Maine.
The extreme eastern point of the
United States is
West Quoddy Head, which is also the eastern extremity of the
State of Maine.
Maine is the largest of the
Eastern States, and, including islands, it has a south shore-line of 2,400 miles on the
Atlantic.
It is limited in latitude by 43° 4′ and 47° 31′ N., and in longitude by 66° and 71° W. Its extreme breadth is 210 miles, narrowing in the north to about half that distance.
New Brunswick and the
St. Croix River form the eastern and northern boundary; the
Canadian province of
Quebec lies to the northwest, and
New Hampshire to the west below lat. 45° 20′. Area, 33,040 square miles in sixteen counties.
Population, 1890, 661,086; 1900, 694,466.
Capital,
Augusta, since 1832.
First Englishman known to have conducted an expedition to the shores of
Maine, then “
Norumbega,” was
John Walker, in the service of
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who reached the
Penobscot River......1580
Speedwell and
Discoverer, from
Bristol, England, commanded by
Martin Pring, enter
Penobscot Bay and the mouth of a river, probably the
Saco......June 7, 1603
Henry IV.
of
France grants to
Pierre de Gast Sieur de Monts all the territory between lat. 40° and 46° N., and appoints him governor of the country, which is called
Acadia......Nov. 8, 1603
De Monts, accompanied by
M. de Poutrincourt, and
Samuel Champlain, visits his patent, and discovers
Passamaquoddy Bay and the
Schoodic or
St. Croix River......May, 1604
Later in the season
De Monts erects a fort on
St. Croix Island, and spends the winter there......1604
De Monts enters
Penobscot Bay, erects a cross at
Kennebec, and takes possession in the name of the
King.
He also visits
Casco Bay,
Saco River, and
Cape Cod......May, 1605
George Weymouth, sent out by the
Earl of
Southampton, anchors at
Monhegan Island, May 17, 1605;
St. George's Island, May 19, and
Penobscot Bay, June 12.
After pleasant intercourse with natives, he seizes and carries away five of them......1605
Colonies of
Virginia and
Plymouth incorporated with a grant of land between 34° and 45°, including all islands within 100 miles of the coast, the permission given the
Plymouth colony to begin a plantation anywhere above lat. 38°......April 10, 1606
Lord John Popham,
chief-justice of
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England, and
Sir Ferdinando Gorges, fit out two ships and 100 emigrants, under
George Popham and
Raleigh Gilbert, which land at
Stage Island......Aug. 11, 1607
Finding Stage Island too small, they establish a colony and “
Popham's Fort” on the west bank of the Sagadahoc River......1607
Discouraged by the death of
George Popham, and the burning of their storehouse, they return to
England in the spring of......1608
Two
French Jesuits,
Biard and Masse, with several families, settle on
Mount Desert Island......1609
Twenty-five French colonists land on
Mount Desert Island and found a settlement called St. Saviour......March, 1613
[They were soon expelled by the
English from
Virginia under
Captain Argal as trespassers on English territory.]
Capt. John Smith arrives at
Monhegan from
England.
Building seven boats, he explores the coast from
Penobscot to
Cape Cod, and makes a map of it, to which Prince Charles assigned the name of
New England......April, 1614
War, famine, and pestilence depopulate the
Indian territories in
Maine during the years......1615-18
Plymouth Company receives a new patent to lands between 40° and 48°, and in length “by the same breadth throughout the mainland from sea to sea” ......Nov. 3, 1620
Gorges and
Capt. John Mason procure of the Plymouth council a patent of all the country between the
Merrimac and
Sagadahoc, from the
Atlantic to the rivers
Canada and
Iroquois, which they called “The province of
Laconia” ......Aug. 10, 1622
Permanent settlement made at
Monhegan......1622
Permanent settlement at
Saco......1623
Gorges procures a patent from Plymouth council to 24,000 acres on each side of the
Agamenticus (
York) River, and plants a colony......1624
New Plymouth colony erects a tradinghouse at
Penobscot; the first English establishment of the kind in these waters......1626
Abraham Shurte commissioned by
Giles Elbridge and
Robert Aldsworth to purchase
Monhegan Island; buys it for £ 50. It is added to the
Pemaquid plantation, over which Shurte acted as agent and chief magistrate for thirty years......1626
Eight patents granted by Plymouth council, covering the seaboard from the
Piscataqua to the
Penobscot, except the “territory of Sagadahoc” below the Damariscotta.
