In contrast to the state of Ohio, where I grew up and which has 88 counties, Maine has just 16 and 41.3 people per square mile. It became our twenty-third state on March 15, 1820.
According to the Maine web site, the state flower is the white pine cone. The state motto is “Dirigo” (I Lead). It’s probably not much of a surprise that the moose was selected as the state animal.
Despite its small size, Maine has a lot of trivia. For example, a cannery in Wilton imports and cans only dandelion greens, according to 50states.com. Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name. Eastport has the honor of being the easternmost city in the United States and has been designated the first place in the country to receive rays from the morning sun.
Maine is also the only state to share a border with only one other state. It’s known for its 40 million pounds of lobster catch, which provides nearly 90 percent of the country’s supply. However, most people don’t know that the state produces 99 percent of the blueberries in the nation. It’s also responsible for 90 percent of the U.S. toothpick supply.
The earliest residents of what is now Mine were descendants of Ice Age hunters. Although Portland served as the first state capital, Augusta was chosen in 1832 and remains the easternmost capital city in the United States.
Togus, opened in 1866, served as the first Veteran’s Hospital in the country. Maine native Joshua L. Chamberlain received the only battlefield promotion to General during the Civil War and was also the last soldier to die of wounds suffered during that conflict.
Aroostock County, Maine covers 6,453 square miles. It’s larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. The state actually was the site of an unsuccessful attempt in 1607 to establish a permanent English settlement in the New World.
Maine has connections to quite a few famous Americans. Author Steven King resides in Bangor, and former President George Bush maintains a summer home in Kennebunkport. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, the first female presidential candidate, called the state home. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland in 1807. Edmund S. Muskie, the first Democratic U.S. Senator elected by popular vote, was born in Rumford. He also served two terms as governor or Maine.
Freeport, Maine is famous as the home of the L.L. Bean Company. Tourists will want to check out the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport for historic buildings and marine memorabilia. The Sailor’s Memorial Museum in Isleboro depicts life at sea. For Knox was constructed in 1844, built to protect the Penobscot River Valley against British naval attacks. It was built out of granite from nearby Mount Waldo.
Another popular site is the Bryant Stove Works and Museum in Thorndike Village. Visitors can see an unusual collection of antique cast iron stoves, parlor heaters, roadsters and touring cars. Also on display: antique player pianos, pipe organs, music boxes, calliopes, nickelodeons and hurdy-gurdys.
The many lighthouses along the Maine coast are always favorite attractions. Two of the most visited include Fort Point Lighthouse at Fort Point State Park in Stock Springs and Grindle Point Lighthouse on Isleboro.
Maine has a number of firsts in its history. The country’s first sawmill was built near York, which was the nation’s first incorporated city, in 1623. In 1607, the first ship built by English colonists in America was launched in the Kennebec River. And the first battle of the Revolutionary War took place off Machias in 1775. In addition to having 22 cities, 435 towns, 33 plantations and 424 unorganized townships, the state is home to 3 Indian reservations.
Reference:
- Maine web site
