Oh, Maine. You are a wacky and wonderful place full of beautiful nature and special people. But, we know you didn’t become the best state in the country without hard work. You’ve done a lot for the last nearly 200 years. So, today we’re celebrating your history! We’ll get back to telling everyone about the things to do in Maine tomorrow, but today let’s look at some things our readers may not have known!
- York was the first city chartered city in the USA.
ekilby / Flickr The charter took place in 1641. In 1642, it became the country’s first incorporated city.
- The world’s tallest Indian statue was built in Maine.
auvet / Flickr Erected in 1969 in honor of Maine’s 150th anniversary and dedicated to the Abenaki Indians who inhabited the land, Skowhegan’s Indian measures in a whopping 62 feet tall - and that’s not including the 20-foot base.
- The inventor of the Maxim gun first called Maine his home.
Jonathan Cardy - Own work / Wikimedia Commons The world’s first portable, fully automatic macine gun was invented by Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884. Though he filed the actual patent in England, Stevens was a Maine native who lived in the state until his 40s. He also held patents on devices such as the mousetrap, hair-curling irons, and steam pumps.
- Maine was home to the first transatlantic TV signal.
Unknown - NASA / Wikimedia Commons When you come from a place like Maine, you hold onto any “only place” facts that you can. This one might be obscure, but it’s still pretty cool.
Telstar was launched by NASA on July 10, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida and was the first privately sponsored space-faring mission. Two days later, it relayed the world’s first transatlantic television signal, from Andover Earth Station, Maine, to the Pleumeur-Bodou Telecom Center, Brittany, France.
- In 1607, the first ship ever built by English colonists in the US was built in Maine.
eawb / Flickr The Pinnace Virgina was built along the Kennebec River in what is now Phippsburg. It was used to return 46 of the last colonists to England in 1608.
- The first sawmill in the U.S. was built in Maine in 1623.
nhoulihan / Flickr It was located on the Piscataqua River near York and was created primarily to export lumber to England because the colonies had an so much usable forest.
- Love is Love is Love in Maine.
mrtopher / Flickr Maine was one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. It happened in 2012, along with Maryland and Washington.
- Maine wants to send kids to space!
nasamarshall / Flickr Well, kind of. In 2015, Maine became the first state to offer scholarships to middleschoolers to join a virtual international space station. Offered through the Space Station Academy, recipients get to be part of actual simulated space missions!
Have you visited Maine’s most eccentric town? If not, click here to learn more about it!
ekilby / Flickr
The charter took place in 1641. In 1642, it became the country’s first incorporated city.
auvet / Flickr
Erected in 1969 in honor of Maine’s 150th anniversary and dedicated to the Abenaki Indians who inhabited the land, Skowhegan’s Indian measures in a whopping 62 feet tall - and that’s not including the 20-foot base.
Jonathan Cardy - Own work / Wikimedia Commons
The world’s first portable, fully automatic macine gun was invented by Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884. Though he filed the actual patent in England, Stevens was a Maine native who lived in the state until his 40s. He also held patents on devices such as the mousetrap, hair-curling irons, and steam pumps.
Unknown - NASA / Wikimedia Commons
When you come from a place like Maine, you hold onto any “only place” facts that you can. This one might be obscure, but it’s still pretty cool.
Telstar was launched by NASA on July 10, 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida and was the first privately sponsored space-faring mission. Two days later, it relayed the world’s first transatlantic television signal, from Andover Earth Station, Maine, to the Pleumeur-Bodou Telecom Center, Brittany, France.
eawb / Flickr
The Pinnace Virgina was built along the Kennebec River in what is now Phippsburg. It was used to return 46 of the last colonists to England in 1608.
nhoulihan / Flickr
It was located on the Piscataqua River near York and was created primarily to export lumber to England because the colonies had an so much usable forest.
mrtopher / Flickr
Maine was one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. It happened in 2012, along with Maryland and Washington.
nasamarshall / Flickr
Well, kind of. In 2015, Maine became the first state to offer scholarships to middleschoolers to join a virtual international space station. Offered through the Space Station Academy, recipients get to be part of actual simulated space missions!
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