Making Maine 

During World War 2 there was a POW camp for Germans in Houlton, Maine. They put them to work in the potato fields. They were grateful to be riding out the war picking spuds in Maine instead of being sent to freeze in Russia. They never misbehaved. A 15 year old farm hand came to pick up his day laborers from the camp and the Army guard didn't show up. An unarmed teenager marched 40 German soldiers to his farm and nobody made a run for it. Another time their guard lost his rifle magazine and the Germans helped look for it knowing he had no bullets. The Houlton POW camp is History...that deserves to be remembered.

Live in West Virginia. Married a girl from Maine. Get to go up and visit the in-laws every year.Love Maine. Love The History Guy .

We lived in NE Maine for 3 years on Loring AFB in the early 60s. It was heaven on Earth for a little boy with all kinds of berries growing in the woods and every fall the sugar-offs from the sugar maples with instant maple candy str8 from the cauldron. During winter we had to walk through the woods to school because the buses couldn't make it anymore. There was even a wooden walkway over a beaver dam at the start of the trip. The airmen who got punishment duty that week had to shovel the path for us, and by January the drifts could easily top 10', it was like walking through a tunnel. Man, I loved that place!

Good morning from Ft Worth TX to everyone watching.

I haven't even watched this yet. I've lived in Maine my whole life and I am beyond excited to get some attention from this guy

As a lifelong Mainer, I can thoroughly attest to the fact that almost no Mainer is as happy with our marriage to Massachusetts as we are with our divorce from it.

So THAT'S how Maine developed! I know they had a strange journey from being owned by Massachusetts to gaining statehood, but I've never heard the actual story.

I’ve been to Maine twice and loved the scenery there. In doing my family genealogy, I’ve discovered that my grandmother’s tree has a big branch going back to southern Maine in the 17th century. My 11th great grandfather Morgan Howell was a co-founder of Kennebunkport in the 1630s, and a 10th great grandfather Nicholas Frost arrived with his family in 1640 and settled in what is now Kittery. I was researching some distant Frost cousins who joined the Shakers in the town of Alfred, Maine, and called the library at the Shaker Village museum for assistance. The librarian there demonstrated exactly why I love small towns-as soon as I mentioned the name Frost, his response was “The York Frosts or the Kittery Frosts?” Gotta love local knowledge!

Thank you for recognizing John Cabot as Italian. My father had to prove to his HS history teacher that Cabot’s name was actually Giovanni Cabo!

I’m a resident of Maine and thanks for shining a light in some unknown facts I hadn’t heard. Thank goodness our state ended up the way it did. We are protecting some of the most pristine wild lands on the east coast of America.

HG, you neglected to consider inflation when you said that the cost of Maine was around $1500. According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, £1250 in 1677 works out to £219,270.60 today, which at the current exchange rate is $265,883.00

Love this video on the history of my native states origins. As was popularly said by author E.B White. “I would rather feel bad in Maine, than feel good anywhere else.”

Being from Maine, I can tell you that legend says that the Vikings left because they wanted to escaoe our winter!--Bob Bailey in Maine

Thank you for calling this out today… I can only ask that you consider covering the Penobscot Bay Expedition in a follow-on session. It was the greatest loss of shipping by the Navy until Pearl Harbor occurred, and Paul Revere was court-martialed because of it. Emerson left that out of his poem. Sure, his name was cleared later, but The Penobscot Bay Expedition remains an amazing bit of history most Americans have never heard of.

Winfield Scott, great at keeping peace in the north and fighting wars in the south. His career is a good story.

Grew up in Maine and even the history classes of the time, (early-mid 80’s)went into this detail.

My family has been here since 1700, but I learned some new things today! (I love learning new things!) I have a very old map, presumably from an atlas, of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine and there is no northern border of Maine. It must have been printed in that 1820 - 1842 period of the border being in limbo. Thank you History Guy!

Maine is going to become my home in about 5 months. It is a lifelong dream of mine and it’s been about 5 years in the works. I feel so honored and blessed(lucky, as well) to get to spend the rest of my life among all those trees, clean air, and ocean. It hasn’t been easy and the move will be hard, but well worth it.

I’m from New Brunswick, Canada. We were told that the dispute on the border rested on which river Champlain had tried to first settle in 1604, and that only after an early archaeological excavation on the now named Douchet Island to discover that settlement was the matter of the border with British North America settled. Thank you for yet another fascinating video. I’m looking forward to visiting Maine this year!

