Maine at 200: An Anecdotal History Celebrating Two Centuries of Statehood

by Tom Huntington

Celebrate the bicentennial of Maine statehood. Historian Tom Huntington presents an anecdotal history of the Pine Tree State, covering the course of Maine's often turbulent history, decade by decade. He writes about the death of Congressman Jonathan Cilley in a duel; the Portland Rum Riot and the birth of Prohibition; the Confederate raid on Portland Harbor; James G. Blaine's scandal-ridden try for the presidency; the triumph and tragedy of Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American to play major league baseball; the way Sangerville native Hiram Maxim transformed war; Charles Lindbergh's 1927 visit to Maine (and the Portland resident who became the first person to stowaway on a transatlantic flight); the bloody shootout that killed gangster Al Brady in Bangor; the German saboteurs who came ashore on Mt. Desert Island during World War II; Margaret Chase Smith's principled stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy;Samantha Smith's plea for world peace; the arrival of Somali immigrants in Lewiston; and much, much more. It's a quirky look at the key events, milestones and personalities from two fascinating centuries of statehood.

216 pages, Hardcover

Published July 22, 2020

About the author

As the editor of the late, lamented Historic Traveler magazine, Tom Huntington developed a love for writing that merged stories from the past with journeys of discovery in the present. That was an approach he took with his first two books, Ben Franklin's Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Civil War Trails, and one he continues with Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg. Huntington's writing has appeared in Air & Space, America in WWII, American Heritage, American History, America's Civil War, British Heritage, Civil War Times, Invention & Technology, and Smithsonian. He also wrote the text for Guide to Gettysburg Battlefield Monuments, which is available in both print and app versions. Huntington lives in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Beth Ann, and his children, Katie and Sam, and is currently an editor for Stackpole Magazines.

Reviews

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just moved to Maine this was especially interesting, historical facts and anecdotes from over the last 200 years.

[Demelza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tom Huntington's writing style is excellent and makes for an engaging read. However, I was unable to give this book more than a 2-star rating due to the blatant historical inaccuracies that one would think of finding in a high school essay and not in a book written by an established historian. Either Huntington is not as good a historian as his credentials make him out to be, or else someone at Down East Books needs to have serious words with their editing staff.

An example of these historical inaccuracies can be found in the "1860s" chapter concerning the Civil War. Here is a quote from the book on page 39, "By war's end, 73,000 of its citizens had served in the Union Army, the largest number per capita from any northern state. Some 118,000 became casualties." Now, math was never my strong suit at school, however, I am not sure how 73,000 Maine citizens marched off to war and 118,000 dead people came back. A quick Google search puts Maine Civil War casualties between 7,300-9,400. So, again, either Huntington needs to site his sources better or somebody needs to edit better. Or both.

Another example of historical inaccuracies or poor editing (or both) comes in the next chapter, "1870s" on page 59 with this quote, "For Chamberlain, January 14, 1800, was "another Round Top," the day that Maine's fate swayed in the balance." Joshua Chamberlain, was born in 1828. Maine did not even become a state until 1820. Furthermore, the Civil War would not happen until the 1860s and Chamberlain served at the Battle of Gettysburg as the commander of the 20th Maine. Therefore, it is unclear how he was experiencing "another Round Top" roughly 60 years before his first Battle of Little Round Top, not to mention 28 years before he was even born.

I will stop there. Again, Huntington's writing style is engaging and entertaining and easy to understand. However, this Mainer is beyond disappointed with what appears to be historical inaccuracies (or bad editing) for a book that was clearly written for our state's 200th birthday. For such an illustrious event, one would have thought better care would have gone into the writing of this book. One can only hope that there is a major revision and updated version very soon.

[Tom Langemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read - and a little something for everyone - sports, outdoors, science, history, entertainment. We enjoyed our vacation to the Portland/Kennebunk area - up to Augusta, too. This book brought Maine to life in a new way. The author did a good job of pulling out the stories you might not otherwise know about (if you're not a Maine citizen) that brings the state to life.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read with amazing stories that the reader would never have guessed happened in maine. Huntington keeps the reader engaged via uniqueness and concise chapters. I highly recommend!