Hidden History of Maine

Hidden History of Maine
Author: Harry Gratwick
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 133
Release: 2012-08-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1614231346

Discover 400 years of New England history you won’t find in guidebooks in this collection of true stories and colorful characters from The Pine Tree State. Maine wouldn’t be the magical place it is today without the contributions of little-known individuals whose inspiring and adventuresome lives make up the story of Maine's "hidden history." Journalist and Maine historian Harry Gratwick presents vividly detailed portraits of these Mainers, from the controversial missionary Sebastien Rale to Woolwich native William Phips, whose seafaring attacks against French Canada earned him the first governorship of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Gratwick also profiles inventors such as Robert Benjamin Lewis, an African American from Gardiner who patented a hair growth product in the 1830s, and Margaret Knight, a York native who defied nineteenth-century sexism to earn the nickname "the female Edison." From soprano Lillian Nordica, who left Farmington to become the most glamorous American opera singer of her day, to slugger George "Piano Legs" Gore, the only Mainer to ever win a Major League Baseball batting championship, Hidden History of Maine reveals the men and women who made history without making it into history books.

How Maine Changed the World

How Maine Changed the World
Author: Nancy Griffin
Publisher: Down East Books
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2017-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1608936325

As Down East Books celebrates 50 years of great book publishing, it seems appropriate to reflect upon the contributions Maine has made that have had significant cultural and historical impacts on both the United States and the World. Did you know that the caterpillar tread, common on bulldozers and tanks, originated from the design of Lombard’s steam log hauler; or that the dry plate photographic process was created by the Stanley brothers, who also invented a speed-record setting steam powered car and whose sister, Chansonetta, was a well-known photographer in her own right? Maxim’s machine gun forever changed the practice of warfare. The humble peavey is a simple tool well-known to any forester or lumberjack. The ubiquitous lobster boat, the microwave oven, earmuffs, and Monopoly—all came from the minds of Mainers. This book is a celebration of Maine’s creative ingenuity—from the very large, such as Portland Head Light and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge to the very small, such as the toothpick and the Bean boot.

Down East: An Illustrated History of Maritime Maine (2)

Down East: An Illustrated History of Maritime Maine (2)
Author: Lincoln Paine
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers and Cadent Publishing
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2018-06-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 0884485668

From the first explorers, to the century of ships, to our modern fisheries and diversification, Maine's maritime story is told in engaging detail. Lincoln Paine has laid down the framework for an understanding of Maine's maritime history by relating the population and landscape of today to their historic foundations. This engaging overview of Maine’s maritime history ranges from early Native American travel and fishing to pre-Plymouth European settlements, wars, international trade, shipbuilding, boom-and-bust fisheries, immigrant quarrymen, quick-lime production, yachting, and modern port facilities, all unfolding against one of the most dramatic seascapes on the planet. Down East can be read in an evening but will be referred to again and again. When the first edition was published in 2000, Walter Cronkite—a veteran Maine coastal sailor as well as The Most Trusted Man in America—wrote that “Paine’s economy of phrase and clarity of purpose make this book a delight.” Paine went on to write his monumental opus The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (PW starred review), but now returns to his first and most abiding love, the coast of Maine, to revise and update this gem of a book. The new edition is printed in a large, full-color format with a stunning complement of historical photos, paintings, charts, and illustrations, making this a truly visual journey along a storied coast.

Liberty Men and Great Proprietors

Liberty Men and Great Proprietors
Author: Alan Taylor
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2014-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0807839973

This detailed exploration of the settlement of Maine beginning in the late eighteenth century illuminates the violent, widespread contests along the American frontier that served to define and complete the American Revolution. Taylor shows how Maine's militant settlers organized secret companies to defend their populist understanding of the Revolution.

A Dangerous New World

A Dangerous New World
Author: Meghan Sterling
Publisher:
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2019-11-15
Genre: Climatic changes
ISBN: 9780578598284

An anthology of poetry, essays, and visual art on the climate crisis by Maine writers and artists with a foreword by Governor Janet Mills.

