A Christmas Mystery in Portland: Where’s Longfellow’s scarf?
It’s a Portland holiday tradition like the tree in Monument Square, the fancy lights and the menorah at City Hall.
All posts by Troy R. Bennett
That time the Civil War was fought in Portland Harbor
The revenue cutter lay at anchor in the harbor with almost no one aboard. Her skipper died the day before from a heart attack. Most of her crew was ashore on leave, yucking it up at the local taverns.
These Mainers rescued a pair of thieves off this storm tossed island
They’d stood in knee-deep ocean water for most of that December night. It was a miracle they’d survived.
The Maine politician who infuriated rivals, hurled insults and fixed Congress
Due to his ruthless legislative tactics, his political opponents called him “Czar Reed.” They meant it as an insult but Reed liked the nickname just fine.
This Mainer is the only American ever executed for slave trading
In 1860, he traded whiskey for 897 human beings. Half of them were children.
A Broadway star lost his island cottage so thousands of Mainers could have clean water
Malcolm Williams — who was married to the equally famous Florence Reed — was caught swimming in front of his place by a patrol boat.
On this Veterans Day: 7 Maine soldiers who quietly helped win the Civil War
One received the Medal of Honor, but we’re not talking about Joshua Chamberlain.
8 photos from Maine’s history that give a glimpse of how things used to be
Maine Memory Network is a website where local historical societies around the state can upload their photos and documents into one centralized, searchable database.
Promised immortality, investors only lost their shirts on this canal scheme
It was supposed to be a project for the ages. In reality, it never turned a profit and now most of it has vanished.
Portland’s iconic monument was viewed by Italian royalty, then stuffed in a boatload of sulfur
This is the twisting, two-decade-long tale of how Portland’s Monument Square statue came to be.
