History

With rare local accounts and historic images, the thrilling early days of Old Sebec jump off the page.

Old Sebec Lake is an intriguing look at one of Maine's most beautiful and historically interesting areas, containing a series of photographs as well as accompanying text that document the most colorful era in the lake's history. The photographs, which date from 1860 to 1950 and come mainly from private collections, illustrate a time of steamboats and tenting parties, log drives and spool mills, market hunters and 30-mile traplines. This was also a time of uncertain employment, boom-and-bust economies, and remarkable changes in transportation, all of which profoundly affected the lake and the communities surrounding it. Although the images tell the story, woven through the text are interesting stories about B.M. Packard, Fred Gates, Walter Arnold, and others whose lives contributed to the lake's interesting past. Accounts of the 1936 flood, the scuttling of the Marion, and the construction of The Castle are also included in the text.

Bar Harbor welcomes millions of visitors each year, and the popular seaside town is known for its hospitality. However, not many people know that Bar Harbor is one of the most haunted seaport towns on the coast of Maine, nestled at the edge of Acadia National Park. Ghostly sightings abound from the woods to the waters. Restless spirits like the Carpenter of Kennebec Street and the Caretaker join other souls from the Cottage Era, when people like the Astors, Vanderbilts and Rockefellers made the town their summer playground. Seafaring shadows and those lingering at the beautiful—but very haunted—Criterion Theatre create a space filled with souls both alive and dead.

Jennifer Pictou and D. Michael Fleming unveil a mysterious town where the sound of horse hooves can still be heard, along with the apparition of a much-beloved cow.

Historian Frank Sleeper catalogues a history of the area's successes and failures, but also captures the amazing triumph of the human spirit.

Maine is a colorful jigsaw puzzle made up of towns and communities that fit together to give the state a unique identity. This photographic collection features Farmington, Wilton, Kingfield, and Sugarloaf, a perfect example of communities working as complements to create an area with a wide appeal to diverse interests. While Farmington serves as the political, educational, and commercial center, Wilton acts as the industrial hub, and Kingfield and Sugarloaf provide the area with recreational attractions. Though the towns may differ in their focus, a scenic beauty does run throughout--whether it be the gentle waters in Wilson Lake, the cascades of the Sandy River, or the stalwart splendor of the mountains. However, to truly understand any place means meeting its people. This volume focuses on three families in particular: the Bass family in Wilton; the Mills family in Farmington; and the Winter family in Kingfield and Sugarloaf.

Over 200 images document the fascinating history of the towns along the banks of Maine's Union River, chronicling their evolutions.

Along the Union River weaves together more than two hundred images with intriguing and informative text to create an immensely enjoyable journey through the history of the towns along the banks of Maine's majestic Union River and its tributaries. The region comprising Hancock and Penobscot Counties was originally settled by soldiers who came to work in the woods and tanneries. Soon, supporting industries, stores, copper shops, lumber camps, and ladies millinery shops were established, but it was the shipbuilding industry that flourished most prominently. Here, we explore Bingham Millions, Mariaville's ""Greenhouse Settlement,"" and Lucerne's ""Little Switzerland,"" and experience the wild beauty of this world-famous countryside.

Our past is our present-it surrounds us always. It is our responsibility to learn from it, and to preserve it for future generations.  At Arcadia, we feel it is our mission to make this possible.  With the inception of the Images of America series in 1993, we began to focus on a variety of cities, neighborhoods, towns, counties, and regions, weaving each community's unique story into the tapestry of American history.  With the Best of Images of America series, we celebrate the publication of our 1000th title in the Images of America series.  We have chosen the most striking, the most memorable, and the very best images from the wide variety of titles in the series, and brought them together in these volumes for your enjoyment.

Long before Maine became known as Vacationland in the 1890s, Wells beckoned promoters and guests from the inland cities of New England.