Among these were the “
Kennebec,” “Lygonia,” or plough patent, with settlement on
Casco Bay, the “
Waldo patent,” and “
Pemaquid” ......1630-31
A French vessel visits the New Plymouth trading-house at
Penobscot, and carries off booty valued at £ 500, and within three years the
English abandon it to the
French......June, 1632
Crew of sixteen Indian traders, under
Dixy Bull, turn pirates, attack the fort at
Pemaquid, and menace the coast until the next summer, when they are beaten off......1632
Trading-house established by the
English at
Machias, which next year was seized by Claude de la Tour, the
French commander at
Port Royal......1633
Plymouth council surrender their charter, and
Sir Ferdinando Gorges appointed governor-general over the whole of
New England......April 25, 1635
M. d'aulney de Charnisy, from the Acadian country, takes possession of the trading-house at
Biguyduce (
Penobscot) for
France......1635
Gorges, empowered by the Plymouth council, April 22, 1635, sends over his son William as governor of the territory between
Piscataqua and Sagadahoc, called New Somerstshire, who organizes the first government and opens the first court within the present
State of Maine......March 28, 1636
Gorges obtains from Charles I. a provincial charter to land between
Piscataqua and Sagadahoc and
Kennebec rivers, extending 120 miles north and south, which was incorporated and named “The province and county of
Maine” ......April 3, 1639
Thomas Purchase, first settler at
Pejepscot, on the
Androscoggin, assigns to
Governor Winthrop, of
Massachusetts, “all the tract of
Pejepscot, on both sides of the river, 4 miles square towards the sea” ......Aug. 22, 1639
Thomas Gorges appointed deputy-governor of the province of
Maine......March 10, 1640
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First general court under the charter opened at
Saco......June 25, 1640
Gorges founds in
Agamenticus a city of 21 square miles, which he calls Gorgeana......March 1, 1642
Alexander Rigby purchases the abandoned “Plough patent, or Lybonia,” and commissions
George Cleaves deputy president, who opens a court at
Saco styled “The General Assembly of the province of Lygonia,” which extended from
Cape Porpoise to
Casco......April, 1643
Richard Vines elected deputy-governor of the province of
Maine......1644
Commissioners appointed for the purpose decide that the province of Lygonia does not belong to the province of
Maine, as the latter contended, and the
Kennebec River is assigned as the boundary between the two provinces......March, 1646
Court of province of
Maine convenes at
Wells, at mouth of the
Kennebec River, and
Edward Godfrey elected governor of the province......1646
Massachusetts, in 1651, laying claim by her charter to all lands south of a line drawn eastward from a point 3 miles north of the source of the river
Merrimac, found this point by survey to lie in lat. 43° 43′ 12″, with its eastern point on Upper Clapboard Island, in
Casco Bay, and confirms it by assumption of jurisdiction......Oct. 23, 1652
Isle of Shoals, and all territory north of
Piscataqua belonging to
Massachusetts, erected into county of Yorkshire......1652
Kittery, incorporated in 1647, and
Agamenticus made into the town of
York......1652
General court of elections at
Boston admits for the first time two representatives from
Maine:
John Wincoln, of
Kittery, and
Edward Rishworth, of
York......May, 1653
Wells,
Saco, and
Cape Porpoise declared towns......1653
English, under
Major Sedgwick subdue
Penobscot and
Port Royal, 1654, and the whole Acadian province is confirmed to the
English, who hold it for thirteen years......1655
Towns of
Scarborough and
Falmouth erected (see 1786)......1658
Quakers hold their first meeting in
Maine, at Newichawannock, or
Piscataqua......December, 1662
Ferdinando Gorges, grandson of the original proprietor, obtains from the
King an order to the governor and council of
Massachusetts to restore his province in
Maine......Jan. 11, 1664
A part of the grant of the
King of
England to the
Duke of
York includes the territory between the
St. Croix and
Pemaquid and northward, variously called the “
Sagadahoc Territory,” “
New Castle,” and the “
County of Cornwall” ......March 12, 1664
King's commissioners establish a form of provisional government in the province of
Maine......June 23, 1665
By the treaty of Breda the
English surrender
Nova Scotia to
France, which also claims the province east of the
Penobscot......July 31, 1667
Four commissioners from
Massachusetts hold a convention in
York, commanding the people of the province of
Maine in his Majesty's name to yield again all obedience to the colony, doing this at the request of prominent citizens in the province......July, 1668
New survey of the
Massachusetts boundary to the north having been made by
George Mountjoy, and the line fixed at lat. 43° 49′ 12″, its eastern terminus on White Head Island in
Penobscot Bay,
Massachusetts appoints four commissioners, who open a court at
Pemaquid and proceed to organize the additional territory......May, 1674
Duke of
York takes a new patent from the
King, and commissions
Sir Edmund Andros governor of both New York and Sagadahoc......June 22, 1674
Indian depredations and massacres in King Philip's War begin, Sept. 12; attack
Saco, Sept. 18, and burn
Scarborough......Sept. 20, 1675
King by council confirms the decision of a commission which had been appointed and reported that “the right of soil in
New Hampshire and
Maine probably belonged not to
Massachusetts colony, but to the terre-tenants” ......1676
For the second time (the first in 1674) the
Dutch capture the
French fortification at
Penobscot, but are soon driven out by the
English......1676
Indians attack
Casco, burn Arrowsick and
Pemaquid, and attack Jewel's Island......August-September, 1676
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Indians destroy the settlement at Cape Neddock; forty persons slain or captured......Sept. 25, 1676
One hundred and twenty Indians capture the fort and part of its garrison at
Black Point......Aug. 14, 1676
Massachusetts employs
John Usher, a Boston trader then in
England, to negotiate the purchase of the province of
Maine, who concluded a bargain, took an assignment, and gave Georges £ 1,250; original indenture bears date......May 6, 1676
Indian hostilities continue throughout 1677; affair at
Mare Point, Feb. 18;
Pemaquid, Feb. 26.