My roots in Maine date back to before the Civil War. I am lucky that my homeland was a dangerous frontier for much of its Colonial history, because what I love about it is the land itself and its wild places.

I appreciate that THG doesn't get bogged down in fancy pronunciations, but rather lets the stories reveal themselves unencumbered by such niceties.

I'm from Maine. Good Work on pronouncing Bangor correctly. Most people don't. Sorry about Falmouth

I was born in mass and spent much of my childhood living in Maine. I was so fortunate to live in such a beautiful state with in our nation. I would love to see you cover a full Aroostook War if you have time. In 6th grade every single student was required to pick a topic about the state a do a extensive report and presentation on a topic about the state. It was required by legislation in Augusta to try and get students to build pride in the state as it was having a terrible time retaining students after graduation as many would love to other states, although today with the evacuation of cities to more rural states from Covid has it increasing in population again

As a Maineiac I approve of this video 👏 oooh story for a video! The newly rediscovered 1937 Pine Tree Trail!

Great video THG!!! I moved to Maine after I finished 20 years in the military. I lived in 3 other countries outside the US and 5 other states with my family. I’ve traveled to 42 other countries. So, I feel slightly qualified to compare and talk about the climate, costs and culture. The people here are the kindest, most polite and friendly I’ve met in my travels (yes, even in the cities like Portland and Bangor). The cost of living is a bit higher than the average pay which can make things difficult to find housing. Depending on how close you live “to town” will determine if you get decent internet or not. The crime situation is astoundingly low from what I’m used to in my travels. The climate can be a bit of a smack down for the unprepared, including driving in winter. Just be thoughtful and prepared, things will work out just fine. Overall, I love it here and I’m proud to be a Mainer.

I moved to Maine from Chicago back in 2018 and have not looked back. Best decision I ever made! Maine is a remarkable state, and as I'm happy to see this posting about its beginnings.

Some would argue that Massachusetts has never truly “let go”. You see MA license plates (especially in the summer) outnumbering ME plates 4 to 1 any given day on the turnpike 😂 Great and informative video!

This would be such a fun series, the history of the states and territories of the US is interesting, terrible and sometimes incredible.

I almost emailed THG requesting this exact idea for a video but it was just two weeks ago and thought it would be a big ask to get it finished for Maine’s birthday. What a fun surprise to see this today. The Aroostook War is one not many know about, but with Aroostook county being about equal in size as Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, it is certainly history worth remembering.

My dad lived in Bangor, Maine for many many years, with a gap of about 14ys. Mom did for a few years, too. (I was born 7mo after they moved). MIL's family have been in Aroostock County for generations. eta: Hooray, you pronounced Bangor right!

I couldn’t find a way to link the photo but I had just recently seen a funny Bizarro comic where one guy has “I ❤️NY” shirt and another guy has “I ❤️ ME” and the latter realizes the awkwardness of it.

My family’s roots in Maine go back to the year 1630 when one of our ancestors settled here. My great grandfather farmed here and made maple syrup and now we make maple syrup in north western Maine. Thanks for sharing a small portion of the history of Maine.

have always wanted to see Maine during the autumn season, heard its beautiful

My Gran Turismo account for the Americas is based in Maine 😁. I absolutely fell in love with the area after watching natives of the state 'dickering', which is such a joy to behold 😊 Like deployed 👍

Was stationed in NAS Brunswick, ME for 3 years. I was never so cold for the entire time.

Great timing with this upload! I always slap on an episode from THG before bed as something relaxing to listen too as I drift off to sleep. Keep up the amazing work bringing us all history that deserves to be remembered 👍

History has always made the best of movies.

Good morning from Maine!

I'm old Boston guy, I've been going to Maine for decades as my parents did before me, the coast in just beautiful, rugged, picturesque, and snow skiing in winter, it really is vacation land.

Lived in Maine years back, still miss it. Thanks to THG for posting.....

There's a charming hotel in Ogunquit, Maine with a name that harks back to the beginnings: "Gorges Grant"

Much of my family is from New England, but I wasn’t able to visit Maine until 2019. Only got to spend about a day there but it was very pretty and charming. Definitely see why people like it so much

A very interesting present as always. One note of trivia: Because it was formerly part of Massachusetts, Maine is the only other state to celebrate Patriots Day, April 29th as a State holiday.

I grew up in Vermont but never knew much about the history and intrigue of the wider area outside my state.

Enjoying your videos in Byron, Maine, Coos canyon.

3 GENERATIONS Waldo County Maine ! dont forget- Maine also started the Prohibition too.. we aint that proud of it.. hahaha

The History Guy is the Maine Man, obviously!