Founded in 1643, Wells is the third-oldest town in Maine, but with the expansion of the railroad in the 1800s, the small beach town's tourist industry has thrived for more than a century. Miles of beach, rock-bound coast, and refreshing seabreezes beckon vacationers to return annually. In turn, Wells' economy, landscape, and development has catered to the needs of both these visitors and the year-round residents. Perhaps the beautiful landscape and pristine beaches aren't the only things keeping tourists returning year after year-- Wells also holds the nickname of "the friendliest town in Maine'?!

Journey to picturesque York County's past in this photographic history.

Rural York County, with its charming historic towns and villages, has long been one of the most delightful areas of Maine. While tourists from the nineteenth century onward sought out the high life that made Maine's coastal areas so famous, the residents of the more peaceful, pristine countryside kept the serenity of their backyard a secret. The fascinating selection of images that make up this visual history have been carefully selected as a journey into the past, a journey from Kittery up the coast to Saco; through the Berwicks and Lebanon; to Alfred and Springvale, and Sanford close by; around Acton, Shapleigh, Newfield, and Waterboro; then on to Parsonsfield, Porter, Kezar Falls, and Cornish.

J.H. Hall has been fishing most of his life and fly-fishing Maine rivers and ponds for over thirty years.

In his book, he has brought together some of his favorite fly-fishing experiences that go beyond morning excursions on a river's banks. He uses his fishing trips as the platform to introduce the reader to the people and the rivers that color his life and Maine, bringing all of us engaging life lessons and new experiences.

With over 200 photographs, many of them never before published, Kennebunkport offers an intimate glimpse into the past that will delight resident and tourist alike.

Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our image of the past and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history.

From its early settlement in the 1600s to the present, the area known as ""the Port"" and ""the Cape"" has typified what it means to live or vacation on the Maine coast. Kennebunkport is a study in contrasts: fishermen work the sea while tourists fill Dock Square in search of art, ""lobstah,"" and steamers; fish shanties dot the shore of the Cape while estates and luxury hotels dominate Ocean Avenue; sailboats glide serenely through the harbor while carnivals take place on the Kennebunk River. It is this variety of people, places, and events that has always made Kennebunkport one of the most dynamic and vivacious communities on the Northeastern seaboard.

In the summer of 1643, John Sanders was granted land bordering the Mousam River in Kennebunk.

From this early grant to the present, many generations have called Kennebunk home.Through nearly two hundred vintage photographs, Kennebunk portrays life in this charming village from 1850 to 1940.From the architecture of its downtown neighborhoods to scenes of the rural countryside, the images in this book provide a window on Kennebunk’s past.They also capture the people who made up the fabric of this community, from early sea captains to hardworking farmers.Among them are immigrant Sam Tvedt, an eccentric preacher who sported shoulder-length hair and a long flowing coat while shouting sermons from beside the town pump, and Colby Jack Coombs, the famous World Series pitcher, shown spending time with his family on their Alewive farm.

The town of Vassalborough, Maine, was incorporated in 1771. The town clerk modified the spelling of the town to Vassalboro’ in 1851 and then to Vassalboro in 1861. The town is nearly 48 square miles in size and is comprised of six distinct areas. With a connection to the Kennebec River and its lakes and ponds, Native Americans had a presence here for over 8,000 years, establishing seasonal villages and using the waterways for fishing. Shipbuilders rolled their completed ships to the Kennebec River, and many mills used waterpower provided by the streams. The American Woolen Mill in North Vassalboro won a gold medal for its cassimere fabric at the world’s fair in London in 1851. Wonderful historic buildings still line the streets, including the Vassalboro Historical Society’s Taylor’s House and Blacksmith Shop and Lampson’s Harness Shop as well as the town’s first firehouse. The Revere House in East Vassalboro once provided lodging to guests who were often ferried to the nearby Bradley’s Island in China Lake for bowling, dancing, and dining. Oak Grove School brought to Vassalboro students from all over the world. While Vassalboro has changed from the mill town it was in the 1800s, it remains a family-focused community, providing a sense of warmth, history, and continuity.