Indians attack
Wells several times; again attack
Black Point, May 16-18, and ambush a party of ninety men near that point, killing sixty......June 29, 1677
Sir Edmund Andros, fearing French aggression in the
Duke's Sagadahoc province, sends a force from New York to
Pemaquid to establish a fort and custom-house......June, 1677
Peace made with the Indians upon the
Androscoggin and
Kennebec, at
Casco, by a commission from the government of
Massachusetts......April 12, 1678
Thomas Danforth chosen president of
Maine by the governor and board of colony assistants of
Massachusetts......1680
Baptists make their first appearance in
Maine in 1681;
William Screven, their leader, organizes a church, but the members are obliged to remove to
South Carolina to avoid persecution......1683
Charter of
Massachusetts colony adjudged forfeited, and liberties of the colonies seized by the crown;
Colonel Kirke appointed governor of
Massachusetts,
Plymouth, New Hampshire, and
Maine; Charles II.
dying before
Kirke could embark, James II.
did not reappoint him......June 18, 1684
Charter being vacated, various purchases were made from the Indians; the most important, known as the “
Pejepscot purchase,” was made by
Richard Wharton, and covered lands “lying between
Cape Small-point and Maquoit, thence northward on the west side of the
Androscoggin, 4 miles in width to the ‘Upper falls,’ and 5 miles on the other side of the river down to Merry-meeting bay” ......July 7, 1684
Treaty made by
Maine and
New Hampshire with four tribes of
Indians......Sept. 8, 1685
Joseph Dudley, a native of
Massachusetts, graduate of Harvard in 1665, made by James II.
president of
Maine......May, 1686
Sir Edmund Andros arrives at
Boston to supersede
Dudley as president of the colonies......Dec. 20, 1686
Andros commissioned captain-general and vice-admiral over the whole of
New England, New York, and the Jerseys......March, 1688
Andros seizes upon
Penobscot, and sacks house and fort of
Baron de St. Castin, aiding to precipitate an Indian war......April, 1688
First outbreak of King William's War at the new settlement of
North Yarmouth on Royals River.
Indians surprise and break up the settlement, Aug. 13.
They attack and burn New Dartmouth (
New Castle), and destroy the fort and break up the settlement on the
Sheepscot River......Sept. 5-6, 1688
Governor Andros using unwise measures in opposing
Indians, arouses the people, who restore
Danforth to the office of provincial president, appoint a council for the safety of the people, and resume the government according to charter rights......April 18, 1689
Garrison at
Pemaquid attacked by Indians and forced to surrender......Aug. 2, 1689
Maj. Benjamin Church, with 600 men raised by
Massachusetts, proceeds to the
Kennebec, and, ranging along the coasts, intimidates the Indians; leaving sixty soldiers at Fort Loyal, he returns with the rest to
Massachusetts......1689
Newichawannock (now
Salmon Falls), attacked by French and Indians under Sieur Artel, and fifty-four settlers captured and the settlement burned......March 18, 1690
Five hundred French and Indians under Castin attack Fort Loyal at
Falmouth; the people abandon the village and retire to the garrison, May 16, which capitulates on the 20th, when the
French, after burning the town, retire to
Quebec with 100 prisoners......May, 1690
Sir William Phipps leaves
Boston with five vessels for
Nova Scotia.
He captures
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Port Royal, and takes possession of the whole country and coast to
Penobscot......May, 1690
Three hundred men under Major Church are again sent from
Massachusetts, Sept. 2, to reduce Indians in the province.
He attacks them at Pejepscot Fort on the
Androscoggin, freeing some English captives; has an engagement with them at Purpooduck Sept. 21, and returns home leaving 100 men as garrison at
Wells......September, 1690
Five months truce signed at Sagadahoc by commissioners from
Massachusetts and the Indians, who agree to surrender all prisoners and to make a lasting peace at
Wells the following May......Nov. 29, 1690
Indians failing to meet
President Danforth as agreed at
Wells on May 1, he returns to
York and sends a reinforcement to
Wells.
Shortly after their arrival they are attacked by 200
Indians, whom they repulse......June 9, 1691
Charter of William and Mary, or the Provincial charter, passes the seals and receives royal sanction, and the province of
Maine is united with the royal province of
Massachusetts Bay......Oct. 7, 1691
Two hundred
Indians, led by
Canadian French, assault
York on the Agamenticus River.
The inhabitants find shelter in the garrisoned houses and repulse the enemy, who retire after burning the town and killing and capturing about half of the people......Feb. 5, 1692
Eight representatives from
Maine appear in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives at its first session......June 8, 1692
Five hundred French and Indians under Burneffe attack
Wells, defended by a small garrison and two sloops, which had just arrived in the harbor bringing supplies and ammunition; repulsed after a siege of forty-eight hours......June 10, 1692
Fort built at
Pemaquid......August, 1692
Indians negotiate a treaty of peace with the
English......Aug. 11, 1693
French and Indians under
Iberville, Villebon, and Castin, capture the fort at Pamaquid......July 15, 1696
Eastern Sagadahoc claimed by the
French as part of
Nova Scotia under the treaty of
Ryswick......Sept. 11, 1697
Treaty of Aug. 11, 1693, signed and ratified with additional articles at
Mare Point (now in
Brunswick) between the whites and
Indians......Jan. 7, 1699
Indians under French leaders attack
Wells,
Cape Porpoise,
Saco,
Scarborough,
Casco, Spurwink, and Purpooduck; the last two entirely destroyed.
