"Thursday last witnessed the birth of a new State and ushered MAINE into the Union," announced an article in Portland's Eastern Argus on March 21, 1820. "The day was noticed, as far as we have heard from the various towns by every demonstration of joy and heart-felt congratulation, becoming the occasion ... May the day, which has so auspiciously commenced our political existence as a State, long be remembered with complacent feelings, and every annual return bring with it, by the many blessings it may produce, additional inducement for its celebration."
As Maine's Bicentennial events unfold, institutions, scholars, students and residents are once again looking to examine the events that culminated in Maine’s statehood. To support these efforts, we have gathered from our collections items that we hope will be of particular relevance and will provide a variety of perspectives on sensitive topics related to political, economic, social, business, and ethical issues related to boundaries and land use that remain pressing in discussions in the state today.
In an effort to make these primary texts as accessible as possible, in addition to PDF format, we have made selected publications available in ePUB format. We hope this allows readers to optimize their research experience using personal reader technology. Please feel free to provide feedback regarding the availability of these ePUB documents.
We were particularly pleased that these items could be available in advance of the Maine Statehood and Bicentennial Conference held in Orono May 30-June 1, 2019. Visit their conference space for full event content, including videos of all the sessions.
For more information about this digital collection and other items available in the Special Collections Department of Fogler Library, contact us at 207.581.1686 or um.library.spc @ maine.edu.
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Report of the Committee Appointed to Procure a Survey for the Route of the Contemplated Cumberland & Oxford Canal to which is added the Report of the Engineer, Containing an Estimate of the Expence of Making the Canal
Cumberland & Oxford Canal Operation, Woodbury Storer, John Perly, Phinehas Varnum, and Eli Longley
The Committee chosen for the purpose of procuring a Survey to be made, of the Route of the contemplated Cumberland and Oxford Canal, and of causing an estimate of the probable amount necessary for carrying the design into full effect, have performed the services assigned them, and now present the annexed Report and Estimate of the Engineer, which will in part, exhibit the result of their labours.
The Estimate of actual expense is $130,804,89 ; to which is added 5 pr. cent, or $6,540,24, lest in any event that sum should prove insufficient for the completion of the work. Although this sum falls far short of what was anticipated by many, still if the nature of the land through which the route is pursued, the facility with which the excavations can generally be made, and the kind and cheapness of the materials required doubt can possibly exist that the sum is amply sufficient. That there are some individuals in the community who may be led to doubt its truth, is obvious ; but the Committee do not deem it their duty to spend time or paper in argument to convince the sceptical [sic], for a slight knowledge of facts will show the feasibility of execution within the limits of the sum assigned. --from the report, p. 3-4.
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A Short Address, Delivered before the Sufferers by the Late Fire in Wiscasset and Alna, at their meeting January 18, 1824, to Express their Gratitude for Donations made for their relief, to which are Added Several Exhortations, and the Lord's Prayer, Paraphrased
Hezekiah Packard
According to the Portland Gazette, Sept. 16, 1823, over 26 square miles of land encompassing the communities of Wiscasset and Alna, Maine were scorched by a firestorm the afternoon of Sept. 4, 1823, resulting in over $250,672 in damages (approximately $5.8 million in 2018 USD). In addition to two deaths, the region lost 32 homes, 37 barns, 437 head of stock, 3 school houses, a tannery, a gristmill and a sawmill. Over 277 inhabitants were impacted between the two towns. Local authorizes estimated the value of lost property at $50,672 and the value of lost timber and crops at $200,000.
Within hours of the fire, Rev. Hezekiah Packard of Wiscasset, began penning missives to his associates throughout New England, seeking contributions to support fire victims. Articles about the fire and soliciting support appeared in newspapers in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Rev. Packard spoke at a meeting of fire survivors on January 18, 1824, encouraging residents to rebuild and move forward. The text of Packard's sermon includes his eye-witness, albeit melodramatic, account of the fire. By April 1824, Rev. Packard announced that $21,505.64 in donations was received for distribution to fire victims.