The Vassalboro Historical Society is proud to share the photographs and information from its vast collection. 

In this unique pictorial history, discover the early days of Gorham and the residents who established the community's traditions and quality of life.

Located just 10 miles west of the state's largest city, Gorham, Maine, is known as a college town, a bedroom community, and a suburb of Portland. In this unique pictorial history, discover the early days of Gorham and the residents who established the community's traditions and quality of life. With the advent of the automobile and a new accessibility to other cities, the face of Gorham was changed forever. Residents no longer traveled via the York-Cumberland canal or electric trolleys; gone were the livery stables, gunpowder mills, and tanneries of an early Gorham. View the early industries and activities of the community in this carefully crafted historical tribute, compiled and written by local historian David Arthur Fogg. Included in Gorham are the schools founded in its early days and the educators who shaped the lives of residents. John Green became Gorham's first paid teacher in 1765, receiving three pounds yearly for keeping school. The Western Maine Normal School, now known as the University of Southern Maine, is included as well.

Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park are areas rich with history and natural beauty.

Several hundred photographs, taken by Seal Harbor's original residents, inspired this pictorial history of the well-known resort and surrounding Acadia National Park. A perusal through Revisiting Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park will reveal to the reader the natural beauty of the area, through views that attracted early rusticators and created such dedication from the island’s summer and winter residents that Acadia National Park was born. The pages within trace the community’s history, from its humble beginnings as a small fishing hamlet through its metamorphosis into a Victorian-era summer resort, and on through the park’s development, an economic boon for the island’s residents. From images of a time filled with sweeping Victorian dresses, grand yachts, and wildwood hikes, to accounts of the area’s prosperity in the 1910s and 1920s when the area had become synonymous with the Rockefeller and Ford names, Revisiting Seal Harbor and Acadia National Park invites the reader to take a lingering look into the lives of early islanders and summer visitors.

Explore the compelling visual history that will earn a lasting place on the shelves of area homes and be treasured by resident and visitor, young and old alike.

Wells has a history as fascinating as it is long. Blessed with tremendous natural resources, this enticing place attracted native people and then European fishermen and traders long before Edmund Littlefield established the first permanent mills on the banks of the Webhannet River in 1640. Wells incorporated in 1653 as Maine's third town, and since then more than thirteen generations of New Englanders have nurtured their families by reaping the waves of the Atlantic or toiling on the furrows of their farms. The early settlers were independent Yankees striving to make a living, but they created small communities grouped around the traditional institutions of the blacksmith shop, the store, the church, and the one-room school.

Through this significant and entertaining collection we experience Prout's Neck the way artist Winslow Homer knew it and everyday life the way that Scarborough photographer Charles F. Walker captured it on film for future generations to marvel at.

Imagine arriving at Scarborough in the late 1800s, stepping out of your train car onto the platform, and becoming one of the many visitors enjoying the summer beauty of coastal Maine. This pictorial history transports us back to an exciting era in Scarborough's long history--a simpler time, when shore dinner houses and trolley cars were the latest attractions. The images contained in this volume--many of them rare and previously unpublished--feature early automobiles, old homesteads, and summer cottages, as well as unique views of violent shipwrecks and bustling stagecoaches.

In this illuminating pictorial history, readers enjoy unique views of Skowhegan, with its historic buildings and riverfront, where Senator Smith spent her first forty years.

Called "". . . the most influential woman in the history of American politics,"" Senator Margaret Chase Smith always carried with her a strong connection to her roots in Skowhegan, Maine. How did her years and experiences in this community influence her strength of character and lifetime commitment to public service? Author Frank H. Sleeper has searched local archives to bring us rare photographs and new connections between Skowhegan and its famous senator. Her strong convictions and tolerance for dissent, especially apparent in her famous ""Declaration of Conscience"" speech against Senator Joe McCarthy, may well have come from her background in Skowhegan.

Author Margaret Shiels Konitzky reveals the stories of local heroes and the relentless spirit of midcoast Maine.

