Oct. 2, 1897: Former Portland Mayor Neal Dow, renowned for his lifelong crusade against alcohol consumption, dies in Portland at 93. Dow served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives. He also was the Prohibition Party’s candidate for president in 1880. Portland’s Daily Eastern Argus newspaper, whose political leanings in the 19th century often […]
This Day in Maine History
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On this date in Maine history: Oct. 1
Oct. 1, 1955: The 5,948-seat Bangor Auditorium opens in Bangor. More than 4,000 people turn out to attend the dedication ceremony. The facility, at 320 feet long and 146 feet wide, is one of the largest event venues in the Northeastern United States. Planning of the building began 25 years earlier. “I have been all […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 30
Sept. 30, 1994: Loring Air Force Base, in the border town of Limestone, officially closes 41 years after it opened. With the Cold War over, the last B-52 bomber left the base in November 1993. The end of the base’s flying mission was celebrated in ceremonies held in February 1994. A month later, the last […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 29
Sept. 29, 1888: The city unveils a monument to poet and Portland native Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). A dedication ceremony is held beside the monument in State Street Square, which was later renamed Longfellow Square. The event features a band, a succession of speakers, and 100 schoolchildren singing Longfellow’s 1838 poem “Psalm of Life.” Several […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 28
Sept. 28, 2017: Bath Iron Works and Maine’s congressional delegation announce that the Maine shipyard has won a contract to build two more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for the U.S. Navy. The Navy does not release the contract price, saying it plans to issue more such contracts, and it wants to keep bidding competitive. BIW, owned […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 27
Sept. 27, 1962: The publisher Houghton Mifflin releases aquatic biologist, nature writer and conservationist Rachel Carson’s seminal book “Silent Spring.” Carson (1907-1964) was a summer resident of Maine’s Southport Island, where she owned a cottage overlooking Sheepscot Bay. Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, she began writing as a child. Her academic career suffered because […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 26
Sept. 26, 1775: Col. Benedict Arnold, about to leave Fort Western on the Kennebec River for his ill-fated trek through the wilderness on the way to attack the British at Quebec, pauses to deal with a soldier convicted of murder. The incident occurs on the night of Sept. 23 when several of the men in […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 25
Sept. 25, 1827: A New Brunswick sheriff and 14 armed policemen arrest John Baker in Meruimticook, which Baker had designated as the capital of his self-proclaimed Republic of Madawaska. Baker, a continuous thorn in the side of British authorities in a region where the border between Maine and the future Canadian provinces of Quebec and […]
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On this date in Maine history: Sept. 24
Sept. 24, 2018: The Portland Press Herald reports that a small, private Casco Bay island once owned by Arctic explorer Robert Peary is for sale. Crab Island, the property in question, is about a 10-minute boat ride from Freeport, just beyond the mouth of the Harraseeket River. It has two sandy beaches and a two-bedroom […]
Posted inBicentennial, Local & State
On this date in Maine history: Sept. 23
Sept. 23, 2010: Bob Marley – the Maine comedian, not the deceased reggae singer – sets a Guinness World Record by completing the longest standup comedy show ever, 40 hours, at the Comedy Connection in Portland. Audience members paid $10 per hour to see Marley, 43, ridicule Halloween, the Easter Bunny and the length of […]