In earlier times, especially prior to the opening of the Million Dollar Bridge in 1916, South Portland was very much an agricultural community. Dairy farms and market gardens (gardens and greenhouses used to grow produce for wholesale and retail sales) dotted the landscape across the city. One longtime farmer in Thornton Heights was John H. […]
local history
Posted inLife & Culture, Local & State, News
‘Antiques Roadshow’ to make first stop in Maine for 30th tour
For years, the roadshow was filmed inside convention centers across the country, making it difficult to find a suitable location in Maine.
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Posted inLocal & State, Times Record
‘A River of Blood’: The violent history behind Kennebec River settlement
Gerard Gawalt shares how, although uncomfortable, facing decades of conflict between Abenaki and white settlers along the Kennebec River can help us better deepen our connection to people and place.
Posted inTimes Record
Bath’s Town History Series returns to revisit local lore
Patten Free Library is reviving local history exploring connections with Midcoast towns during the 21st annual Town History Series.
Posted inSouth Portland Sentry
A Window on the Past: Lecture next Thursday – Defending Casco Bay during WWII
South Portland Historical Society will hold its next lecture on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the South Portland Community Center, 21 Nelson Road. Matthew Christoforo, society board member and historian, will present “Defending Casco Bay during WWII.” The event is free for current members of the society; non-members may attend for $20. Christoforo’s […]
Posted inSouth Portland Sentry
A Window on the Past: William ‘Clarkie’ Clark III, another daring submarine diver
If you’ve been to DiMillo’s Restaurant on the Portland waterfront, you may have noticed the antique diving suit on display in the front lobby. Let’s take a look at the submarine diver who owned that suit, Bill Clark. Born in South Portland in 1927, William Augustus Clark III became more familiarly known to his friends, […]
Posted inSouth Portland Sentry
A Window on the Past: The life of a submarine diver – Robert E. Chase
When we look back at Portland Harbor news in the early 1900s, there are a few local divers who stand out. The term “submarine diver” was what they called themselves back then, using the term sub-marine to mean “under water.” These divers were not like the scuba divers that we think of today. Divers in […]
Posted inLakes Region Weekly
It Happened in Windham: Old-time Christmas memories of a Windham old-timer
One of the most popular features on the Windham Maine Historical Society’s Facebook page is the daily account from the diary of Depression-era housewife Alice Gilman. In 1938, Alice and her family lived in the Newhall section of town off of River Road. If you follow the daily entries, you know that she has a […]
Posted inSouth Portland Sentry
A Window on the Past: Irving Anderson and his family of School Street in Ferry Village
At South Portland Historical Society, we recently received donations of several items related to Capt. Irving Anderson and his family. Among the items are Irving’s telescope and his gorgeous Bacon Professional FF five-string banjo. Let’s take a look at this interesting Ferry Village man and his family. Irving’s parents, August P. Anderson and his wife […]
Posted inSouth Portland Sentry
A Window on the Past: The electrical building in Mill Creek and early fire alarm systems, part 2
We pick up where we left off last week in our story about the Depression-era jobs program and the resulting Electrical Building in Mill Creek. During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a program known as the Civil Works Administration. This short-lived, job-creation program began on Nov. 9, 1933, and South Portland was […]