Thus opened the third Indian war, known as Queen Anne's War......Aug. 10, 1703
Enemy destroy
Black Point, attack
York and
Berwick; legislatures of
Massachusetts and
New Hampshire offer £ 20 for every Indian prisoner under ten years of age, and £ 40 for every one older, or for his scalp......September-October, 1703
Colonel Church leads an expedition against the enemy in the east, visits
Penobscot Bay, and proceeds as far as the
Bay of Fundy.
He returns, having destroyed all the settlements in the vicinity of
Port Royal, and taken 106 prisoners and a large amount of plunder with the loss of only six men......1704
Francis Nicholson, late
lieutenant-governor of
Virginia, arrives at
Boston, July 15, with his fleet.
He sails Sept. 18, reaches
Port Royal Sept. 24, lands his forces, and opens three batteries Oct. 1, and Subercase, the governor, capitulates the next day, and
Nicholson names the place
Annapolis Royal......Oct. 2, 17 10
By treaty of
Utrecht, “all
Nova Scotia,
Annapolis Royal, and all other things in these parts” belonging to
France are ceded to
Great Britain......March 30, 1713
Berwick incorporated out of the northern settlements of
Kittery......June 9, 1713
Fort George erected on the west side of the
Androscoggin, opposite the lower falls......1715
Parker's Island and Arrowsick made a town or municipal corporation by the name of
Georgetown......June 13, 1716
Name of
Saco changed to
Biddeford......Nov. 18, 1718
First violence of the “Three years or
Lovewell's War,” the fourth Indian war, was the taking of nine families on
Merrymeeting Bay by sixty Indians in canoes, June 13; they attack the fort at St. George's River and burn
Brunswick......June-July, 1722
One thousand men raised by the general court to carry on the
Indian war......Aug. 8, 1722
Capt. Josiah Winslow and sixteen men, in two boats on the St. George's River,
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ambushed and surrounded by about 100 Indians in thirty canoes, and all killed......May 1, 1724
Father Sebastian Rasle, a Jesuit long located at the
Indian village of
Norridgewock on the
Kennebec, is suspected by the
English settlers of instigating the Indians against them; a party under
Colonel Westbrook, sent to seize him in 1721, is unsuccessful, but a second party under
Captain Moulton and
Harmon, with 100 men each, succeed in putting him and about thirty Indian converts to death......Aug. 12, 1724
Capt. John Lovewell with thirty-three men is surprised by Indians at Pegwacket; a desperate battle ensues; the Indians are repulsed, but with a loss to the
English of ten killed, including
Captain Lovewell, fourteen wounded, and one missing......May 8, 1725
Treaty known as “Drummer's treaty,” signed by four Indian delegates at
Boston......Dec. 15, 1725
David Dunbar, an Irishman, obtains royal sanction to settle and govern the province of Sagadahoc......1729
Owing to the arbitrary acts of
Dunbar he is removed from his office, April 4, 1733, by royal instruction, and
Massachusetts resumes jurisdiction of
Sagadahoc territory......Aug. 25, 1733
Brunswick incorporated......June 24, 1737
King in council fixes the line between
Maine and
New Hampshire to “pass through the entrance of Piscataqua Harbor and the middle of the river to the farthermost head of
Salmon Falls River, thence north 2°; west, true course, 120 miles” ......March 5, 1739
Rev. George Whitefield visits
Maine and preaches at
York,
Wells, and
Biddeford......1741
First attack of
Indians (the fifth Indian war) upon
St. George and
Damariscotta (
New Castle), July 19; the provincial government declares war against all the
Eastern tribes, and offers bounties for Indian captives or scalps......Aug. 23, 1745
Indian skirmishes and depredations throughout the
Sagadahoc territory during......1746
By May 1, 1747, the whole frontier from
Wells to
Topsham is infested with
Indians, who make an attack on
Pemaquid, May 26, and unsuccessful attacks on forts Frederick and
St. George......September, 1747
Indian hostilities in
Maine brought to an end by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed......Oct. 7, 1748
A treaty based on
Drummer's treaty of 1725 made with Indians at
Falmouth by commission from
Massachusetts......Oct. 16, 1749
Indians attack Fort Richmond, on the
Kennebec, but, hearing that the garrison had been reinforced, they retire, but attack
Dresden, Swain Island,
Wiscasset,
Sheepscot, and
Georgetown, and withdraw with twenty or thirty captives......Sept. 11-25, 1750
Commissioners meet the Indians at
St. George's Fort, Aug. 3, and proclaim a cessation of hostilities......Sept. 3, 1751
New Castle incorporated, the first of the towns in the territory of Sagadahoc......June 19, 1753
Fort Halifax, on the
Kennebec River below the
Teconnet Falls; Fort Western, at
Augusta; and Fort Shirley, or
Frankfort, in
Dresden, all built during the year ......1754
In consequence of French and Indian depredations, war is declared on all the
Indian tribes east of
Piscataqua, and bounties offered for prisoners and scalps......June 11, 1755
Acadians or French Neutrals dwelling principally about
Annapolis, Grand Pre, and vicinity are forcibly removed by order of
lieutenant-governor Lawrence and the provisional council, and dispersed among the
American colonies from
Maine to
Georgia......September, 1755
Skirmishes with the Indians at
Brunswick, New Gloucester,
Windham, where the
Indian chief Poland is killed, and at
