TheMaine Historical Society (MHS) is the officialhistorical society of the U.S. state ofMaine. It is located at 489Congress Street in downtownPortland. The Society currently operates theWadsworth-Longfellow House, aNational 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.
The Maine Historical Society was founded in 1822 and is the third-oldest state historical society after theMassachusetts Historical Society andNew York Historical Society. Influential members of the Maine Historical Society included many of Maine'sYankee businessmen, intellectuals, philanthropists, and political figures, includingJames Phinney Baxter,Josiah Crosby andGeorge J. Varney.
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.
The research library at the Maine Historical Society is named forJohn Marshall Brown and his wife Alida (Carroll) Brown. The current library building was built in 1907 (replacing the Morton Block),[3] designed byAlexander Wadsworth Longfellow, nephew of the poetHenry Wadsworth Longfellow, and is listed on theNational 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, earlyNew England and easternCanada.
The Maine Historical Society Museum is located at the Society's headquarters at 489Congress Street,Portland. Topics for the changing exhibits include Maine's history, politics, culture, sports, religion, art, and business.
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43°39′24″N70°15′37″W / 43.6568°N 70.2603°W /43.6568; -70.2603