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[Map of] Maine
Fielding Lucas
Hand-tinted, 1824 map of Maine by Fielding Lucas of Baltimore. Map depicts nine Maine counties. Names of bodies of water in the region identified in 2018 as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, are labeled with English interpretations of Algonquin place names. Map provides a scale of miles per inch and a compass rosette indicating north. No scale given. Map size: 30 x 25 cm
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A Proclamation for a Day of Public Humiliation and Prayer
Albion K. Parris and Amos Nichols
A Proclamation for a day of Public Humiliation and Prayer issued by Albion K. Parris, Governor of the State of Maine.
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Medical Deception and Imposition Upon the Public : Discovered, Detected and Exposed, Designed for the Use of all to Whom it May Come or Concern
Joseph Fernald
Dissertation by Joseph Fernald of Portland, Maine, debunking a patent medicine being peddled by “a certain medical man by the name of Druerd, alias Werd,” as “Allum-water” (potassium aluminum sulfate). Potassium alum, an astringent, may be used in pickling, leather tanning, and water purification. In the late 20th Century, large crystals of Alum were marketed as “deodorant rocks.”
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Concert of Sacred Music
Bangor Mozart Society, Samuel Chapple, John Beaumont, George Frideric Handel, John Whitaker, Frederick Granger, and James Kent
Lyrics sheet for a concert of sacred music performed by the Bangor Mozart Society on April 19, 1825.
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Mr. Daveis' Address, on the Commemoration at Fryeburg
Charles Samuel Daveis
In 1721, representatives of the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Abenaki people approached English officials in Massachusetts to insist that European settlers encroaching on native lands, withdraw. The English insisted that France ceded to them all land east of the Kennebec as far as the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Ultimately, Governor Samuel Shute declared war against the Wabanaki Confederacy on July 25, 1722.
The war became known as Dummer's War after the Massachusetts' Lt. Governor who lead the English war effort. Though the Wabanaki Confederacy managed to inflict significant losses on European settlers, English soldiers retaliated, launching a particularly vicious attack against Norridgewock during the summer of 1724, slaughtering every Native woman, child, and elder in the village.
The final battle of the war, known as the Battle of Pequawket or Lovewell's Fight, occurred on May 9, 1725 on the site that became Fryeburg, Maine.
Charles Stewart Daveis (1788-1865) studies law at Bowdoin College and later practiced admiralty law in Portland. He became a member of the Maine Senate in 1841.
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Documents Relating to the Boundary Line Between Maine and New Brunswick
George W. Coffin, Henry Clay, Levi Lincoln, and Massachusetts Legislature
In 1825, the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in concurrence with the Legislature of the State of Maine, requested that George W. Coffin, the Land Agent for the State of Maine, "...take effectual measures to ascertain the extent of the depredations committed on the lands belonging to this Commonwealth and the State of Maine, by whom the same have been committed, and under what authority, if any, such depredations have been made, and all other facts necessary to bring the offenders to justice, also to make and execute good and sufficient deeds, conveying to the settlers on the undivided public lands on the St. Johns and Madawaska Rivers, in actual possession as aforesaid, their heirs or assigns, 100 acres each, of the land by them possessed, to include their improvements on their respective lots, they paying to the said agents for the use of this Commonwealth, five dollars each, and the expense of surveying the same. And also to sell the timber on such of the undivided public lands, as lie contiguous to and near to the waters of the River St. Johns, in all cases where such sale will, in the opinion of the Land Agent, promote the interest of this Commonwealth." The survey was not without controversy. This pamphlet contains documents pertaining to the survey.
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Remarks on the Two Last Reports of the Land Agent, Together with some Particulars of his Conduct while in Office; Addressed to the Governor, Council, and Legislature of the State of Maine, Now in Session at Portland
Author Unknown
The report accuses General James Irish, a prominent citizen of Gorham, Maine, who served as a land agent, of malfeasance and includes an audit of Irish's accounting in Appendix A, "Amount Paid for Maine and Massachusetts by James Irish, Land Agent."
Irish served as a Senator in the General Court of Massachusetts in 1819 and was Gorham's delegate to the Convention to form the Maine Constitution in 1820. He also served as Gorham's first representative in the Maine State Legislature.
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A Reply to the " 'Vindication' of the Land Agent," &c.
Author Unknown
By the same author as Remarks on the Two Last Reports of the Land Agent, Together with some Particulars of his Conduct while in Office; Addressed to the Governor, Council, and Legislature of the State of Maine, Now in Session at Portland, this pamphlet compiles remarks made by Land Agent, General James Irish and others in the wake of the first pamphlet's publication.
