Maine Trivia & Tidbits - Page 2

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

—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

—After President Abraham Lincoln signed an act in 1865 establishing the National Asylum (later changed to Home) for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the first to open was Togus in Augusta (pop. 18,560) in 1866. The home became a Veterans Administration facility in 1930.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—A 40-mile-long scale model of the solar system—nine planets, their moons and the sun—is located along Route 1, between the University of Maine at Presque Isle (pop. 9,511) and the Houltan (pop. 6,476) Information Center at the end of Interstate 95.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—In Waterville (pop. 15,605), a subcommittee of the Main Street program devised a plan to draw more people to its resurgent downtown area. By encouraging employees of downtown businesses to park in more than 200 parking spots marked with signs painted with a bright white star, spaces nearer the businesses are freed for customer parking.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

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

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—The Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, located near Bristol (pop. 2,644), was built in 1827. Due to poor workmanship, the lighthouse began to crumble and was replaced in 1835.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—Eastern Egg Rock, an island off the coast of Maine, is a popular nesting site for seabirds, including puffins. When hunting greatly diminished puffin numbers, scientists in the 1970s and ’80s successfully reintroduced the bird to the island.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Nordic skier Wendell “Chummy” Broomhall of Rumford (pop. 6,472) was a 1948 and 1952 Olympian and a member of the 1950 World Championship team. For his achievements, he was inducted into both the Maine and national ski halls of fame.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—Originally called Holmanstown, the community was renamed Mexico (pop. 2,959) in 1818 when residents petitioned for incorporation. At the time, Mexicans were fighting for their freedom from Spain, and residents of the town made the change to show support for the Mexican freedom fighters.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—The elegant brick houses of Strathglass Park Historic District in Rumford (pop. 6,472) were built in 1901 by Hugh J. Chisholm, founder of the Oxford Paper Co., in hopes of attracting a qualified work force. Because of the park’s historical significance, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

—The nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation, headquartered in Rockland (pop. 7,609), is devoted to preserving lighthouses throughout the nation. The foundation also operates the Museum of Lighthouse History, home to a large collection of lighthouse lenses and artifacts and U.S. Coast Guard memorabilia.

first appeared: 8/10/2008

—Journalist and author Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957) was born in Kennebunk (pop. 10,476). He worked for the Saturday Evening Post and other publications and wrote historical novels, including Arundel and Northwest Passage.

first appeared: 7/27/2008

—Abby Spector Kershner of Waterville (pop. 15,605) was a seven-time Women’s Maine State Golf Association champ. Her playing career was curtailed after complications from heart surgery affected her motor skills and vision. Since then, she has been a golf course assistant pro and was inducted in the Maine Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.

first appeared: 6/29/2008

—Rockland (pop. 7,609) and Wiscasset (pop. 3,603) were among several filming locations in the state for the 2001 movie In the Bedroom, starring Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson.

first appeared: 6/15/2008

—Willowbrook Museum Village in Newfield (pop. 1,328) replicates a 19th-century community, complete with a restored 1894 carousel with 24 horses and chariots and period music. The Armitage-Herschell carousel was donated by I.H. Fenderson Jr. in 1978.

first appeared: 6/1/2008

—Established in 1998 when 4,700 acres were transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge is located on part of the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone (pop. 2,361). The refuge also administers some 2,400 wetland conservation easements throughout Aroostook County.

first appeared: 5/18/2008

—Established in 1995, the Ski Museum of Maine in Farmington (pop. 7,410) aims to identify and preserve the state’s skiing heritage as well as publicize the state’s skiing industry. Part of this effort included establishment of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.

first appeared: 5/4/2008

—The Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland was the childhood home of 19th-century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Originally a two-story structure with a pitched roof, the house was the first wholly brick dwelling in the city.

first appeared: 3/9/2008

—Built in 1962, the Roosevelt International Bridge connects Lubec (pop. 1,652) and Campobello Island, site of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s summer home. The bridge spans an area of water called The Narrows, through which swift tidal currents flow. Before construction of the bridge, cars were ferried from the island to the mainland.

first appeared: 2/24/2008

—Logging in Maine began in the early 1600s when explorers first felled trees on Monhegan Island. In 1634, the first sawmill operated by steam was opened in South Berwick (pop. 6,671). By 1832, Bangor (pop. 31,473) had become the lumber shipping capital of the world, but by the 1880s, the industry was in decline.

first appeared: 2/10/2008

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