Georgetown and Fort Halifax......1756
Possession is taken of the
Penobscot country, and Fort Pownal built and garrisoned with 100 men under
Jedediah Preble......July 28, 1759
Nauseag, a precinct of
Georgetown, the birthplace of
Sir William Phipps, first royal governor of the
Massachusetts provinces, erected into a town by the name of
Woolwich......Oct. 20, 1759
Pownalborough, embracing the present towns of
Dresden,
Wiscasset, Alna, and
Swan Island, is incorporated......Feb. 13, 1760
Peace made with the remnant of the
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Indian tribes in the vicinity of Fort Pownal......April 29, 1760
General court establishes the counties of
Cumberland (that part of
Maine between the
Saco and
Androscoggin) and
Lincoln (that part east of the
Androscoggin)......June 19, 1760
Mount Desert Island granted to
Governor Barnard......1762
Town of
Bristol, embracing the ancient
Pemaquid, incorporated......June 18, 1765
Town of
Hallowell, embracing Cushnoc (
Augusta) and
Winslow, including
Waterville, incorporated......April 26, 1771
Pepperellborough, afterwards
Saco, incorporated......June 9, 1772
Belfast incorporated; first town on the
Penobscot......June 22, 1773
New Gloucester incorporated......March 8, 1774
County convention, thirty-nine delegates from nine towns in
Cumberland county, held at
Falmouth, at which meeting
Sheriff William Tyng declared his avowal to obey the province law and not that of Parliament, and which advises “a firm and persevering opposition to every design, dark or open, framed to abridge our English liberties” ......Sept. 21, 1774
Captain Mowatt and two companions of the British sloop-of-war
Canseau are made prisoners by fifty or sixty volunteers under
Lieut.-Col. Samuel Thompson, while ashore at
Falmouth.
The sailing-master of the
Canseau excites the people by threatening to burn the town if
Mowatt is not restored; being released on parole,
Mowatt weighs anchor, sails for
Portsmouth......May 9, 1775
An English schooner, the
Margranetto, loading at
Machias, is seized by a party of volunteers under
Benjamin Foster and
Jeremiah O'Brien; after capturing this prize
O'Brien sails into the
Bay of Fundy, and on his return captures a schooner and tender which were in search of the
Margranetto......June, 1775
Col. Benedict Arnold, with a force of about 1,100 men, passes up the
Kennebec to attack
Quebec......September, 1775
Captain Mowatt arrives in
Falmouth (now
Portland) with four armed vessels, Oct. 17, with orders from
Admiral Graves to destroy the town, which he burns......Oct. 18, 1775
Warren incorporated; first town on
St. George River......Nov. 7, 1776
Fryeburg, scene of
Lovewell's fight in 1725, incorporated......Jan. 11, 1777
Counties of
York,
Cumberland, and
Lincoln, by vote of Congress, erected into the District of Maine ......1778
British
General McLane and 900 troops take possession of the
Peninsula of
Major Biguyduce (now
Castine), begin a fort, and station three sloops-of-war under
Captain Mowatt......Jan. 12, 1779
Pittston, the fortieth and last town established by the general court under the royal charter, incorporated......Feb. 4, 1779
Expedition of nineteen armed vessels and twenty-four transports, under
Gurdon Saltonstall, a Connecticut sea-captain, and 1,500 men from
Massachusetts under
General Lovell, arrive at
Penobscot, July 25, for the purpose of dislodging the
British; they remain inactive, however, until the arrival of five British ships from New York, which force the
Americans to burn their vessels and disperse......Aug. 13, 1779
Six hundred troops raised to protect the Eastern Department, between
Piscataqua and St. Croix, and command given to
Gen. Peleg Wadsworth, with headquarters at
Thomaston......1780
Bath incorporated, the first town established by the new government......Feb. 17, 1781
General Wadsworth captured at
Thomaston and imprisoned at
Castine, Feb. 18; escapes......June 18, 1781
Land office is opened at the seat of government, and State lands in the district of Maine are sold to soldiers and emigrants at $1 per acre on the navigable waters; elsewhere given, provided settlers clear sixteen acres in four years......1784
First issue of the
Falmouth gazette and weekly Advertiser, the earliest newspaper established in
Maine......Jan. 1, 1785
Mount Desert, confiscated from
Governor Bernard, is reconfirmed in part to his son John and to French claimants......1785
Convention to consider the separation of the district from
Massachusetts meets at
Falmouth......Oct. 5, 1785
Convention appointed at the October meeting assembles at
Falmouth and draws up a statement of particulars......Jan. 4, 1786
Massachusetts lands, 1,107,396 acres,
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between
Penobscot and
St. Croix rivers, disposed of by lottery; a large portion purchased by
William Bingham, of
Philadelphia......March, 1786
Falmouth divided and the peninsula with several opposite islands incorporated and named
Portland......July 4, 1786
Convention of thirty-one delegates meets at
Portland and petitions the general court that the counties of
York,
Cumberland, and
Lincoln be erected into a separate State, and suggests that the towns vote on the subject......Sept. 6, 1786
[Convention reassembling, Jan. 3, 1787, finds votes cast on separation 994, 645 being yeas; motion to present the petition to the legislature lost, but was presented the year following.]