Irish served as a Senator in the General Court of Massachusetts in 1819 and was Gorham's delegate to the Convention to form the Maine Constitution in 1820. He also served as Gorham's first representative in the Maine State Legislature.
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Map Exhibiting the Principal Original Grants & Sales of Lands in the State of Maine
Moses Greenleaf
Map exhibiting the principal original grants & sales of lands in the State of Maine by Moses Greenleaf. Engraved by W. Chapin, N.Y. for Greenleaf's survey of Maine. From Atlas accompanying Greenleaf's map and statistical survey of Maine. Plate V. Shows landowners and acreages.
Hand-colored map of Maine following statehood. Map Size: 78 x 58 cm Scale: 1:570,240. Map estimates, "the quantity of undivided land north of the Monument line" is 6,305,000 acres. Map is in fragile condition showing tears and separations along creases and folds.
The key to roman numeral references and explanations of properties deliniated on the map includes:
I Grants by the Crown and Lords Prioprietors prior to the year 1692.
II Lands derived principally from Indian deeds considered as valid.
III Crown and proprietors grants and Indian deeds intermixed.
IV Grants by the Province of Massachusetts from Charter of 1692 to the close of revolution.
V Conditional grants by the Province, chiefly confirmed since the revolution.
VI Claims under Indian deeds and other titles new compromised
L Townships partly or wholly sold by Lottery in the year 1878.
B Townships sold to William Bingham, excepting lands previously sold by Lottery.
M Lands assigned to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since the separation.Townships and Tracts with no mark except their distinguishing number are lands assigned to the State of Maine since the separation.
The upper figures in each township are their respective distinguishing numbers: The lower figures are the number of acres sold in each, excepting the Lottery townships, in which the figures show only the number of acres sold by Lottery. The figures in the tracts marked with Roman numerlas show the number of acres in each tract respectively, as far as can be assertained from the inventories of towns returned to the Legislature in 1820.
Townships and large tracts sold & granted since the year 1783 are distinguished by the names of the principal original Grantees, under the number or designation of the township, or name of the town or plantation.
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Map of the Inhabited Part of the State of Maine : Exhibiting the Progress of its Settlement since the Year 1778, the Representative Districts since the Year 1820, and the Population and Valuation of Taxable Property in Each District at the Year 1820
Moses Greenleaf
Map of the inhabited part of the state of Maine : exhibiting the progress of its settlement since the year 1778, the Representative Districts since the year 1820, and the population and valuation of taxable property in each district at the year 1820 by Moses Greenleaf. Engraved by William Chapin, N.Y., for Greenleaf's survey of Maine 1828. Published by Shirley & Hyde, Portland, 1829. From Atlas accompanying Greenleaf's map and statistical survey of Maine "Plate VI." Also shows center of taxable property and population for 1778, 1790 and 1820 with geographical center of state, etc.
Hand-colored map of Maine following statehood. Map Size: 48 x 57 cm Scale: 1:560,000. Map includes a scale of miles. Map is in fragile condition showing tears and separations along creases and folds. Sheet includes text notations for population and value of taxable property not represented within the map.
Map sections are designated by color and line patterns. The key to line patterns includes the following information:
The irregular curved line [illustrated example of a line of open circles and dashes] beginning at Freyburgh and terminating at Machias, describes the Northern limits of the settlements at the commencement of the revolution, except a few detached settlements higher up the Kennebeck and Androscoggin.
The line [illustrated example of crosses and solid dots] beginning at Gilead and terminating in No. 7 above Baring, describes the Northern limit of the settlements in the year 1800.
The line [illustrated example of connected crosses and dashes] beginning above Andover and terminating above No. 7, on the Schoodiac describes the Northern limit of the settlements in the year 1820, except the few at Houlton and New Limerick, and the settlement at Madawaska.
The strait [sic] and rectangular lines [illustration of dotted, lightening-shaped line] Northward of the settlements, describe the Northern limit of all the lands taxed for the support of Government, except the plantation of Houlton.
The strait [sic] lines [illustration of a solid, straight line] including one or more towns, are the limits of the respective Representative Districts, except where towns not adjoining each other are united to form a District.
The figures in each District exhibit the population and valuation of that District in the year 1820; — the upper figures being the number of inhabitants and the lower figures the value, in Dollars, of the total real and personal estates subject by law to taxation.
