Maine Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Maine trivia? Try our list Maine little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The Total Abstinence Society was founded in Portland (pop. 64,249) in 1815, and a state organization of temperance societies was formed by 1834. Within a dozen years, the teetotal groups had developed enough political clout to force the enactment of a state law prohibiting the sale of alcoholic spirits except for "medicinal and mechanical" purposes.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

Thomas B. Reed, who was born in Portland in 1839, served in the U.S. Congress through the final quarter of the 19th century. So energetically did he pursue House rules reforms that he became known as "Czar Reed," while his changes in parliamentary procedures were known as Reed's Rules.

first appeared: 10/4/2009

The Gaol, a Colonial prison in York (pop. 12,854), was built in 1656 and rebuilt in 1719 from timbers salvaged from the original structure. With the influx of settlers into Maine in the mid-18th century, the building was enlarged to provide more space to house criminals, as well as to improve living quarters for the gaoler's family. The jail became a museum in 1900.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

In 1820, students Elijah Hamlin and Ezekiel Holmes discovered the mineral tourmaline when they took a shortcut through the hills of Paris (pop. 4,793). The boys noticed a green shimmer in the soil among the roots of an overturned tree and more of the gemstones on the ground.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

In 1604, a French expedition led by Pierre du Gua de Monts and geographer Samuel de Champlain landed on St. Croix Island within present-day Calais (pop. 3,447) and established the settlement of Acadia. Even though the settlement was short-lived, it marked the beginnings of a French presence in eastern Maine.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

At the Pleasant Point (pop. 640) Passamaquoddy Reservation, a monument placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution honors the Indians who fought with Colonists against the British during the Revolutionary War.

first appeared: 8/9/2009

In the early 1900s, Alvin Lombard, of Waterville (pop. 15,605), invented a steam-powered crawler-tractor for use in logging operations in the woods of northern Maine and New Hampshire. The machine, known as the Lombard steam log hauler, liberated horses from the tortuous work of hauling trains of sleds loaded with logs over iced roads in the winter.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—A now-famous signpost on Route 35 in Lynchville in Oxford County (pop. 54,755) may confuse travelers who are sure they're in the United States. The sign lists the mileage to towns named for eight countries, including Norway and China, and one city, Paris.

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—Chester Greenwood (1858-1937), of Farmington (pop. 7,410), was only 15 when he designed a headpiece that became known as earmuffs, building them from wire, beaver fur and cloth. By 1886, Chester Greenwood & Co. was producing and shipping Champion Ear Protectors around the world.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—The Malta War was an insurrection of rural settlers who did not have title to land in what is now the state of Maine but still resisted attempts to be removed from the property. The uprising reached its peak in 1808 and 1809.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—The Maine Penny is a Norwegian silver penny found in 1957 at the archeological remains of an American Indian settlement at Naskeag Point on Penobscot Bay. The coin is one of the few pre-Columbian Norse artifacts found in the United States and is generally regarded to be genuine.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—Built in 1754 as a fortified storehouse to support Fort Halifax to the north, Old Fort Western in Augusta (pop. 18,560), is the nation's oldest surviving wooden fort.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—Formed during the Colonial territorial disputes between the Province of Massachusetts and the Province of Maine, Devonshire County was a short-lived entity. It was named in 1674, when Massachusetts exerted its jurisdiction in the area, but ended in 1675 with the outbreak of King Phillip's War in southeastern Massachusetts.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–Theories abound as to how Maine got its name, but one of the most popular beliefs is that it refers to a nautical term, the main or Meyne, to distinguish the main part of the state from the numerous islands off its coast.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—Located in Thorndike (pop. 712), the Bryant Stove Works and Museum displays an eclectic collection of antique cast iron stoves, parlor heaters, roadsters, touring cars, antique pianos and pipe organs.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—Filled with displays depicting life at sea, the Sailor's Memorial Museum at Grindle Point Lighthouse in Isleboro is located in the keeper's house and is maintained by the town.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—The Spirit of the Sea, a bronze fountain sculpture of a woman, is a landmark in Bath (pop. 9,266). The sculpture was created by William Zorach and installed in 1962.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—Fort Knox, located in Prospect (pop. 642), was erected in the mid-1800s to protect the Penobscot River Valley from a naval attack by the British. Made of granite, the fort was named for Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—The skating scene in the 1996 movie The Preacher’s Wife, starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, was filmed in Portland (pop. 64,249).

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—The town of Steuben (pop. 1,126) was incorporated in 1795 and gained its name in honor of Baron Von Steuben, a German drillmaster who trained Colonial troops during the American Revolution.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

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