Maine Historical Society

Historical society in Maine, US

Wadsworth-Longfellow House, ca. 1785

The Maine Historical Society (MHS) is the official historical society of the U.S. state of Maine. It is located at 489 Congress Street in downtown Portland. The Society currently operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, a National Historic Landmark, Longfellow Garden, the Maine Historical Society Museum and Store, the Brown Research Library, as well as the Maine Memory Network, an online database of documents and images that includes resources from many of state's local historical societies.

## History

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The Maine Historical Society was founded in 1822 and is the third-oldest state historical society after the Massachusetts Historical Society and New York Historical Society. Influential members of the Maine Historical Society included many of Maine's Yankee businessmen, intellectuals, philanthropists, and political figures, including James Phinney Baxter, Josiah Crosby and George J. Varney.

### Presidents

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William Willis, mayor of Portland, was the president of the Maine Historical Society from 1856 to 1865.[1] James Phinney Baxter was president from 1889 to 1921.[2] Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., state historian of Maine, was president of MHS from 1977 to 1979.

## Brown Library

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The research library at the Maine Historical Society is named for John Marshall Brown and his wife Alida (Carroll) Brown. The current library building was built in 1907 (replacing the Morton Block),[3] designed by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow, nephew of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The library underwent an extensive renovation in 2007, at which time it was named for the Browns.[4] Since 1822, the Maine Historical Society has maintained a library collection. The holdings are dedicated to the history of Maine and include books, archival material, maps, newspapers, photographs, as well as engineering and architectural drawings. The library also collects on family history, specifically Maine, early New England and eastern Canada.

## Maine Historical Society Museum

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The Maine Historical Society Museum is located at the Society's headquarters at 489 Congress Street, Portland. Topics for the changing exhibits include Maine's history, politics, culture, sports, religion, art, and business.

## See also

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* History of Maine
* List of historical societies in Maine
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
* William Hutchinson Rowe, former board member
* Rufus Cutler Libby, photographer

## References

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1. ^ "William Willis Papers M189". library.bowdoin.edu.
2. ^ Eastman, Harland H.. "Major Publications of The Maine Historical Society: A Brief Account." Maine History 45, 4 (2011): 308-316. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol45/iss4/2
3. ^ Ledman, Paul J. (2016). Walking Through History: Portland, Maine on Foot. Next Steps Publishing. p. 30\. ISBN 978-0-9728587-1-7.
4. ^ "Maine Historical Society: Library Grand Re-Opening". www.mainehistory.org.

## External links

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* Official Website
* Henry Wadsworth Longfelllow
* Maine Memory Network
* Collections of the Maine Historical Society - Index Vol.1-10

* v
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Historical societies of the U.S. states

Northeast|

| New England|

* Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
* Maine Historical Society
* Massachusetts Historical Society
* New Hampshire Historical Society
* Rhode Island Historical Society
* Vermont Historical Society

|

Mid-Atlantic|

* Delaware Historical Society
* Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
* Maryland Historical Society
* New Jersey Historical Society
* New York Historical
* Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Midwest|

| East North Central|

* Illinois State Historical Society
* Indiana Historical Society
* Historical Society of Michigan
* Ohio History Connection
* Wisconsin Historical Society

|

West North Central|

* State Historical Society of Iowa
* Kansas Historical Society
* Minnesota Historical Society
* State Historical Society of Missouri
* Missouri Historical Society
* Nebraska State Historical Society
* State Historical Society of North Dakota
* South Dakota State Historical Society

South|

| South Atlantic|

* Florida Historical Society
* Georgia Historical Society
* North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
* South Carolina Historical Society
* Virginia Historical Society
* West Virginia Division of Culture and History

|

East South Central|

* Alabama Historical Commission
* Kentucky Historical Society
* Mississippi Historical Society
* Tennessee Historical Commission

West South Central|

* Arkansas Historical Association
* Louisiana Historical Society
* Oklahoma Historical Society
* Texas State Historical Association

West|

| Mountain|

* Arizona Historical Society
* History Colorado
* Idaho State Historical Society
* Montana Historical Society
* Nevada Historical Society
* Historical Society of New Mexico
* Utah State Historical Society
* Wyoming State Historical Society

|

Pacific|

* Alaska Historical Society
* California Historical Society
* Hawaiian Historical Society
* Oregon Historical Society
* Washington State Historical Society

