Timeline of Portland, Maine explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Portland, Maine, USA.

Prior to 19th century

• 1633 - Casco settled.
• 1658 - Settlement renamed "Falmouth."
• 1659 - George Munjoy settled what became Munjoy Hill^[1]
• 1668 - Eastern Cemetery established.
• 1676 - Village sacked by the Wampanoag during King Philip's War.
• 1690 - Battle of Fort Loyal.
• 1718 - Town of Falmouth established.
• 1740 - First Parish Church built.
• 1763 - Falmouth Library Society organized.
• 1764 - Population: about 2,000.

• 1775
  • Thompson's War^[2]
  • Town burned by British.
• 1768 - Portland Fire Department formed, March 29.
• 1785 - Falmouth Gazette newspaper begins publication.
• 1785/6 - Wadsworth-Longfellow House built.
• 1786 - Falmouth renamed "Portland."
• 1790
  • Gazette of Maine newspaper begins publication.^[3]
  • Population: 2,240.^[4]
  • Lighthouse built.
• 1796 - Portland Marine Society incorporated.

19th century

• 1800 - Population: 3,704.
• 1803 - Eastern Argus newspaper begins publication.
• 1805 - Portland Benevolent Society incorporated.
• 1806 - Gorham Academy built.
• 1807
  • Portland Observatory built.
  • Birth of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
• 1819 - State constitutional convention held.
• 1820
  • Portland becomes capital of State of Maine.
  • Maine Council of Royal Masters instituted.
  • Population: 8,581.
• 1821
  • High School established.
  • Maine Mineralogical Society established.
  • Maine Encampment of Knight Templars established.
• 1822 - Maine Historical Society founded.
• 1825 - First Parish Church built.
• 1826 - Portland Athenaeum founded.
• 1827 - John Neal opened the first public gymnasium in the US founded by an American in town hall in Market Square^[5]
• 1828
  • Maine's first literary periodical, The Yankee, founded.^[6]
  • Abyssinian Meeting House established.
  • Mariner's Church built.
• 1829
  • Theatre built on Union Street.
  • Western Cemetery established.
• 1830 - Population - 12,598.
• 1831 - Westbrook Seminary chartered.
• 1832
  • State capital moves from Portland to Augusta.
  • City of Portland chartered.
  • Cumberland and Oxford Canal opened bringing interior trade to Portland harbor from Long Lake^[7]
• 1836 - Western Promenade laid out.
• 1839 - B. Thurston & Co. publishers established.
• 1843
  • Railway service began between Boston and Portland.^[8]
  • Portland Society of Natural History organized.
• 1844 - Portland Steam Packet Company organized.
• 1845 - The Pleasure Boat newspaper begins publication.^[9]
• 1846 - Portland Company established to build railway locomotives.
• 1849 - Portland Gas Light Co. incorporated.
• 1850
  • Curtis' chewing gum manufactory in business.^[10]
  • Population: 20,815.
• 1851 - Kennebec and Portland Rail Road begins operating.
• 1853
  • Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal begins operating.
  • Portland Board of Trade established.
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland established.
• 1855
  • Portland Rum Riot.
  • Evergreen Cemetery established.
  • United States Marine Hospital established.
• 1856 - Chestnut Street Methodist Church built.
• 1859 - Forest City Cemetery established.
• 1862
  • Portland Daily Press newspaper begins publication.
  • Maine Central Railroad Company begins operations.
• 1863
  • Battle of Portland Harbor.
  • Portland street car service began.
  • Galt wharf grain elevator completed for export of Canadian wheat.^[11]