General Court sets off from
Lincoln county the new counties of
Hancock, from
Penobscot Bay to the head of Gouldsborough River, and
Washington, east of
Hancock......June 25, 1789
Bangor incorporated......Feb. 25, 1791
Last meeting of the
Salem Presbytery, marking the decline of the Presbyterian Church founded at
Londonderry, N. H., in 1719, is held at
Gray......Sept. 14, 1791
Charter granted by the General Court for Bowdoin College in
Brunswick......June 24, 1794
Augusta (the ancient Cushnoc) incorporated under the name of
Harrington, Feb. 20, 1790; changed to
Augusta......June 9, 1796
At
Providence, the commission appointed to determine and settle, according to the
Jay treaty, what river was the
St. Croix, made a report that the mouth of the river is in
Passamaquoddy Bay, in lat. 45° 5′ 5″ N., and long.
67° 12′ 30″ W. of
London, and 3° 54′ 15″ E. of Harvard College, and that the boundary of
Maine was up this river and the Cheputnatecook to a marked stake called “the Monument” ......Oct. 25, 1798
Kennebec county erected from north part of
Lincoln......Feb. 20, 1799
Northern parts of
York and
Cumberland counties erected into the county of
Oxford......March 4, 1805
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow born in
Portland......Feb. 27, 1807
County of Somerset established from the northerly part of
Kennebec......March 1, 1809
Three commissioners appointed by governor and council to act on land titles in
Lincoln county......Feb. 27, 1811
Boxer, a British brig of eighteen guns and 104 men,
Captain Blyth, engages the American brig
Enterprise, sixteen guns and 102 men,
Captain Burrows, off Port land.
In thirty-five minutes the
Boxer surrenders and is taken to
Portland by her captor (both commanders killed)......Sept. 5, 1813
Extent of “
Pejepscot purchase” is declared according to the resolve of the General Court, March 8, 1787, that “Twenty-mile Falls,” 20 miles above
Brunswick, are the “uppermost
Great Falls” in the
Androscoggin River referred to in the deed to
Wharton, dated July 7, 1684; matter settled......1814
Fort Sullivan, in
Eastport, under command of
Maj. Perley Putnam, surrenders to a British force from
Halifax......July 11, 1814
Fort at
Castine destroyed by its garrison on the approach of a British fleet from
Halifax......Sept. 1, 1814
Frankfort delaying surrender, the
British threaten vengeance against the place and sail for
Castine......Sept. 1-7, 1814
British force under
Sherwood and
Griffiths land at
Buck's Harbor, about 3 miles below
Machias, and march against the fort, which the garrison desert and blow up......Sept. 12, 1814
British
Maj.-Gen. Gerard Gosselin appointed to govern the province between
Brunswick and
Penobscot......1814
British sloop from
Halifax, with a cargo invoiced at $40,000, on her passage to
Castine is captured and carried into
Camden......November, 1814
General court appoints a day of thanksgiving on news of peace and of the treaty of
Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814......Feb. 22, 1815
British troops evacuate
Castine......April 25, 1815
Between 10,000 and 15,000 inhabitants emigrate to
Ohio......1815-16
County of Penobscot incorported (the ninth and last prior to the separation)......Sept. 15 1815
Meetings held in all towns and plantations of the district of Maine, and a vote taken on the question of separation from
Massachusetts result in 10,393 yeas and 6,501 nays......May 20, 1816
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First separation law takes effect, directing voters to meet in their towns on the first Monday of September to vote on the question, and send delegates to
Brunswick the last
Monday of September, who, if a majority of at least 5 to 4 favor separation, should form a constitution......June 20, 1816
Convention of 185 delegates convenes at
Brunswick; vote shows 11,961 yeas to 10,347 nays; the attempt to seek admission as a State failing, the convention was dissolved......September, 1816
First meeting at St. Andrew's of joint commission,
Thomas Barclay for
Great Britain,
Cornelius Van Ness for the
United States, to determine the northeastern and northern boundary of
Maine; no result......Sept. 23, 1816
President Monroe visits
Maine on his tour of inspection of fortifications, etc.......1817
United States war-ship
Alabama, eightyfour guns, 2,633 tons, commenced and left on the stocks at
Kittery unfinished......1818
Agricultural Society of District of Maine incorporated......Feb. 16, 1818
Law of the
United States, making every State a district in which vessels must enter and clear, proving a stumbling-block in the matter of the separation of
Maine, is changed, and the eastern coast divided into two great districts......March 2, 1819
About seventy towns petition the legislature for separation, and bill passed granting it......June 19, 1819
Under separation act, after an election in July, and the proclamation of the governor, Aug. 24, a convention of 269 delegates at
Portland elects
William King president, and appoints a committee of thirty-three to report a constitution......Oct. 11, 1819
Congress admits
Maine into the
Union; capital,
Portland......March 3, 1820
Within seventeen months
Governor King, commissioner under the
Spanish treaty, resigns his office to
Mr. Williamson, president of the Senate, who six months after, being elected to Congress, surrenders it to
Mr. Ames, speaker of the
House.
