Maine State Archives

Maine State Archives The Maine State Archives, a bureau within the Department of Secretary of State, maintains approximately 8 miles of official State records.

On this date in 1820, the State of Maine, only 2.5 months old, held its first legislative session. The session was held ...
05/31/2026

On this date in 1820, the State of Maine, only 2.5 months old, held its first legislative session. The session was held in Portland and began at 10am, which is still the time the legislature begins its day. Members of the House and Senate chose their leaders, chose their clerk, then confirmed a majority of votes had elected William King to be the first governor. One report from the Portland Gazette says though the day began with rain, the skies cleared and the day became pleasant.

You can read newspaper article from the Portland Gazette about the event here:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83016083/1820-06-06/ed-1/?sp=1&r=0.051,0.067,0.833,0.533,0

And you can read one of the first notes by Governor King to the House here (page 38, transcribed):
https://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=0&article=1000&context=arc_leg_journals&type=additional

On May 21st, members of the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board and Maine State Archives are hosting a “Lunch and Le...
05/18/2026

On May 21st, members of the Maine Historical Records Advisory Board and Maine State Archives are hosting a “Lunch and Learn.” During this session, we’ll discuss modern methods to help you preserve your town, site or organization’s history. The session is FREE and online via Zoom.

Email [email protected] with the subject title “Lunch/Learn” for more info.

With the recent passing of Gerald E. Talbot, we pause to acknowledge this trailblazing civil rights leader who broke rac...
05/13/2026

With the recent passing of Gerald E. Talbot, we pause to acknowledge this trailblazing civil rights leader who broke racial barriers in Maine politics and fought tirelessly for marginalized communities. Talbot was Maine’s first Black legislator, serving three terms in the Maine Legislature, a U.S. Army veteran, the founding president of the Portland branch of the NAACP, and a 25-year employee of the Guy Gannett Publishing Company. His life and career were dedicated to fighting for social justice and human rights issues, including migrant workers, tribal sovereignty, fair housing and education, and LGBTQ+ rights, including sponsoring Maine’s first gay rights legislation. His passion for Maine history created the African American Collection at the University of Southern Maine Library. Gerald Talbot died this past weekend at the age of 94.

The image displayed is of legislation, now housed in the Maine State Archives, sponsored by Gerald Talbot in 1977 that became the “Act to Prohibit the Use of Offensive Names for Geographic Features and Other Places Within the State of Maine,” a bill that removed racial slurs from maps and place names in Maine. The resulting legislation prohibits using names deemed prejudicial regarding race, color, s*x, religion, or national origin for features, roads, and towns in Maine. The Permanent Commission on Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations continues the work to identify remaining offensive names.

The Maine State Archives is looking for a photographer! If you (or a shutterbug you know) like to:📷 work with the produc...
04/21/2026

The Maine State Archives is looking for a photographer!

If you (or a shutterbug you know) like to:
📷 work with the production of still and motion pictures
📷 create complex graphic designs
📷 create a variety of presentation materials (including desktop publishing)
📷 and have at least three (3) years of education, experience, or training in photography
We’ve got a job for you!

Learn more or apply:
https://maine.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Executive/details/Photographer---Maine-State-Archives_R26-01564?Department=473d696f7b721000e48ca60445f30000

You never know what you might find while doing inventory! The archives staff recently discovered these dress pattern ins...
04/20/2026

You never know what you might find while doing inventory! The archives staff recently discovered these dress pattern instructions tucked inside a 1921 tax valuation ledger from Salem, Maine (Franklin County). E. Butterick & Co. began publishing Ladies Quarterly of Broadway Fashions in 1867 to sell dress patterns by mail order and quickly grew to sustain over 100 offices across the United States and Canada. Butterick’s business evolved over the next 150 years and they sold dress patterns into the 20-teens!

Researching your family genealogy? Here’s some helpful tips!1. Many Maine towns submitted their pre-1892 vital records t...
04/16/2026

Researching your family genealogy? Here’s some helpful tips!

1. Many Maine towns submitted their pre-1892 vital records to the State Archives. Those birth, marriage, and death records are easily searched online for free at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1803978
The towns included are:https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/content/assets/delayedvrlist.pdf
If you do not see the town you need on the list, please contact the town directly.

2. Naturalizations from the 19th and 20th centuries can also be searched at https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/2040046 .