• 1866 - Fire.
• 1867
  • Portland Institute and Public Library founded.^[12]
  • First Baptist Church built.
  • Water company established to supply the city from Sebago Lake.
• 1868 - U.S. Customhouse and St. Paul's Church and Rectory built.
• 1869 - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception construction completed.
• 1870 - Cumberland and Oxford Canal abandoned when Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad reached Sebago Lake.^[13]
• 1875 - Southworth Press established.^[14]
• 1881 - Young People's Society of Christian Endeavour founded by Francis Edward Clark.
• 1882
  • Portland Society of Art founded.
  • Evening Express newspaper begins publication.
• 1884 - Maine Genealogical Society organized.
• 1886 - Portland centennial.
• 1888 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Monument unveiled at Longfellow Square in West End.
• 1890 - Population: 36,425.
• 1891 - Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument dedicated on Monument Square.
• 1897
  • Jefferson Theatre opens.
  • Maine Music Festival begins.
  • St. Lawrence Church and Williston-West Church built.
• 1898 - Waynflete School established.
• 1899
  • Deering becomes part of Portland.
  • Portland Camera Club formed.^{[15] [16]}
• 1900 - Population: 50,145.

20th century

• 1901 - New England Elevator Company built the largest grain elevator on the Atlantic coast.^[17]
• 1906 - Portland Company ceased building railway locomotives.^[18]
• 1908 - Portland Society of Arts and Crafts organized.^[19]
• 1909 - City Hall re-built.
• 1910
  • Memorial statue of Thomas Brackett Reed unveiled.
  • Population: 58,571.
• 1911
  • L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Art Museum dedicated.^[20]
  • Portland Terminal Company formed.
• 1912
  • Kotzschmar Memorial Organ installed in City Hall's Merrill Auditorium.
  • Eastern Promenade laid out according to design by Olmsted Brothers.^[21]
• 1913
  • State of Maine Express began direct Pullman railway service from major US cities to Portland.^[22]
  • Historical pageant takes place on Eastern Promenade.
• 1914
  • Portland–Lewiston Interurban service began between Portland and Lewiston.
  • Portland Exposition Building and Green Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church built.
• 1916 - Million Dollar Bridge opens.
• 1918 - Queen's Hospital for women opens.
• 1919 - Portland designated eastern end of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway.^[23]
• 1921 - Etz Chaim Synagogue built.
• 1923
  • Portland Symphony Orchestra and Children's Theatre of Portland established.
  • Canadian National Railway began diverting export traffic from Portland to Canadian Maritime ports.^[24]
• 1924
  • Maine State Pier and Chapman Building constructed.
  • Longfellow Garden Club organized.^[25]
• 1926 - U.S. Route 1 linked Portland to the United States highway system.^[26]
• 1928 - James E. Barlow hired as second City Manager
• 1929 - State Theatre opens.
• 1930 - The Gull began international Pullman train service through Portland from the Maritimes.^[27]
• 1933
  • Portland-Westbrook Municipal Airport established.
  • End of interurban service from Portland to surrounding communities.
• 1934 - Flying Yankee began streamliner service to Portland.^[28]
• 1940 - East Wind began summer passenger train service to Portland for vacationers from major eastern cities.^[29]
• 1941
  • Portland–Montreal Pipe Line completed.^[30]
  • Portland became United States Navy destroyer base Sail during the Battle of the Atlantic.^[31]
  • Victoria Mansion museum opens.
  • Portland street car system dismantled.
• 1942 - Battery Steele built.
• 1944 - A-26 Invader crash near Portland airport was Maine's worst aircraft accident.^[32]
• 1946 - Baxter Woods municipal forest established.^[33]
• 1947 - Maine Turnpike connected Portland to what would become the Interstate Highway System.^[34]
• 1950 - Population: 77,634.
• 1953 - WCSH begins broadcasting.
• 1954 - WMTW begins broadcasting.
• 1960 - Tukey's Bridge built.
• 1961 - Demolition of Union Station ended daily passenger train service to Portland.^[35]
• 1964 - Greater Portland Landmarks preservation group formed.^[36]
• 1965 - Kennedy Park housing built.
• 1967 - Summer weekend passenger train service to Portland ended.^[37]
• 1970 - University of Southern Maine Portland campus established.
• 1973
  • Old Port Festival begins.
  • WMPG begins broadcasting.
  • Salt Institute for Documentary Studies founded.
• 1974 - The Hollow Reed restaurant in the Old Port is founded.^[38]
• 1976 - Children's Museum of Maine founded.
• 1977 - Cumberland County Civic Center built.
• 1978 - Portland Stage Company active.
• 1984
  • Sister city relationship established with Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan.^[39]
  • Portland Ice Arena opens.
• 1985 - Portland Monthly magazine begins publication.
• 1993
  • Portland Pirates ice hockey team formed.
  • Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum opens.
• 1994
  • Portland Chamber Music Festival begins.
  • PORTopera founded.
  • Hadlock Field opens.
• 1997
  • Casco Bay Bridge opens.
  • City website online (approximate date).^[40]