The president of the next Senate was
Mr. Rose, who acted as governor one day, until
Governor Parris was inducted......1820-21
Waterville College (afterwards Colby University) established at
Waterville 1820
Maine Historical Society incorporated......Feb. 5, 1822
Last meeting of commissioners to determine the northern and northeastern boundary of
Maine held at New York.
(They disagree, and subsequently the matter is referred to William,
King of the Netherlands)......April 13, 1822
Wild lands in
Maine surveyed and divided between
Maine and
Massachusetts......1826
Boundary north and east of
Maine referred to William,
King of the Netherlands, for settlement......Jan. 12, 1829
Governor Lincoln dying,
Nathan Cutler, president of the Senate, succeeds him......Oct. 8, 1829
Cumberland and Oxford Canal, from
Portland to Sebago Pond, completed......1829
William,
King of the Netherlands, recommends as the boundary of
Maine a line due north from the source of the
St. Croix to the river
St. John; thence in the middle of that river through the
St. Francis to its source, and thence along the highlands southwesterly to “mile tree” and head of the
Connecticut River......Jan. 10, 1831
Capital removed from
Portland to
Augusta; legislature meets......Jan. 4, 1832
Bangor and Orono Railroad, 10 miles in length, completed......1836
Rufus Mclntire, land agent for
Maine, and two others, sent to drive trespassers from timber on disputed territory in the north of the
State, are taken by an armed force as prisoners to
Fredericton, but soon released by the governor of
New Brunswick......Feb. 11, 1839
Lieutenant-governor of
New Brunswick issues a proclamation regarding as an invasion of her Majesty's territory the attempt of a force of 200 armed men from
Maine to drive off persons cutting timber on disputed territory......Feb. 13, 1839
Agreement made between the
British government and the
United States to prevent immediate hostilities between the troops of
Maine and
New Brunswick, that armed men should be withdrawn from the territory, and the trespassers be kept off by the combined efforts of both governments......Feb. 27, 1839
Act of Congress passed authorizing the
President to resist any attempt of Great
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Britain to enforce exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed territory in the north of
Maine......March 3, 1839
Gen. Winfield Scott, sent to command on the
Maine frontier, arranges a truce and joint occupancy of the disputed territory by both governments......March 21, 1839
Treaty concluded at
Washington between Lord Ashburton, for
Great Britain, and Daniel Webster,
Secretary of State, for the
United States, fixing the boundary of
Maine on the north, freeing navigation of the
St. John's River, confirming land in disputed territory to those in possession, and allowing
Maine and
Massachusetts compensation for territory given up, to be paid by the
United States......Aug. 9, 1842
Edward Kavanagh,
acting governor in the place of
Governor Fairfield, elected
United States Senator......March 3, 1843
Act restricting sale of liquors......August, 1846
Nathan Clifford appointed
Attorney-General......Dec. 23, 1846
Law enacted establishing a State board of education......1846
Death at
Hallowell, of Nathan Read, inventor, the first man to apply for a patent before the patent law was enacted......Jan. 20, 1849
State insane hospital at
Augusta burned.
Twenty-seven inmates and one assistant perish in the flames......Dec. 4, 1850
“
Maine law,” an act “to prohibit drinking-houses and tippling-shops,” passed in May, approved by the governor June 2, and enforced first at
Bangor......July 4, 1851
Act abolishing the State board of education, the governor to appoint a school commissioner for each county......1852
Search and seizure act for the confiscation of liquors, passed......1853
James G. Blaine moves from
Philadelphia to
Augusta, and becomes editor of the Kennebec
Journal......1853
Maine purchases for $362,500 the share of
Massachusetts in wild lands in the
State......1853
Act passed by legislature appointing a superintendent of common schools......April 17, 1854
Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad leased to the Grand Trunk Railway for 999 years......1855
Whole system of legislation on liquor repealed, and license law drafted by
Phineas Barnes, of
Portland, enacted......1856
Joseph H. Williams, governor, to succeed
Hannibal Hamlin, who was elected
United States Senator......Feb. 26, 1857
Nathan Clifford, justice of the Supreme Court......Jan. 28, 1858
Maine liquor law in all its parts reenacted......1858
Bill passed granting the proceeds of 1,000,000 acres of land and the claims of
Maine on the government of the
United States, for the completion of the railroad from
Portland to
Halifax......1861
Hannibal Hamlin inaugurated
Vice-President of the
United States......March, 4, 1861
Extra three days session of the legislature, and provision made for ten regiments of volunteers for the
Federal army, and a coast-guard if necessary......April 22, 1861
Office of the
Democrat, a secession newspaper published in
Bangor, entirely destroyed by a mob......Aug. 12, 1861
United States Secretary of State Seward permits passage of British troops across the
State from
Portland to
Canada......1862
Officers and crew of the Confederate privateer
Archer enter the harbor of
Portland, capture the revenue cutter
Caleb Cushing, and put to sea; being pursued, they take to their boats and blow up their prize, and are themselves captured......June 29, 1863
Foreign Emigrant Association of Maine incorporated, to which the
State agrees to give $25 for every able-bodied foreign emigrant introduced into
