Maine Historical Society

Maine Historical Society MHS preserves & shares Maine's story. We're bringing the Declaration of Independence on tour this summer!

See this rare document up close at one of our 16 stops across the state: www.mainehistory.org/doi

Earlier this month, MHS and friends spent a memorable evening with two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Alan Taylor...
06/01/2026

Earlier this month, MHS and friends spent a memorable evening with two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Alan Taylor. From a fascinating lecture on Continental soldier Joseph Plumb Martin to thoughtful conversation on Maine’s revolutionary legacy with MHS Executive Director Steve Bromage, the night brought history to life.

Guests also explored Pathways to Freedom: Maine Stories of the American Revolution including a viewing of our Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence. Thank you to everyone who joined us as part of Revolutionary Maine: America at 250 — and to our media sponsor, Maine Public, for helping make the evening possible.

05/28/2026

On the night of July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was ratified by Congress and the final draft was rushed to print to announce independence across the colonies. These first copies are known as the Dunlap broadsides and only 26 of them survive today. Don't miss your chance to see our rare Dunlap broadside when it goes on tour to all sixteen Maine counties this summer! Reserve your spot at the link in our bio.

05/26/2026

This summer, get up close and personal with one of our nation's most sacred documents. We're taking our rare copy of the Declaration of Independence on the road to all sixteen Maine counties and we want you to be a part of the journey! Find all tour stops and reserve your free tickets at mainehistory.org/doi 🇺🇸 🌲

"Sleep, comrades, sleep and restOn this Field of the Grounded Arms,Where foes no more mo**st,Nor sentry’s shot alarms!Ye...
05/25/2026

"Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more mo**st,
Nor sentry’s shot alarms!

Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon’s sudden roar,
Or the drum’s redoubling beat.

But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.

All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.

Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours."

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Decoration Day"

World War Memorial, Kittery, 1924. Collections of Maine Historical Society / MaineToday Media, MaineMemory.Net #74595.

A special piece of history is coming to Sagadahoc County, right here at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath 🇺🇸 From July 17–18...
05/24/2026

A special piece of history is coming to Sagadahoc County, right here at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath 🇺🇸 From July 17–18, Maine Historical Society’s rare Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of
Independence will be on display in our galleries—don’t miss this opportunity to see this historic document up close and personal!

Reserve your free timed ticket now: https://www.mainehistory.org/revolutionary-maine-doi-bath/



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From George Washington's early military career and role among the Virginia gentry, to his leadership during the American...
05/24/2026

From George Washington's early military career and role among the Virginia gentry, to his leadership during the American Revolution and reluctant return to public service as the first president of the United States, H.W. Brands' newest book, American Patriarch, brings to life the man who was called on time and again by his peers to lead. Learn how Washington became the icon of American virtue who wrested America free from British control, gave credibility to the Constitution, and crafted the norms that would steady America as a nation for generations to follow. Arriving as the U.S. marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, this is a masterful portrait of Washington as the unrivaled leader of his times.

Thursday, May 28 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Register for this free, virtual program: https://www.mainehistory.org/events/american-patriarch/

Mali Agat (also known as Molly Ockett) was a Wabanaki woman from the Pigwacket homeland, widely known among Native peopl...
05/23/2026

Mali Agat (also known as Molly Ockett) was a Wabanaki woman from the Pigwacket homeland, widely known among Native people and settlers in northern New England and southern Quebec. She was part of a large and interrelated network of families who inhabited and traveled in the northern Wabanaki homelands—now parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Canada. A skilled artist and healer, Mali, like many Wabanaki people, adapted to the changes wrought by colonization in her homeland and was a witness to the war for independence.

Join MHS and author Bunny McBride for an illustrated talk about the 18th-century Pigwacket doctress who navigated the stunning upheavals of traditional Indigenous life in Maine with her traditional medicine skills and Ingenious adaptability.

Wednesday, May 27 at 1 p.m. on Zoom. Register for this free, virtual event: https://www.mainehistory.org/events/revolutionary-characters-mali-agat/

"The lilacs are in bloom, and the apple trees. The whole world is a flower garden; and all the birds are singing singing...
05/21/2026

"The lilacs are in bloom, and the apple trees. The whole world is a flower garden; and all the birds are singing singing, singing." —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, no one doubted who was responsible. Said one del...
05/18/2026

When the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, no one doubted who was responsible. Said one delegate: “The man to whom the country is most indebted for the great measure of independence is Mr. John Adams. . . . I call him the Atlas of American independence.” Born of humble means outside Boston, Massachusetts, Adams’s work ethic led him to become one of the colony’s most successful attorneys. Festering tensions with Great Britain thrust him onto the national stage where he became the intellectual architect of American independence. Perhaps more than any other American, he rose to the historical moment, urging his contemporaries into the unknown future. Join Chris Mackowski for a look at his new book on this fascinating founding father, 'Atlas of Independence: John Adams and the American Revolution.'

📅 Tuesday, May 19 (tomorrow!) at 1 p.m. on Zoom. Register for this free, virtual program: https://www.mainehistory.org/events/atlas-of-independence/

Today is World Fiddle Day! 🎻 💃Mellie Dunham, "Maine's Chamption Fiddler," was born in 1853 in Norway, Maine. At the age ...
05/16/2026

Today is World Fiddle Day! 🎻 💃

Mellie Dunham, "Maine's Chamption Fiddler," was born in 1853 in Norway, Maine. At the age of thirteen, Dunham bought a fiddle in pieces, repaired it, and started playing. Dunham became so talented that in 1925 he won a fiddle contest in Lewiston and was invited by automobile tycoon Henry Ford to Dearborn, Michigan to play at Ford’s home. After Dunham’s rise to popularity in 1925, he published fiddling music including Rippling Waves Waltz. The Victor Recording Studio in Brooklyn, New York pressed a 78 recording of Dunham playing the song.

Dunham was also an accomplished snowshoe maker and co-founded the Norway Snowshoe Company in 1909. He made snowshoes for Robert E. Peary’s Arctic explorations, with Peary noting the snowshoes never failed him.

He and his wife Emma performed on vaudeville stages including in New York, Boston, Washington DC and Philadelphia. Emma played piano, their daughter Pearl the pump organ, and Pearl’s husband Nathan Noble, accompanied Dunham on bass fiddle. The quartet played local dances as “Mellie Dunham's dance band.”

Mellie Dunham and granddaughter, ca. 1925. Collections of Maine Historical Society / MaineToday Media. MaineMemory.Net #18985.

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489 Congress Street
Portland, ME
04101

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Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

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+12077741822

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