21st century

• 2001 - Downeaster restores passenger train service to Portland.^[41]
• 2003 - Sister city relationship established with Mytilene, Greece.
• 2006 - Maine Roller Derby and Portland Society of Architects^[42] founded
• 2008 - Maine Mead Works in business.^[43]
• 2009
  • Port City Music Hall opens.^[44]
  • Congress Street designated an historic district.^[45]
• 2010
  • State Theatre reopens.
  • Population: 66,194 city; 514,098 metro.

See also

• History of Portland, Maine
• Neighborhoods in Portland, Maine
• List of mayors of Portland, Maine
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Portland, Maine
• Railroad history of Portland, Maine
• List of Portland, Maine schools

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• Book: Portland Directory & Register . Todd and Smith, printer . 1823 . Nathaniel G. Jewett . .
• Book: Portland Directory . Thurston & Co., printer . 1850 . S.B. Beckett . .
  • Book: Portland Directory . Brown Thurston, printer . 1856 . S.B. Beckett . .
    • • William Willis. The history of Portland, from 1632 to 1864, 2nd ed. Portland: Bailey & Noyes, 1865
        • Book: Bibliotheca Americana . Joseph Sabin . Joseph Sabin . New York . 1885 . 13972268 . 15 . Portland, Maine . https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofbook15sabi#page/322/mode/2up.
• Portland (Maine) . 19 . 528 . 1885 . . 1.
  • Book: Maine Register, or State Year-book and Legislative Manual . Portland, ME . J.B. Gregory . 1887 . https://archive.org/stream/maineregisteror00donhgoog#page/n272/mode/2up . City of Portland. .
• Book: Maine register or state year-book and legislative manual . Portland, ME . G.M. Donham . 1891 . https://archive.org/stream/maineregisteror01donhgoog#page/n354/mode/2up . City of Portland .

Published in the 20th century

• Portland (Maine) . 22 . 120 . 1910 . . 1.
  • • • Book: Remember the Portland, Maine, Trolleys . Robertson, Edwin B. . Robertson Books . 1982. .

External links

• Historic images related to Portland (via Maine Memory Network)
• Web site: Timeline: Selected Events in Maine History . Maine Memory Network . Maine Historical Society.
• Web site: Portland Maine History 1786 to Present . John French . Facebook.
• Works related to Portland, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).