Maine by them......1864
William Pitt Fessenden,
Secretary of the Treasury......July 1, 1864
A small party of Confederate raiders from
St. John's, N. B., led by one
Collins, of
Mississippi, attempt the robbery of a bank in
Calais; but, the authorities being forewarned by the
American consul at
St. John's, the attempt fails......July 18, 1864
Great fire in
Portland, burning over an area 1 1/2 miles long by 1/4 of a mile wide; 1,500 buildings burned; loss between $10,000,000 and $15,000,000.....July 4, 1866
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Legislature passes a stringent prohibitory liquor law, and appoints a State constable to enforce its provisions......1867
State agricultural college established at
Orono......1868
Constabulary law of 1867 repealed......1868
James G. Blaine,
speaker House of Representatives......1869
State temperance convention assembles at
Portland and nominates
Hon. N. C. Hitchborn for governor......June 29, 1869
Swedish colony founded in
Aroostook county by fifty-one immigrants brought from Gothenburg by the board of commissioners of immigration, which arrive at “New Sweden” ......July 23, 1870
A bill to increase the stringency of the prohibitory liquor laws passes both Houses without opposition......1870
Liquor law amended so as to bring cider and wine made from fruits grown in the
State within the prohibition......1872
State convention for the formation of a woman's suffrage association assembles at
Augusta......February, 1873
Act passed providing for a State board of immigration, consisting of the governor,
secretary of state, and land agent......1873
Woman's suffrage convention at
Augusta resolves: “That we pledge ourselves never to cease the agitation we have begun until all unjust discriminations against women are swept away” ......Jan. 28, 1874
Compulsory education act passed by the legislature......1875
Death penalty in
Maine abolished by law......1876
Senator Lot M. Morrill,
Secretary of United States Treasury......June.
1876
Fifty-two Swedes in “New Sweden” are naturalized......1876
Marble statue of
Gen. William King, first governor of
Maine, presented to the United States government and placed in Statuary Hall,
Washington, January, 1878
State Greenback Convention held at
Lewiston, 782 delegates;
Joseph W. Smith nominated for governor......June 5, 1878
September election:
Selden Connor, Republican, 56,544;
Joseph L. Smith, Greenback, 41,371;
Alonzo Garcelon, Democrat, 28,218; no choice by people......Sept. 9, 1878
Garcelon chosen governor by legislature......Jan. 3, 1879
Vote for governor:
Daniel F. Davis, Republican, 68,766;
Garcelon, Democrat, 21,688;
Smith, National or Greenback, 47,590......Sept. 8, 1879
Republican press claims the Senate by seven majority, the
House by twenty-eight.
In November great excitement is produced by the rumor that the governor and council would endeavor to count out the
Republican majority and count in a Fusion (Democrat and National) majority.
The sub-committee of the council make their report......Dec. 26, 1879
Legislature convenes, and seventy-eight Fusion members and two Republicans qualify.
The Senate elects
James D. Lamson (Fusion) president......Jan. 7, 1880
Commanders of all military organizations in the
State are required to report to
Major-General Chamberlain......Jan. 12, 1880
Republicans organize a legislature......Jan. 12, 1880
Governor Garcelon's office being vacant after Jan. 7,
President of the
Senate Lamson asks if
Major-General Chamberlain will recognize him as governor.
Chamberlain refers the question to the Supreme Court......Jan. 12, 1880
Supreme Court recognizes the
Republican legislature.
The Fusionists become demoralized, and
Daniel Davis assumes the office of governor......Jan. 16, 1880
Gen. Harris M. Plaisted, Greenback, elected governor......Sept. 13, 1880
Act passed making women eligible to the office of supervisor of schools and superintending school committees......1881
United States Senator James G. Blaine appointed
Secretary of State......1881
Act passed restoring the death penalty for murder......1883
Vote on amending the constitution, forever prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, 70,783 for, 23,811 against......September, 1884
Convention of the
People's party.
held at
Portland, nominate Presidential electors favoring
Benjamin F. Butler......October, 1884
Act establishing a State board of health......1885
Acts abolishing capital punishment and establishing Arbor Day......1887
Sebastian S. Marble, president of the
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Senate, succeeds
Governor Bodwell, who dies......Dec. 15, 1887
Act passed forbidding manufacturing “trusts” and heating railroad cars by common stoves......1889
State convention of Union Labor party meets at
Waterville, and nominates
Isaac R. Clark, of
Bangor, for governor......May 20, 1890
Legislature enacts an Australian ballot law......March 24, 1891
First Monday in September (Labor Day) made a legal holiday by legislature at session ending......April 3, 1891
Ex-Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin, born 1809, dies at
Bangor......July 4, 1891
James G. Blaine,
Secretary of State, resigns......June 4, 1892
James G. Blaine dies at
Washington, D. C:, aged sixty-three years......Jan. 27, 1893
Neal Dow, “the father of prohibition,” dies at
Portland......Oct. 2, 1897
Steamer
Portland lost in a gale, 118 lives lost......Nov. 29, 1898
Nelson Dingley dies at
Washington, D. C......Jan. 13, 1899
Twenty persons drowned by an accident at
Bar Harbor......Aug. 6, 1899
Arthur Sewall, Democratic candidate for
Vice-President in 1896, dies at
Bath......Sept. 5, 1900
Maryland 
