The Maine Historical Society is the official state

historical society A historical society (sometimes also preservation society) is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future gen ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. The Society currently operates the

Wadsworth-Longfellow House The Wadsworth-Longfellow House is a historic house and museum in Portland, Maine, United States. It is located at 489 Congress Street and is operated by the Maine Historical Society. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, a ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, Longfellow Garden, the Maine Historical Society Museum and Store, the Brown Research Library, as well as the Maine Memory Network, an online database of documents and images that includes resources from many of state's local historical societies.

History

The Maine Historical Society was founded in 1822 and is the third oldest state historical society after the

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...

and

New York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

. Influential members of the Maine Historical Society included many of Maine's

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

philanthropists, such as

James Phinney Baxter James Phinney Baxter (March 23, 1831 – May 8, 1921) was an American politician, businessperson, historian, civic leader, and benefactor of Portland, Maine. He was elected as mayor of Portland for six single-year terms between 1893 and 1905. Hi ...

Presidents

William Willis, Mayor of Portland, was the president of the Maine Historical Society (1856–1865). Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., official State Historian of Maine, was president of MHS from 1977 to 1979.

Brown Library

The research library at the Maine Historical Society is named for John Marshall Brown and his wife Alida (Carroll) Brown. The current library building was built in 1907, designed by

Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. (August 18, 1854, Portland, Maine – February 16, 1934, Portland) was an American architect and nephew of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Biography Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. was the son of Alex ...

, nephew of the poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The library underwent an extensive renovation in 2007, at which time it was named for the Browns. Since 1822, the Maine Historical Society has maintained a library collection. The holdings are dedicated to the history of Maine and include books, archival material, maps, newspapers, photographs, as well as engineering and architectural drawings. The library also collects on family history, specifically

, early

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and eastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Maine Historical Society Museum

The Maine Historical Society Museum is located at the Society's headquarters at 489 Congress Street,

. Topics for the changing exhibits include Maine's history, politics, culture, sports, religion, art, and business.

Collections of the Maine Historical Society

Documentary History of the State of Maine (1869–1916)

Also known as the Second Series, this series was published simultaneously as the Collections of the Maine Historical Society, which unfortunately also maintains its own second series.
Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3 (Trelawny Papers)Vol. 4 (1629–1689)Vol. 5 (1689–1698)Vol. 6 (1641–1689)Vol. 7 (Farnham Papers)Vol. 8 (Farnham Papers)Vol. 9 (1689–1723)Vol. 10 (1662–1729)Vol. 11 (1729–1749)Vol. 12 (1749–1755)Vol. 13 (1755–1768)Vol. 14 (1766–1777)Vol. 15 (1777–1778)Vol. 16 (1778–1779)Vol. 17 (1777–1779)Vol. 18 (1779–1780)Vol. 19 (1780–1782)Vol. 20 (1781–1785)Vol. 21 (1785–1788)Vol. 22 (1788–1791)Vol. 23 (Native affairs)Vol. 24 (Native affairs)

References

External links

Official WebsiteHenry Wadsworth LongfelllowMaine Memory NetworkCollections of the Maine Historical Society - Index Vol.1-10
{{authority control 1822 establishments in Maine State historical societies of the United States Historic preservation organizations in the United States Libraries in Cumberland County, Maine History of New England History museums in Maine Museums in Portland, Maine Historical societies in Maine