English, with many eager to join the fight, others ambivalent, and still others against. The English of Massachusetts Bay and Maine, however, treated the entire Wabanaki population as united under a …

The Meeting Of Two Border Worlds: How The Maine-Canada And Texas-Mexico Borders Met In 1920, Carla Mendiola

Maine History

This study follows two families living on the Maine and Texas borders in order to explore how seemingly different border communities shared much in common as they developed in the broader context of the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. A brief background history of the two border areas and families is followed by a more detailed look, beginning with a comparison of the conflicts that finalized the borderlines of each state, and ending with a description of the key factors involved in hybrid-culture formation on these borders. The family vignettes offer a window onto examples of how community members …

Oral History, Working Class Culture, And Local, Pauleena M. Macdougall

Publications

Stories of factory closings from many industries throughout the latter part of the twentieth century are common and numerous studies have documented the economic impact of these unfortunate events. In this case study of Brewer, Maine, oral histories with former workers at the primary source of local employment, Eastern Corporation, illuminate the nature of management-worker interactions at the mill. Eastern’s former employee narratives reveal a surprisingly unified perspective regarding the closing of the mill that does not reflect the public narrative put forward by management and business leaders.

Maine Library History, Melora Norman

Maine Policy Review

From the earliest small private and university libraries of the 1700s to today’s high-speed Internet-connected institutions, the history of Maine’s libraries mirrors the development of the state and provides a sense of the concerns people had for access to information and education. Melora Norman describes the development of various kinds of libraries in Maine and the opportunities and challenges they have faced over time. She notes that the 20th century was a time of increasing professionalization and standardization in Maine’s libraries. During the late 1990s through the present, libraries have been changing dramatically as they shift from a focus on …

Local History: A Gateway To 21st Century Communications, Stephen Bromage

Maine Policy Review

Stephen Bromage discusses the important role libraries are playing through collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and local historical societies in documenting local history and making it accessible online.

Equal Pay Day Bake Sale, Student Women's Association

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Promotional piece for the Student Women's Association Equal Pay Day Bake Sale fundraiser. Pricing of baked goods pointed to pay discrepancies between male and female American workers. Suggested donations for women, $.77 per item. Suggested donation for men, $1 per item.

Waterford Town Meeting Minutes 2013, Brenda J. Bigonski

Maine Town Documents

No abstract provided.

Whitefield News, Whitefield Newsletter Team, Dennis Merrill, Sue Mckeen, Tony Marple, Debbie Rogers, Suzanne Balbo, Jim Torbet

Maine Town Documents

File includes:

July 2013 Volume 1, Issue 1
August 2013 Volume 1, Issue 2
September 2013, Volume 1, Issue 3
October 2013, Volume 1, Issue 4
November 2013, Volume 1, Issue 5
December 2013, Volume 1, Issue 6