Maine is the only state that has a one syllable name...also the only state that borders just one state..(New Hampshire)just trivia...it's also a great place to live...my great grandparents are buried in a beautiful old cemetery in East Vassalboro. My kids were born and raised in Maine ...but I am "from away" and nothing will ever change that!!!!! I'll always be a Masshole!!!

Love seeing my state come up in my feed

As a resident I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bangor pronounced correctly!

Taking into account inflation, £1,250 sterling in 1677 would be worth £219,270.60 according to the Bank of England's online inflation calculator.

Great history of our beautiful State that I share a birthday with. Thank you. On a side note, Saco is pronounced "sock oh" not "sack oh".

I'm from Casco Township, Saint Clair County, Michigan. It was named by one of the first landowners of the area, who was from a town on the shore of Casco Bay, Maine.

I appreciate you, thank you for making content.

Great video! The southern border is still disputed with nh. Plus, in the bay, disputes over uninhabited islands

What a pleasant surprise,I'm originally from Maine, you always have such a nice show !!

Another fine lecture. Well done.

Thanks! I would love the addition of Benedict Arnold's trip UP the Kennebec to attack Quebec. My family travelled to Maine from New Brunswick via river craft down the Aroostook river to Caribou in the 1840's. My great-grandfather logged lumber in the deep Maine woods with the lumber camps. My great-granduncle lost his legs fighting in Chattanooga for Grant. It's truly wonderful to see a good documentary of Maine on RU-vid.

I’m a big fan and was excited to see this video seeing I live in Maine Thank you for another great video

❤ lifelong mainer here...I'm never leaving. 😊

Wish you could have touched on early settler, and my 9th grandfather Francis Small "the great landholder" really ties the the early Mass cape settlement together with Maine settlements, and some great stories there as well. But excellent job, just recently found your channel and really do enjoy it!

Saco is pronounced 🧦 SOCK-OH. Falmouth ( now Portland where a Feisty Woman dumped the contents of a Chamber Pot from a Buildings Window on the English Captain’s Head) is pronounced FOWL-MOTH. The burning of the Continental Fleet at Castine was important as well as the Court Martial of Paul Revere. Benedict Arnold’s failed Penobscot Expedition with its lost Chests of Payroll Gold and two Bronze Grasshoppers was significant too. The Building of Maine’s First Ship at Bath - The Virginia would make a great story ( I worked on Her recent Replica). This close St. Patrick’s Day ☘️ Portland’s Fenians and their buried Gold should get some mention… as should Eastport’s treacherous Surrender to the British. Our Privateers, Letters of Marque and Our Pirate 🏴‍☠️ and Smuggling History as well ( because… after all… don’t all great Stories involve Pirates 🏴‍☠️!?) Also that time the Confederates took on the Federal Navy in Casco Bay. Lovewell’s Fight would be another good Topic. ( I could discuss Maine History quite a bit , Bub!)

My family would visit Maine every summer and I have never lived in Maine, but one of my ancestors was an early settler to Maine. Thomas Crockett (8th great-grandfather) came to Maine on the ship Pied Cow, as a servant of Captain John Mason in 1633. He lived on Crockett's Neck in Kittery and was town constable in 1657. My research found he was ferryman at Brabote Harbor (?) in 1647 and in 1659 on the Piscataqua River. Meanwhile, the Haskells settled on the Cape Ann side of the Bass River (part of Salem, Mass Bay Colony at the time, now Beverly) in 1635. My 8th great-grandfather William Haskell moved out to Gloucester around 1645 (William Haskell House, now a BnB) and 3 generations later Caleb Haskell (5th ggf) moved to Newbury/Newburyport. His son, also named Caleb, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War (Siege of Boston, Bunker Hill, Arnold's Expedition to Quebec) and kept a diary which has been quoted in other books (usually when the author is writing about smallpox in the army at Quebec). Another line of William's descendants settled on Deer Isle in the late 1700s. Ignatius Haskell's home became the inn known as The Ark and is now Pilgrim's Inn. My great-grandfather George Whitefield Haskell Jr. from Newburyport moved to South Paris, Maine sometime around the late 1800s/early 1900s and married Alice Arminta Crockett, descendant of Thomas Crockett. I have a photographs of George and me when I was 2 when my family visited him and his 3rd wife Louise T. Haskell (author of Story of Cuttyhunk) on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts. Speaking of Maine history I have 2 6th great-grandfathers who were at the Capture of Louisbourg in 1745 - Jethro Starbird from Scarborough and Captain Daniel Hale (mortally wounded) from Newbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Also, through researching family history I have learned that Maine does not have a Lieutenant Governor. When the office of Governor is vacant, the President of the Senate becomes Governor for a day or two, but how often does that happen, right? Governor Chamberain is also a distant cousin.

