On Sunday morning, April 9, 1865, brevetted Major General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain stood in command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division of the Fifth Corps, near the White Oak Road at Appomattox in Virginia. General Grant’s Army of the Potomac was chasing a nearly defeated General Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, and Chamberlain […]
history
Kennebunk’s Methodist Meetinghouse renovation aims to preserve history
Since the beginning of the renovation three years ago, contractor Nate Michaud has focused on keeping historical elements of the building intact.
Historian to tell the story of ‘The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere’ at Maine Maritime Museum
On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere set off on horseback toward Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, with the warning that the British were coming. Nearly 250 years later, a former director of the Concord Museum will tell the story of this ride and the beginning of the American Revolution at the Maine Maritime […]
‘Out of the kitchens and into the shipyards’
In late 1941, “the exigencies” of a global crisis allowed Maine women to escape a world of domestic servitude by stepping out of the kitchens and into the shipyards. Their historic efforts during World War II culminated in the defeat of fascist and imperial thugs, freed an imperiled world, and changed America forever. On Dec. […]
In a powerful new book, a hero of the Civil Rights era tells her story to children
Claudette Colvin co-wrote the book, about bus boycotts and a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, with Portland writer Phillip Hoose.
The devastating Brunswick Tontine Hotel fire of 1904
On Tuesday morning, Jan. 5, 1904, just after 3 a.m., Brunswick Police Officer J.E. Alexander fired shots into the air over downtown. It was “eight degrees below zero” and Brunswick’s grandest hotel was on fire. Just before 3 a.m., Hotel Night Clerk Alonzo Colby started a fire in “the kitchen range” to help thaw frozen […]
Amateur historian marks decade of uncovering the histories of Portland homes
Cape Elizabeth resident Darren McLellan has researched the history of over 200 buildings on his blog, “Portland House Stories.”
Vietnam War veterans share their stories at Bowdoinham festival
On the first night of the Bowdoinham Ice and Smelt Festival, Vietnam veterans shared stories of what it was like amid the fog of war and how it shaped their lives. Each story showed how the aftermath of Vietnam is still being felt by those who were there.
When Brunswick had its own amusement park
At the start of the 20th century, one Brunswick location grew to become an economic boon to our area and a destination for thousands of Mainers and tourists alike. Though it lasted just short of a decade, this behemoth-sized amusement park became legendary in our local history. On Sunday, July 17, 1898, electric trolleys with […]
Sabattus man is the new namesake of North Carolina’s Fort Bragg
World War II Pfc. Roland L. Bragg lived in Maine until his 1999 death and is remembered as a hero. He replaces the fort’s original namesake, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.