Maine to Greenland

Maine to Greenland
Author: Wilfred E. Richard
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-08-05
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1588343774

Maine to Greenland is a testament to one of the world's great geographic regions: the Maritime Far Northeast. For more than three decades, William W. Fitzhugh and Wilfred E. Richard have explored the Northeast’s Atlantic corridor and its fascinating history, habitat, and culture. The authors’ powerful personal essays and Richard’s stunning photography transport readers to this vibrant region, joining Smithsonian archaeological expeditions and trekking in vast and amazing terrain. Following Fitzhugh and Richard’s travels north—from Maine to the Canadian Maritimes, Newfoundland and northern Quebec, then to Labrador, Baffin and Ellesmere islands, and Greenland—we view incredible landscapes, uncover human history, and meet luminous personalities along the way. Fully illustrated with 350 full-color photographs, Maine to Greenland is the first in-depth treatment of the Northeast Atlantic corridor and essential for armchair travelers, locals, tourists, or anyone who has journeyed there. Today green technology, climate change, and the opening of the Arctic Ocean have transformed the Maritime Far Northeast from an icy frontier into a global resource zone and an increasingly integrated international crossroads. In our rapidly converging world, we have much to learn from the Maritime Far Northeast and how its variety of cultures have adapted to rather than changed their environments during the past ten thousand years. Maine to Greenland is not only a complete account of the region’s unique culture and environment, but also a timely reminder that amidst the very real consequences of climate change, the inhabitants of the Maritime Far Northeast can show us grounded and sustainable ways of living.

Downeast Genius

Downeast Genius
Author: Earl Smith
Publisher: Islandport Press
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9781952143274

In this breezy history, Earl Smith highlights the stories of more than 50 Maine inventors and their inventions--from earmuffs to chewing gum to machine guns--showcasing the impact they had on the world and the way we live today.

Logging and Lumbering in Maine

Logging and Lumbering in Maine
Author: Donald A. Wilson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738505213

Known as the Pine Tree State, Maine once led the world in lumber production. It was the first great lumber-producing region, with Bangor at its center. Today, the state has nearly eighteen million acres of timberland, and forest products still make up a major industry. Logging and Lumbering in Maine examines the history from its earliest roots in 1630 to the present, providing a pictorial record of land use and activity in Maine. The state's lumber industry went through several historical periods, beginning with the vast pine and spruce harvests, the organization of major corporate interests, the change from sawlogs to pulpwood, and then to sustained yields, intensive management, and mechanized harvesting. At the beginning, much of the region was inaccessible except by water, so harvesting activities were concentrated on the coast and along the principal rivers. Gradually, as the railroads expanded and roads were constructed into the woods, operations expanded with them and the river systems became vitally important for the transportation of timber out of the woods to the markets downstate. Logging and Lumbering in Maine traces these developments in the industry, taking a close look at the people, places, forests, and machines that made them possible.

Maine's Remarkable Women

Maine's Remarkable Women
Author: Kate Kennedy
Publisher: Remarkable American Women
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Maine
ISBN: 9781493023226

Maine's Remarkable Women tells the stories of fifteen strong and determined women who broke through social, cultural, or political barriers. Through their passions for art, exploration, literature, politics, music, and nature, these women made contributions to society that still resonate today. Meet Marguerite "Tante Blanche" Thibodeau Cyr, "The Mother of Madawaska," whose bravery and kindness during one brutal winter saved her frontier settlement; botanist-artist Kate Furbish, who explored Maine's wilderness, collecting, classifying, and painting all of its flowering plants; and Florence Nicolar Shay, a Native-American basketmaker who demanded and succeeded in gaining rights for her tribe, the Penobscots. Each of these women demonstrated courage, compassion, and an independence of spirit that is as inspiring now as it was then. Read about their extraordinary lives in this collection of brief and absorbing biographies.