Maine Facts and Trivia

  1. Eastport is the most eastern city in the United States. The city is considered the first place in the United States to receive the rays of the morning sun.
  2. In Wilton there's a cannery that imports and cans only dandelion greens.
  3. Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has one syllable.
  4. Maine is the only state that shares its border with only one other state.
  5. Bath is known as the City of Ships.
  6. Joshua L. Chamberlain born in Brewer received the only battlefield promotion to General during the Civil War. He was also the last Civil War soldier to die of wounds incurred in the War.
  8. Aroostook County at 6,453 square miles covers an area greater than the combined size of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
  11. Maine's earliest inhabitants were descendants of Ice Age hunters.
  12. Portland was first temporarily selected as the state capital. In 1832 the capital was moved to the centrally located site of Augusta.
  13. In 1641 America's first chartered city was York.
  14. Acadia National Park is the second most visited national park in the United States.
  15. West Quoddy Head is the most easterly point in the United States.
  16. Augusta is the most eastern capital city in the United States.
  17. Mount Katahdin is the state's highest point at 5,268 feet above sea level.
  18. Togus was the first Veteran's Hospital in the United States. The facility was founded in 1866.
  20. 90% of the country's toothpick supply is produced in Maine.
  21. Portland is the birthplace of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
  22. Senator Margaret Chase Smith stood up in the senate and gave the famous Declaration of Conscious speech, speaking out against the McCarthy era. Senator Smith was the first female presidential candidate.
  23. Author Steven King is a resident of Bangor.
  24. Former President George Bush has a summer home in Kennebunkport.
  25. Freeport is the home to the L.L. Bean Company.
  26. The skating scene in the movie "The Preacher's Wife" was filmed in Deering Oaks Park in Portland.
  27. The chickadee is the official state bird.
  28. Maine lies farther northeast than any other state.
  29. Maine's nickname as the Pine Tree State comes from the pines that once dotted the state's forests.
  31. The state flower is the white pine cone and tassel.
  32. The coastline boasts so many deep harbors it is thought all the navies in the world could anchor in them.
  34. The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport houses numerous historic buildings and marine memorabilia.
  35. Fort Knox erected in 1844 is a state historic site originally built to protect the Penobscot River Valley from British naval attack. The fort was constructed from granite from nearby Mount Waldo.
  36. Numerous lighthouses dot the Main coast including Fort Point Lighthouse at Fort Point State Park in Stockton Springs and Grindle Point Lighthouse on Isleboro.
  37. The Sailor's Memorial Museum in Isleboro features displays depicting life at sea.
  38. Located in Thorndike Village, the Bryant Stove Works and Museum displays an eclectic collection of antique cast iron stoves, parlor heaters, roadsters and touring cars. In addition, the museum features antique layer pianos, pipe organs and music boxes, calliopes, nickelodeons, and hurdy-gurdys.
  39. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was considered the most influential poet of his day. The writer was born in Portland, on February 2, 1807. His most popular works include "The Courtship of Miles Standish", "Evangeline" and "Hiawatha".
  40. The nation's first sawmill was established near York in 1623.
  41. York became the nation's first incorporated city in 1642.
  42. The first ship build by English colonists in Americas was launched on the Kennebec River in 1607.
  43. The first naval battle of the Revolutionary War was fought off Machias in 1775.
  44. Maine was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state on March 15, 1820.
  45. Maine's blueberry crop is the largest in the nation.
  46. The honeybee is the official state insect.
  47. Maine contains 542,629 acres of state and national parks.
  48. Edmund S. Muskie became the first Democratic United States senator ever elected by popular vote in Maine. He was also elected governor for two terms. He was born in Rumford.
  49. Eastport is the only United States owned principality that has been under rule by a foreign government. It was held from 1814 to 1818 by British troops under King George following the conclusion of the War of 1812.
  50. Maine's government entities are comprised of 16 counties with 22 cities, 435 towns, 33 plantations, 424 unorganized townships and 3 Indian reservations.
Thanks to: David C. Weiler, Henry Miller, Cindy Coffin, Larryel, Cheryl Emerson