Oct. 22, 1886: Amid high winds, a fire destroys 33 houses, 19 stores, three churches, two hotels, a bank, the county jail and the post office in Farmington. The fire begins in a Front Street barn owned by John A. Storyell, where about 45 tons of hay are stored. The wind carries cinders in all […]
This Day in Maine History
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 21
Oct. 21, 1947: Strong wind fans the flames of fires already burning for three days on Mount Desert Island, boosting the area burned from about 169 acres to more than 2,000. On the afternoon of the next day, the wind changes and pushes the fire directly toward Bar Harbor. It travels 6 miles in less […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 20
Oct. 20, 1860: Spectators gather at Portland Harbor to watch the Prince of Wales – Britain’s future King Edward VII (1841-1910) – depart for England aboard his ship, HMS Hero. The 18-year-old prince, who arrived by special train that afternoon from Boston and was treated to a luncheon at the city’s Preble House, is returning […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 19
Oct. 19, 1814: In an era when Maine remains part of Massachusetts, three men representing Maine counties in the Massachusetts Senate ask the Massachusetts General Court (the state legislature) to appoint a committee to consider raising a force to drive British troops out of eastern Maine, which those troops recently attacked and occupied. The General […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 18
Oct. 18, 1775: In the opening phase of the Revolutionary War, a British fleet under the command of Lt. Henry Mowatt, aboard the HMS Canceaux, attacks the part of Falmouth that now is downtown Portland with incendiary cannonballs and, later, militia units lighting fires. More than 400 homes are destroyed or damaged. The incident traumatizes […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 17
Oct. 17, 1793: After eight years of failed efforts to separate Maine from Massachusetts, a meeting called by separation proponents is held at the courthouse in Portland. They hope a provision in the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution calling for a people’s review of that document might provide impetus for the District of Maine’s separation and that […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 16
Oct. 16, 2012: A magnitude-4.5 earthquake in the York County town of Waterboro is felt across New England. It is detected even in central New York state and northern New Jersey. The epicenter originally is reported to be 4 miles northeast of East Waterboro and 3 miles west of Hollis Center, but a review of […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct. 15
Oct. 15, 1952: Harper & Bros. publishes the children’s novel “Charlotte’s Web,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist and novelist E.B. White (1899-1985), who, with his author and editor wife, Katharine (1892-1977), lived for many years in a farmhouse in the Hancock County town of Brooklin. Elwyn Brooks White, a New York state native, wrote for six […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct 14
Oct. 14, 1794: When delegates gather in Portland to consider again the question of whether the District of Maine should separate from Massachusetts, it becomes clear that this second phase of efforts to achieve that goal are making no more progress than the first, in the late 1780s. Nonetheless, the convention concludes that Maine’s prosperity […]
On this date in Maine history: Oct 13
Oct. 13, 1950: Twentieth Century Fox releases the drama film “All About Eve,” starring Bette Davis (1908-1989) and a cast including Gary Merrill (1915-1990), both actors with strong Maine connections. The movie wins six Academy Awards. Davis and Merrill married each other while the film was in production; they divorced 10 years later after […]