Nov. 25, 1997: For the first time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders the dismantling of a working hydroelectric facility – in this case, the Edwards Dam in Augusta – over the objection of its owner. FERC denies the Edwards Manufacturing Co.’s application for a renewal of its license to operate the dam. The commissioners […]

Nov. 24, 1916: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, a native of the Piscataquis County town of Sangerville and the inventor of the machine gun, dies at 76 in London while the armies of World War I, underway just across the English Channel, are making prolific use of his weapon on the battlefield. Maxim’s innovation was making […]

Nov. 23, 2018: The Portland Press Herald reports that although nearly 50,200 people used the direct high-speed ferry service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, during the year – the busiest season ever – the ferry probably will not be returning. Bay Ferries, the vessel’s operator, plans to move its service to Bar Harbor. The […]

It’s Nov. 22, 2020.

Nov. 21, 1921: The first edition of the Portland Press Herald is published. It is a merger of the former Portland Herald and the Portland Daily Press, which was founded in 1862. Guy Gannett, an Augusta businessman, after being approached by owners of several papers in a cutthroat environment of declining revenue, eventually bought the […]

Nov. 20, 1652: Stamping out a 3-year-old effort to form an independent English province of Maine, Massachusetts Bay Colony authorities convince 41 residents of Kittery to submit unconditionally to Massachusetts. A few days later, they exact a similar pledge of loyalty from residents of nearby Agamenticus – now the town of York. In doing so, […]

Nov. 19, 1819: Former President Thomas Jefferson writes a letter to William King, a leading Maine statehood advocate and future Maine governor, thanking him for sending Jefferson a draft of the proposed Maine Constitution, being prepared in conjunction with Maine’s anticipated admission to statehood in 1820. While praising most of the document, Jefferson faults its […]

Nov. 18, 1833: Ebenezer Dole, his brother Daniel Dole and others meet in Hallowell to form Maine’s first anti-slavery group, called the Hallowell Anti-slavery Society. The society’s debut occurs about a year after William Lloyd Garrison, one of the more prominent American orators calling for the abolition of slavery, conducted a speaking tour across the […]

Nov. 17, 2018: Thornton Academy’s football team completes its first unbeaten season since 1986 with a lopsided 49-14 win against Portland High School in Maine’s Class A state championship game. The 11-0 string of Trojans’ victories is all the more impressive because opposing teams never even held a temporary lead over Thornton in any game […]

Nov. 16, 1975: Television crews and reporters converge on the Kennebec River to record the last major log drive in the contiguous 48 U.S. states. The Maine Legislature passed a law in 1971 banning log drives after Oct. 1, 1976, but in 1975 the practice already is dying out for economic reasons, given that it […]