Sept. 2, 1816: In a second referendum on Maine’s proposed separation from Massachusetts to become a new state, the pro-separation side wins again, with 54 percent of the vote. While the margin of victory is smaller than the 62 percent win on May 20, the rate of voter participation is much greater, giving the result […]

Sept. 1, 1814: A British force occupies Castine during the War of 1812. The town becomes part of the short-lived second incarnation of the British crown colony of New Ireland. When the British leave the following April, they take with them 10,750 pounds collected as tariff duties during their occupation. That money is used to […]

Aug. 29, 1786: Protesters in Northampton, Massachusetts, angry about tax collections and property confiscations by the government, prevent the court there from holding a session. The protest grows into what becomes known as Shays’ Rebellion, named for Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War veteran who participated in it. That and other protest actions severely dampen enthusiasm […]

Aug. 28, 2006: The Chewonki Foundation, a Wiscasset organization, unveils what it bills as the first hydrogen fuel cell of its kind in Maine. The new system is installed to provide backup power and heat in the foundation’s education center building. It took three years for the foundation to complete the $250,000 project in cooperation […]

Aug. 26, 2005: Workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery breathe a collective sigh of relief when they learn that a federal base-closing commission has left the shipyard off a list of military installations scheduled for closure. Gov. John Baldacci and members of the Maine congressional delegation attend a celebratory rally in front of […]

Aug. 25, 1894: Renowned poet and author Celia Thaxter (1835-1894) dies on Maine’s Appledore Island, in the Isles of Shoals, the inspiration for many of her poems. She is 59. Although she was born on the mainland – in Portsmouth, New Hampshire – and spent many years away, she is associated most closely with the […]

Aug. 24, 1857: Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), a prolific painter who was born in Lovell and raised in Augusta and Fryeburg, begins a two-month visit to Grand Portage, Minnesota Territory, where he creates a series of portraits “that for several reasons have come to be regarded as perhaps the most sensitive midcentury likenesses of Native Americans.” […]