Feb. 25, 1791: The Massachusetts General Court approves a petition for the incorporation of the town of Bangor, which, like the rest of Maine, is part of Massachusetts. The new town has about 170 residents. The Rev. Seth Noble traveled to Boston to incorporate the town as Sunbury but either changed his mind or misspoke, […]
Bicentennial
News and information about Maine’s 2020 bicentennial from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 24
Feb. 24, 1827: Maine Gov. Enoch Lincoln signs a bill determining that beginning Jan. 1, 1832, “the permanent seat of government shall be established at Augusta.” The bill makes Augusta the state’s capital city, replacing Portland, which became the capital when Maine achieved statehood in 1820. The bill, the latest of several on the subject, […]
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 23
Feb. 23, 2009: A brief but intense storm dumps heavy, wet snow across much of Maine, knocking out electrical power to about 130,000 Central Maine Power Co. customers. The storm hits the Brunswick area particularly hard, prompting Gov. John Baldacci to go there to see the damage firsthand. By that evening, more than half of […]
Colony, Chapter II: Rivalry
An acrimonious relationship develops between Maine and Massachusetts.
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 22
Feb. 22, 1864: The three-masted steamer Bohemian, bound from Liverpool, England, to Portland, strikes Alden’s Rock, a ledge near Cape Elizabeth, at night in a dense haze. The accident kills 42 people, including two crew members. The ship, an iron vessel owned by the Ocean Steamship Co. of Montreal, was carrying 219 passengers, most of […]
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 21
Feb. 21, 1885: The Washington Monument, built with a core of granite quarried in Maine, is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Construction on the monument began in 1848 but was suspended for 23 years for a variety of reasons, including the Civil War. Maine also supplied granite used in many other prominent late-19th-century construction projects, including […]
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 19
Feb. 19, 1988: In the final two minutes of the Eastern Maine Class B boys basketball championship game at the Bangor Auditorium, Ellsworth High School senior Tim Scott scores 13 points in 58 seconds, leading the Eagles to a 65-64 victory. The fourth-seeded Eagles’ opponent is third-seeded Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. After Scott’s 13-point run, […]
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 18
Feb. 18, 1795: Lewiston is incorporated as a town. It becomes a city on March 15, 1861. Today it is Maine’s second-largest city, as it has been since the 1880 Census. Feb. 18, 1978: In an event broadcast live on local television, President Jimmy Carter participates in an evening question-and-answer session with about 2,200 people […]
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 17
Feb. 17, 1927: “The King’s Henchmen,” an American opera written by Deems Taylor and Rockland native, poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), opens successfully at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and becomes popular in book form as well. Feb. 17, 1952: A 36-hour blizzard powered by high wind begins to envelop […]
On this date in Maine history: Feb. 17
Feb. 17, 1927: “The King’s Henchmen,” an American opera written by Deems Taylor and Rockland native, poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), opens successfully at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and becomes popular in book form as well. Feb. 17, 1952: A 36-hour blizzard powered by high wind begins to envelop […]