While World War II raged overseas, the people of midcoast Maine responded with remarkable achievements on the homefront. The shipyard at Bath Iron Works launched a new destroyer every seventeen days. Bowdoin College had more military than civilian students and held three commencements per year. Boothbay Harbor, Bailey Island and Damariscotta all had military bases, and anyone who owned or sailed a boat was recruited for coastal defense. Women worked at machine shops, registered their neighbors for rationing and volunteered for the Civil Defense and Red Cross. Author Margaret Shiels Konitzky reveals the stories of local heroes and the relentless spirit of midcoast Maine.

With Around Hallowell, author Bob Briggs has created a nostalgic look at his home from the Civil War era to the 1940s.

Incorporated in 1771, Hallowell is one of Maine's oldest permanent settlements. Incredibly, the 1807 American Encyclopedia predicted that Hallowell would one day be one of the nation's largest cities. This book focuses on the city in its heyday of prosperity, culture, and education, and it gives the reader insight into the now-vanished industries of shipping, granite, lumber, and ice that comprised the staple of Hallowell's financial prosperity. Over the years, urban renewal has claimed many of Water Street's most prominent landmarks. Manu of the 200 rare photographs included in this volume depicts these historic buildings and street scenes as they once were. Covering the area along the Kennebec River between Farmingdale and Augusta, these images speak volumes about a time when life moved at a leisurely pace, enabling residents to take time out for cultural and spiritual refinement.

Collected in this intriguing visual history are more than 200 photographs that bring to life the history of Colby College from 1813 to 1963.

Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our image of the past, and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history. Collected in this intriguing visual history are more than 200 photographs that bring to life the history of Colby College from 1813 to the sesquicentennial in 1963. From President Chaplin's voyage up the Kennebec River to the relocation of Colby to Mayflower Hill, it focuses on the events, and more importantly on the people that have defined Colby's history. Using material from the Colby College Archives, Anestes Fotiades leads us on a unique journey into the past, where the faculty, staff, and students of Colby are remembered with reverence and pride; people like President J. Seelye Bixler, Webster ""Bugsy"" Chester, Julian Taylor, and many others. The photographs have been chosen to provide an accurate history as well as a delightful voyage of nostalgia into the heritage of one of Maine's most progressive institutions of higher education.

From Fort George and Fort Madison to ""Battleground of Four Nations,"" Castine documents the history of this bucolic Maine village.

Castine is a delightfully tranquil village located on a peninsula bounded by the Bagaduce River on one side and Penobscot Bay on the other. It makes a powerful impression upon all who visit: indeed the very name Castine conjures up images of verdant landscapes, of sea-washed shores, and of life in a serene Maine village; images so magical that they become ingrained in one's memory. Castine is a charming, peaceful place, but it has not always been so. Visited as early as 1604 by European explorers and traders, Castine has since been known as the ""Battleground of Four Nations"" because French, Dutch, English, and American soldiers have fought for control of this strategically important place over the years. The remains of two forts-- Fort George and Fort Madison--stand testimony to the part that Castine played in America's formative wars.

The pristine natural beauty of the Moosehead Lake Region is legendary.

Towering white pines, clear rivers, the massive Mount Kineo, and the unforgettable, stunning expanse of the lake itself have offered spiritual renewal to civilization-weary people for centuries. This fascinating visual history captures the essence of the Moosehead Lake Region, and reveals the many people and places that have been important in the area's past. Included are photographs of the grand hotels and the Mount Kineo House; the steamboats that plied the waters of the lake; camps such as Camp Lucky and Camp Comfort; and the stories of both Henry Red Eagle, an Algonquin boy who at 14 was the youngest licensed guide in the state of Maine (later becoming an entertainer and author), and the hermit of Moose Island, John Cusack (not the actor). The accompanying captions include a wealth of information as well as excerpts from interviews with people who spent their lives on and around Moosehead Lake.

From the era of the indigenous Passamaquoddy people to the booming growth that led to its development as a 20th-century commercial hub, the history of Calais is distinctly American.