Thank you thank you thank you! As a proud "Maine-iac" I have been hoping you'd cover our great State's story. There's a LOT of important history in this "un-important" land...

Great video thanks for sharing 👍

I'm living here in Maine for the second go round. Right along the Kennebec River in Waterville. Beautiful state ❤

Thank you for sharing this interesting history!

You are clearly a masterful researcher,I never ahd any idea of all those details about the history of the state of Maine.

Another amazing and complex piece of American history. Thanks a lot, Colin UK 🇬🇧

Very interesting Video. The old maps remind me of some I saw in Mr Rockwells U.S History class in Jr.High. He was a Direct Decendand of Orin Porter Rockwell. He got me hooked on History especially by telling stories that at time were not and probably still ate not in text books

I've done some studying of both the early European colonisation of North America and of the early history of the independent United States but this video was all new information to me. Very interesting. Thank you.

Thank you for mentioning sources!

THank you! (From Maine!)

Thank you from Maine! Peace…Aria

Thank you for covering my home state

Being from the Bay State, your video brought to mind a semi serious movement in the late 196’s, early 1970’s for Cape Cod to secede from Massachusetts.

11:51 omg thank you for pronouncing “Bangor” correctly 🙏

@ 5:17 ... In "U. S. State Names," author Kathryn Gutton points out that Fernando Gorges named the area "Maine" in 1622, three years before Henriette Marie became Queen-Consort of England in 1625. This doesn't necessarily cast doubt that Maine was named for her, since she was nonetheless Princess of Wales.

❤❤❤ As a lifelong Mainer, thank you for this! South Freeport here (yes, the L.L. Bean Freeport). With split ancestry (P.E.I. Acadian/Mayflower settlers/Abenaki), one note is a lot of the French Acadian history (in Maine as far as the Penobscot River [Castine] and points east) were French possession, variably, through much of the 18th century. That time period of settlement around King Philip’s War/The French and Indian Wars was much overlooked here, beyond an English history, and deserved an additional minute or two of content and context. And, as the 8th great nephew of Rev. Nicholas Noyes II, of Salem, MA: Witches be forgiven.

if you havent already i'd like to hear your take on the Toledo War .... always enjoy your mini-docs

Thanks from Nova Scotia for telling the story of our American cousins. Lots I did not know!

I have always admired your back drop for your videos. Maybe one day you could do a history of the artifacts that are in your room that your shooting in, like that ship model over your right shoulder. Did you make it and what is the significance of that particular ship? And what about all the different hats in your collection behind you? I think that would be a fascinating look into the forgotten history of “The History Guy”!

My mom once wrote a short book about the Portland Headlight. It’s the oldest operating lighthouse in USA and one of the most famous in the world.

HELL YEAH FELLOW MAINIACS!!!

I need to watch this again for it is complex.

thanks for doing Statehood stories.

Also over in Edmundston New Brunswick just across the St. John river there is a plaque that's dedicated to the former Maine U.S. border with Canada

If you haven't been to Maine, you should come!!!! Eat some lobstah...bag a deah or moose, buy a few t-shirts and have a nice trip back home, ayuh!!!

Each time you said "Gorges" i heard "gorgeous". The effect was interesting (as the video)! 😄

8:45 This was a perfect time for some beans. Lima sounds inviting!

I live in the original Maine. That is the hamlet of Littlemayne (also once called Parva Maine) that connects historically to Mr Gorges.

All I have to say is that The Rain 🌧 in Maine falls Mainly on the plain. Where? 🤔

Greetings from the Kennebec Valley!

Being from Vermont, I am most interested in early American history, and early New England history, up to, and including the American Revolution. I even have ancestors that fought in the American Revolution. One thing I would like to see is a story on the history of Lake Champlain. I searched your channel and didn`t find anything you have already done on it. Thank You

As A Canadian I thank the American negotiator for giving us the extra land. Maine is a very beautiful state

thanks

In the maine a great piece of history.

My favorite state! USM ‘97!

2 years at U-Maine (Then, UMaine Orono), 2 years elsewhere in the Pine Tree State. I could live there again, maybe...

it all makes perfect sense.