When we visited it was late in the day and they allowed us in free as the museum would be closing in less than an hour. It could easily be said that we got much more than our money's worth on our tour of the museum. The very first thing we noticed on entering was
, an 1846 locomotive, the oldest remaining American-built locomotive in New England and a National Registered Historic Site. Beside
, built around 1920, a gasoline powered model, powered by a large six cylinder engine.
Further along, one will find geological displays, natural history displays, cultural history displays, economic and industrial history displays as well natural science displays. There seems not to be a single aspect of the history of the State of Maine that has been overlooked in the creation of this museum. There are even mockups of early Maine industrial enterprises, including a sawmill, a woolen mill and a shoe shop.
The Maine State Museum is one of the nation's oldest state-funded museums. The Maine State Museum builds and maintains systematic collections regarding Maine's pre-history, history, and natural science.
The museum also holds title on behalf of the people of Maine to artifacts and natural scientific specimens located on or beneath state-owned land, including the bottoms of navigable waterways and coastal waters.
The museum researches, interprets, and exhibits its collections for the benefit of the public. Its goal is to promote public awareness of Maine's natural resources and historical richness. The museum provides access to its collections for those interested in pursuing questions about Maine's cultural and natural history.
History
The over 500,000 artifacts in the history collections at the Maine State Museum range from silver spoons to a three-story, water-powered woodworking mill. These items can be seen in five long-term exhibits covering 30,000 square feet as well as several temporary exhibits. Additional artifacts are available to researchers in storage facilities totaling some 20,000 square feet. Collection strengths include Maine-made furniture, wood-working tools, silver, ceramics, glass, and textiles, including rug stencils and patterns from the E. S. Frost Company; over 24,000 historic images; artifacts from Maine's industrial history, especially logging, ice harvesting and textile manufacture; and artifacts relating to Maine's participation in the Civil War. Our collection of Civil War flags is the first in the nation to have been conserved and exhibited. The over 1300 linear feet of archives and manuscripts document the lives and histories of Maine's people. We also oversee collections in Maine's State House and the Blaine House, home of Maine's governor.
Pre-History
The archaeology laboratory of the Maine State Museum occupies 2000 sq ft of climate-controlled space in the Maine State Museum Annex building. The lab serves as the museum's archaeological storage facility and as a workspace for the archaeological staff. The museum's archaeological collection includes prehistoric and historic materials from all over Maine, and is the largest such collection in the Northeast. Access to this collection is facilitated by rolling compactor units. The staff engages in a wide variety of multidisciplinary research relating to human interactions with the natural environment since the end of the Pleistocene Era, which leads to frequent visits by scientific colleagues and the public.
Natural Science
The Natural Science Division of the Maine State Museum serves as an important regional repository for researchers from Maine and northern New England. The museum's geological collection dates from the 1830s when systematic collecting was first undertaken in the region and is especially strong in minerals from the historic pegmatite district of western Maine. The biological holdings were significantly expanded in 2004 with the incorporation of the University of Maine Department of Ecology's comprehensive statewide and regional collections of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and vascular plants. Other important recent acquisitions include the 2006 transfer of the Maine Geological Survey collections.
From the Maine State Museum