Notes and References

1. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/public/gdcmassbookdig/historyofpeaksis00gool/historyofpeaksis00gool.pdf History of Peaks and House Islands
2. Leamon, James S. Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine (1995) University of Massachusetts Press pp.62-67
3. Web site: US Newspaper Directory . Washington DC . Chronicling America . Library of Congress . August 25, 2012.
4. Web site: Population pre-1950 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120505114653/http://www.library.umaine.edu/govdoc/newcensus.htm . dead . May 5, 2012 . Fogler Library . Maine Census Data . University of Maine . August 25, 2012 .
5. Book: Leonard, Fred Eugene . A Guide to the History of Physical Education . Lea & Febiger . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York . 1923 . 227–250.
6. Richards . Irving T. . 1933 . The Life and Works of John Neal . PhD . Harvard University . 7588473 . 576.
7. Ward, Ernest E. My First Sixty Years in Harrison, Maine Cardinal Printing 1967 p.7
8. Web site: History of Railroading in Maine . Maine Department of Transportation .
9. Web site: May 6, 2019. Portrait of a 19th Century Maine Radical The Bollard. 2021-04-10. en-US.
10. Book: Famous First Facts . 2000 . H.W. Wilson Co. . Steven Anzovin . Janet Podell . 0824209583 . Famous First Facts .
11. Book: The Grand Trunk in New England . Holt, Jeff . Railfare . 1985 . 0-919130-43-7 . 88.
12. https://books.google.com/books?id=oUlCAAAAYAAJ Dedicatory exercises of the Baxter Building
13. Book: Maine Central R.R. Mountain Division . Johnson, Ron . 470 Railroad Club . n.d..
14. Web site: Anthoensen Collection . Portland Room . Portland Public Library . August 25, 2012.
15. Portland Camera Club . Frank Roy Fraprie . American Amateur Photographer and Camera and Dark Room . 19 . June 1907.
16. http://www.portlandcameraclub.org Portland Camera Club
17. Book: The Grand Trunk in New England . Holt, Jeff . Railfare . 1985 . 0-919130-43-7 . 89.
18. Book: Two Feet to the Lakes . Jones, Robert C. . Pacific Fast Mail . 1993 . 0-915713-26-8 . 70.
19. Book: American Art Annual . 1911 . NY .
20. Book: American Art Annual . 1914 . NY.
21. Web site: Eastern Promenade Master Plan . 2004 . City of Portland .
22. Web site: State of Maine . James VanBokkelen .
23. Web site: Richard . Weingroff . April 7, 2011 . US 2: Houlton, Maine, to Everett, Washington . . September 5, 2011.
24. Book: The Grand Trunk in New England . Holt, Jeff . Railfare . 1985 . 0-919130-43-7 . 100.
25. Web site: Longfellow Garden Club . Garden Club Federation of Maine . August 25, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121116005416/http://www.mainegardenclubs.org/Longfellow.html . November 16, 2012 .
26. Web site: Weingroff . Richard F. . Federal Highway Administration . From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the US Numbered Highway System . Highway History . June 10, 2011 . April 7, 2011.
27. Lowe, J. Norman Canadian National in the East volume 3 (1985) Calgary Group of the British Railway Modellers of North America
28. Book: New England Diesels . Albert, Dave . Melvin, George F. . amp . George R. Cockle and Associates . 1975 . 0-916160-01-7 . 58.
29. Jones, Robert Willoughby Boston and Maine (1991) Trans-Anglo Books p.96
30. http://www.pmpl.com/about.php

    Portland Montreal Pipe Line:: About us

31. Book: History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume I The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1943 . Morison, Samuel Eliot . Little, Brown and Company . 1975 . 68.
32. News: Cornish. Caroline. Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial is dedicated. 12 July 2010. WCSH. 11 July 2010. dead. https://archive.today/20121210063205/http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=120288. 10 December 2012.
33. Web site: Welcome to Mayor Baxter Woods . City of Portland . August 25, 2012.
34. Web site: MTA History. Maine Turnpike Authority. 2012-10-21.
35. Book: Maine Central R.R. Mountain Division . Johnson, Ron . The 470 Railroad Club . 267.
36. Web site: Greater Portland Landmarks . August 25, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121005145029/http://portlandlandmarks.org/about/ . October 5, 2012 .
37. Book: The Grand Trunk in New England . Holt, Jeff . Railfare . 1985 . 0-919130-43-7 . 111.
38. Web site: Meredith . Goad. 2018-08-07. Portland food scene's in the big time now with selection as Bon Appetit's Restaurant City of the Year. 2021-04-10. Press Herald.
39. Web site: Portland's Sister Cities . City of Portland . December 30, 2014 .
40. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/19970530202255/http://www.ci.portland.me.us/city.htm . Welcome to Portland, Maine . 1997-05-30 . .
41. Web site: Amtrak Downeaster Breaks Annual Ridership Record. Amtrak Downeaster. 2012-10-21.
42. Web site: Portland Society of Architects . August 25, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120902165524/http://www.portlandarchitects.org/about-psa/ . September 2, 2012 .
43. Web site: Drink of kings makes a comeback . BBC News . October 2, 2013 .
44. Web site: 36 Hours in Portland, Me. . L. Beehner . August 19, 2010 . New York Times .
45. Web site: Historic Preservation . City of Portland . August 25, 2012.