maine history

Published
November 20, 2024

Stories from Maine: America’s real first Thanksgiving was in Maine
Published
November 14, 2024

Repast is history: What Mainers ate on Thanksgiving through the decades

We pored over Maine's newspaper archives for a casual look at how Mainers from other times celebrated the holiday, and most especially what they were eating.
Published
November 4, 2024

Longfellow’s Haunted House tours continue to spook Portland

The popular seasonal tours of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House are based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Haunted Houses," and focus on those who lived and died in the Portland landmark.
Published
October 3, 2024

Stories from Maine: A Bath-built legacy
Published
September 28, 2024

When Lyndon B. Johnson came to Portland 60 years ago, a hundred thousand followed

Johnson's 1964 visit drew what may have been the largest crowd Portland has ever seen. Sixty years later, those in attendance still remember the group's energy.

Published
September 22, 2024

Plant-based food columnist explores Maine’s buried vegetarian history

Avery Yale Kamila talks about her co-curated exhibit, 'Maine's Untold Vegetarian History,' which opened this month at the Maine Historical Society Museum.
Published
September 12, 2024

‘Conscience’ tells the story of Margaret Chase Smith’s most famous speech

In the runup to a presidential election, Portland Stage is presenting the play, which is set in the time immediately before and after Smith's confrontation with powerful demagogue Joseph McCarthy.
Published
August 11, 2024

100 years ago, KKK stunned Lewiston with gunpowder and a huge, flaming cross

The Aug. 10, 1924, scene atop Mount David highlighted the growing power of the racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic group in Maine.
Published
August 4, 2024

The Longfellow Garden Club of Portland celebrates 100 years

Appalled at the sorry state of the garden, a Portland socialite organized the club in 1924. It has maintained the garden at the historic Wadsworth-Longfellow House ever since.
Published
July 25, 2024

A Window on the Past: The Higgins family farmers of Highland Avenue