Briefly settled by Europeans in 1604 when a French group that included Samuel de Champlain spent an ill-fated winter fraught with casualties, Calais’s first permanent settlers arrived in 1779. As the lumber trade developed, the young city thrived in spite of its remote location. The first industrial railroad in the state was built in Calais in 1832 to fuel its development as the second-busiest port on the Eastern Seaboard, and soon, families like the Murchies and the Becketts were heavily involved in furthering local businesses. Lumber, shipbuilding, and granite quarrying each contributed to Calais’s rise—as well as its gradual 20th-century decline as the respective industries collapsed.From a height of nearly 8,000 residents in 1900, Calais’s population steadily dwindled to less than 3,000 today.

Author Lura Jackson, MA, has been promoting the work of the St. Croix Historical Society, of which she is an officer, for several years. The former editor of the Calais Advertiser, Jackson has a strong passion for highlighting and preserving Calais history in the interest of better informing the future. Al Churchill, retired public defender and president of the St. Croix Historical Society, provides the foreword.

This wonderful photographic history shows how much, and yet how little, has changed over the century from 1870 to 1970.

The Boothbay Harbor Region was one of the first parts of the country to be colonized by European settlers, and for over 370 years it has been a home for boat builders, fishermen, farmers, and artists, as well as a vacation destination for more than a century. The Region has maintained its tranquility and sense of tradition throughout and it is fascinating to see farmers ploughing their fields using oxen as late as the 1940s. These photographs show us the faces and places that make up the Region's history: old buildings now long gone, a president's visit and Hollywood film sets, devastating fires and destructive storms, people walking on the frozen bay in the winter and haying in the summer, fishermen and yachtsmen plying the waves, ship launches and shipwrecks. We see church congregations, school sports teams, grizzled sailors, hardworking farmers, a hot dog king, and ordinary families—the ordinary folk of the Boothbay Harbor Region and the intricacies of their day-to-day lives in this beautiful area.

The Oxford Hills have always been unique in the history of Maine. They were not settled until after the French and Indian War of 1763, and their isolation allowed the communities to develop distinct identities apart from external influences. The arrival of the railroad connected the area to Portland and Boston, sparking the development of a thriving wood products industry to complement the region s agricultural economy. As transportation developed, so did the outside world s awareness of the pristine natural beauty of the Oxford Hills, and the resulting influx of tourists and sportsmen brought further growth and diversity to the area. Despite the many changes that have transpired since the sound of the first axe resounded through the valley of the Little Androscoggin River, the Oxford Hills remain one of the most rugged, independent, and beautiful regions in all of Maine."

In 1668, a Sagamore Indian named Wesumbe conveyed all of the lands between the Great and Little Ossipee Rivers to Kittery trader Francis Small. This area ranged from the waters of the Saco to the Newichawannock River. For over

100 years, the land title was questioned. Finally, the ancient deed was declared genuine by two Boston experts: William P. Upham of the Suffolk County Court and Robert B. Swan, commissioner of public records for Massachusetts. Once the

court rendered the deed valid in 1772, this unbroken wilderness was surveyed. Within a few short years, five new communities emerged. Over 230 years later, The Ossipee Valley presents a visual history of the villages, lifestyles, and the countryside as it once was. Vintage photographs

witness a place of family and friends, working and sacrificing for what they believed important.

With rich historical photographs and stunning side-by-side contemporary comparisons, journey back in time and discover a new side of the Maine coast.

Blessed with extraordinary natural beauty, the village of Ogunquit has attracted artists of every kind. The artistic culture introduced by Charles Woodbury and Hamilton Easter Field, and later enriched by the success of the Ogunquit Playhouse, greatly added to the natural beauty of Ogunquit's Marginal Way, white sand beach, and harbor in Perkins Cove. Authors Kathryn M. Severson, Susan Day Meffert, and Marie D. Natoli have collaborated to capture the enduring charm of this "beautiful place by the sea.'?