3. For the certification of citizenship documents, please reach out to the Bureau of Corporations, Elections, and Commissions for an apostille. You can find more information here: https://www.maine.gov/sos/corporations-commissions/authentications-and-apostilles

4. Probate (wills) and land deeds are kept at county courthouses and are often full of family information.

5. Don’t forget to check local libraries and historical societies for town histories, which often contain genealogy information. You can also contact local churches for baptismal and marriage records.

To wrap up Women’s History Month, today we celebrate Donna Loring, an elder of the Penobscot Nation, and former Senior A...
03/30/2026

To wrap up Women’s History Month, today we celebrate Donna Loring, an elder of the Penobscot Nation, and former Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs.

Loring's career began in 1968 when she served as a Communications Specialist during the Vietnam War. After graduation from the University of Maine, she attended the Criminal Justice Academy and became Maine's first female police chief to complete that program.

Her political journey started in 1997 as an advisor to Governor Angus King on women's veteran affairs. In 1998, she became a representative for the Penobscot Nation, advocating for greater tribal representation in state affairs, despite being unable to vote on legislation. In 2000, she expressed her feelings of invisibility during her testimony before the Joint Rules Committee, highlighting the need for tribal voices in government. Under her leadership, Maine became the only state in the country to pass a resolution in support of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Today, Loring serves as the only Penobscot board member for the University of Maine System. You can catch her monthly segment, “Wabanaki Windows,” on WERU radio, read her book, “In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine,” or explore her work in our Archives collections.

https://archives.maine.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&op%5B%5D=&q%5B%5D=donna+loring&limit=&field%5B%5D=&from_year%5B%5D=&to_year%5B%5D=&commit=Search

Loring photo credit: Donna M. Loring/Jane Peasley, shared under a Creative Commons License (CC BY 3.0).
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

State House photo credit: Photo by Brad Weaver on Unsplash

Skowhegan’s Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to hold a seat in both houses of the US Congress and was the first ...
03/19/2026

Skowhegan’s Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to hold a seat in both houses of the US Congress and was the first woman to represent Maine in either house. A lifelong Republican, Smith served from 1940 until 1973 and always won at least 60% of Maine’s vote (until the 1972 election which she lost by 6 points). Smith supported women’s role in the military, civil rights legislation, space exploration, the war in Vietnam, Medicare and Medicaid, and even made a run for the presidency herself in 1964.

One of Smith’s most enduring moments was when she spoke out against her Republican colleagues and the fear-mongering and black-listing that accompanied McCarthyism. Speaking from the Senate floor on June 1, 1950, Smith delivered what is now known as her “Declaration of Conscience” speech. Here is an excerpt:

"Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism—The right to criticize. The right to hold unpopular beliefs. The right to protest. The right of independent thought. …It is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques-techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life."

View the voter tabulation records from Margaret Chase Smith's first win of her political career at the Archives or online:
https://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=tabulations_for_elections_1940s

Read the entire speech: https://archive.org/details/sim_congressional-record-proceedings-and-debates_may-17-june-13-1950_96/page/7894/mode/2up

On this date in 1820, Maine officially entered the Union and became the 23rd state of America. “An Act For The Admission...
03/15/2026

On this date in 1820, Maine officially entered the Union and became the 23rd state of America. “An Act For The Admission Of The State of Maine Into The Union” was signed into law March 3rd by President James Monroe, with the intent that the law take effect on the 15th of March.

The original letter, signed by James Monroe, is at the Archives :
https://digitalmaine.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=act_of_separation

We MUST-ACHE you a question: Did you know March is National Mustache Month? Fans of the Lip Warmer, the Cookie Duster, t...
03/10/2026

We MUST-ACHE you a question: Did you know March is National Mustache Month? Fans of the Lip Warmer, the Cookie Duster, the Face Furniture, the Nose Neighbor, or the Crumb Catcher can spend all month bragging about their superior Soup Strainer, and who has the greatest Lip Foliage of the land!

Here in Maine, we’ve had some dandies. As evidenced by Joshua Chamberlain’s Sears-esque portrait and his Lip Sweater, the man knew how to stay warm and make an impression.

You can search our civil war portraits and find your favorite ‘stache here:
https://digitalmaine.com/arc_civilwarportraits/

Address

230 State Street
Augusta, ME
04333

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Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

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+12072875790

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