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The Trial of a Lady on the Suspicion of Theft, who was Confined Thirty-three Days in the Suffolk Jail
J. R. Caldwell
An 1829 account of "an amiable, educated and virtuous girl" arrested for allegedly shoplifting a pair of kid gloves and jailed for 33 days before being brought before a judge for prosecution.
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Report of the Committee of Elections, in the case of Joseph C. Small, Claiming to Hold a Seat in the House of Representatives as a Member from the District Composed of the Towns of Unity, Burnham & Troy
10th Legislature of Maine
A report the Committee of this House on Contested Elections, to whom was referred the remonstrance of Phineas S. Bennet, of the town of Troy, against the election of Joseph C. Small, and against the right of said Small to a seat in this House, as the Representative from the representative district composed of the towns of Unity, Troy, and Burnham, and claiming to himself the rights of a Representative of said District, founded on a prior election.
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Report of the Committee of Elections, and Statement of the Minority of the Said Committee, in the Case of Andrew Roberts, Claiming to Hold a Seat in the House of Representatives as a Member from the Town of Waterborough
10th Legislature of Maine
A report by the Committee of this House on Contested Elections, to whom has been referred by order of the House, the Memorial of Andrew Robert’s, claiming his right to sit and vote as a member of this House, and that he has been duly elected by the town of Waterborough to represent the same in this House the present year, and to whom has likewise been referred the remonstrance of William Thing and twenty eight others, legal voters of said town of Waterborough against the election of said Roberts as a Representative of said town.
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Militia Commission of Isaiah K. Safford as Lieutenant
Jonathan G. Hunton, Isaiah K. Safford, and Edward Russell
Commission of Isaiah K. Safford of Dexter, as a Lieutenant of a Company of Infantry in the Third Regiment, in the First Brigade and Third Division of the Militia of the State of Maine, by Governor Jonathon G. Hunton., September 8, 1830.
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Maine Patriot & State Gazette...Extra. Doctor Rose's Vindication
Daniel Rose
The broadsheet publication includes text of Dr. Daniel Rose's defense in response to charges of misappropriated funds in the process of constructing the Maine State Prison at Thomaston.
In February 1822, Dr. Daniel Rose, John Chandler, and William Pitt Preble were appointed by the Maine State Legislature to begin researching the construction of the new state prison. In February 1823, Dr. Rose was appointed the agent to oversee construction of the prison.
Among controversies discussed in the newspaper extra, was purchase of the 10 acre tract of land on which the prison was built from former Governor William King for a sum of $3000.
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Falmouth Neck as it was when destroyed by Mowett, Oct. 18, 1775
William Willis
Black and white by William Willis in 1831, depicting Falmouth Neck (present day Portland) as it appeared prior to the October 18, 1775 bombardment by the British Navy under the command of Captain Henry Mowat (1734-1798). Willis includes the caption: "All the buildings within the Dotted line were destroyed except a few within the perfect line." British ships depicted in the etching include the 16-gun HMS Canceau[sic], the 20-gun Cat, the bomb sloop HMS Spitfire, and the HMS Symmetry labeled "store vessel." The unlabeled ship may be the 12-gun schooner HMS Halifax. Mowat was under orders from Vice-Admiral Samuel Graves to "lay waste burn and destroy such Sea Port towns as are accessible to His Majesty's ships..." Map provides a scale of rods and a compass arrow indicating north. Scale: 1:1,238 Map size: 41 x 60 cm. Map is stable but fragile and shows evidence of foxing and repairs from previous tears.
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A New Map of Maine by H.S. Tanner
Henry Schenck Tanner
Hand-colored map of Maine by H. S. Tanner from Tanner's Universal Atlas, p. 5. Caption includes "Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1833 by H. S. Tanner in the Clerks Office of the Eastern District Pennsylvania." Scale: 1:3,168,000. Map size: 36 x 28 cm. Scale of miles appears at the bottom of the page. Map includes an accounting of county populations in the years of 1820 and 1830. Map includes a key for roads.
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Plan of Lewyes Island
John Gardner
A pen and ink on vellum lot plan of Lewyes Island in Princeton township. Projections are on a scale of sixteen rods to an inch (or 1:3168), encompassing two Putnam Rolfe and two Adonijah Munson lots.