* v
* t
* e

U.S. state history museums

Northeast|

| New England|

* Museum of Connecticut History (Hartford)
* Maine State Museum (Augusta)
* Maine Historical Society Museum (Portland)
* Commonwealth Museum (Boston)
* Vermont History Museum (Montpelier)

|

Mid-Atlantic|

* Delaware History Museum (Wilmington)
* City Museum of Washington, D.C. (Washington, D.C.)
* New Jersey State Museum (Trenton)
* New York State Museum (Albany)
* State Museum of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg)

Midwest|

| East North Central|

* Illinois State Museum (Springfield)
* Indiana State Museum (Indianapolis)
* Michigan History Museum (Lansing)
* Ohio History Center (Columbus)
* Wisconsin Historical Museum (Madison)

|

West North Central|

* State Historical Museum of Iowa (Des Moines)
* Kansas Museum of History (Topeka)
* Minnesota History Center (Saint Paul)
* Missouri State Museum (Jefferson City)
* Missouri History Museum (St. Louis)
* Museum of Nebraska History (Lincoln)
* North Dakota Heritage Center (Bismarck)

South|

| South Atlantic|

* Museum of Florida History (Tallahassee)
* Virginia Historical Society (Richmond, Virginia)
* North Carolina Museum of History (Raleigh)
* South Carolina State Museum (Columbia)

|

East South Central|

* Alabama Department of Archives and History (Montgomery)
* Kentucky Museum (Bowling Green)
* Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History (Frankfort)
* Museum of Mississippi History (Jackson)
* Tennessee State Museum (Nashville)

West South Central|

* Historic Arkansas Museum (Little Rock)
* Louisiana State Museum (New Orleans)
* Louisiana History Museum (Alexandria)
* Oklahoma History Center (Oklahoma City)
* Bullock Texas State History Museum (Austin)

West|

| Mountain|

* Arizona State Museum (Tucson)
* History Colorado Center (Denver)
* Idaho History Center (Boise)
* Montana Historical Society Museum (Helena)
* Nevada State Museum (Las Vegas)
* Nevada State Museum (Carson City)
* New Mexico History Museum (Santa Fe)
* Wyoming State Museum (Cheyenne)

|

Pacific|

* Alaska State Museum (Juneau)
* The California Museum (Sacramento)
* Oregon Historical Society Museum (Portland)
* Washington State History Museum (Tacoma)

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New England historical societies

Connecticut|

* Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
* Danbury Museum and Historical Society
* New Haven Museum and Historical Society
* Polish American Historical Association
* Stonington Historical Society
* Watertown Historical Society

Maine|

* Maine Historical Society
* Pejepscot Historical Society
* South Portland Historical Society

Massachusetts|

| Boston|

* Association for Computers and the Humanities
* Boston Landmarks Commission
* The Bostonian Society
* Chinese Historical Society of New England
* Colonial Society of Massachusetts
* Historic New England
* Massachusetts Historical Society
* North End Historical Society
* Prince Society
* South End Historical Society
* The Trustees of Reservations
* World History Association

|

Cambridge|

* American Society for Legal History
* Medieval Academy of America

Salem|

* Essex Institute
* Essex Heritage
* Essex National Heritage Commission
* Salem Athenaeum

Others|

* American Antiquarian Society
* Beverly Historical Society
* Cape Cod Modern House Trust
* Company of Military Historians
* Dedham Historical Society and Museum
* Duxbury Rural and Historical Society
* Fitchburg Historical Society
* Harvard Historical Society
* Ipswich Historical Society
* Lexington Historical Society
* Maria Mitchell Association
* Old Colony Historical Society
* Plymouth Antiquarian Society
* Quincy Historical Society
* Waterfront Historic Area League
* Swift River Historical Society

New Hampshire|

* New Hampshire Historical Society

Rhode Island|

| Newport|

* Newport Historical Society
* Newport Restoration Foundation
* Preservation Society of Newport County

|

Providence|

* Providence Athenaeum
* Providence Preservation Society
* Rhode Island Historical Society

Others|

* Block Island Historical Society
* Steamship Historical Society of America

Vermont|

* Historical Society of Windham County
* Preservation Trust of Vermont
* Stowe Historical Society
* Vermont Historical Society

43°39′24″N 70°15′37″W﻿ / ﻿43.6568°N 70.2603°W﻿ / 43.6568; -70.2603

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

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