In front of the library is a
Civil War Monument, which had been dedicated Oct. 14, 1886, preceding the library by six years.
Made of Hallowell granite with a granite base, the monument was apparently erected by the Town of Machias and dedicated on October 14, 1886. Standing at least fifteen feet overall, the monument is set atop a three tiered base, with granite blocks forming the bottom tier and solid granite each tier above. There is no indication of who the sculptor might have been. There are other essentially identical sculptures atop Civil War Monuments in other nearby towns.
The inscription on the front reads:
ERECTED TO THE MEMORY
OF THE
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
OF MACHIAS.
WHOSE LIVES WERE GIVEN FOR
LIBERTY AND THEIR COUNTRY
1861 - 1865
The Porter Memorial Library was built in 1892 to honor Rufus King Porter, a local lawyer and prominent member of Machias society. In 1991 $10,000 was donated toward its construction by his son, Henry Homes Porter. Designed by George A. Clough of Boston, it is a fine
example of the Romanesque Revival style, built of granite with a slate shingled roof.
In the harbor off Machias was fought the first (or second, depending on who you read) naval battle of the American Revolutionary War on June 11-12, 1775, the
Battle of Machias, with the American Sloop
Unity gaining victory. In the base of the fireplace in the library's reading room are the ballast stones from the British warship
Margaretta, captured in that battle.
A full-length male soldier, dressed in Civil War uniform with a cap, knee-length coat and cape, and baggy pants. He has a moustache and holds the barrel of a rifle in both hands, butt end on the ground. He stands on a tiered base, with an eagle with outspread wings at his feet. A shield with 13 stars and 13 stripes flanked by bas-relief oak boughs is on the front of the base near its bottom.
From the Smithsonian