July 1, 1950: The newly constructed Scarborough Downs racetrack opens for its first races. The facility includes a grandstand that can hold 6,500 spectators, stables for 1,000 horses and parking for 6,000 cars. The $1 million complex was carved from a patch of woods in 73 days. The track was built despite opposition from anti-gambling […]

June 30, 1818: As a result of successful negotiations with the British in 1817, the United States regains control of Eastport, which the British had occupied since seizing it – and the rest of eastern Maine – during the War of 1812. The Americans relinquish claims to islands east of Eastport that now are part […]

June 27, 1820: Maine’s first Legislature establishes the Medical School of Maine and puts it under the control of the trustees and overseers of Bowdoin College. Legislators supply $1,500 for initial expenses and authorize a $1,000 annual payment after that, although that ceases in 1834. The school opens in 1821 in Bowdoin’s Massachusetts Hall, then […]

June 25, 1789: Hancock and Washington counties, the fourth and fifth Maine counties, are set off from Lincoln County, temporarily making the map of Maine counties look like five north-to-south zebra stripes. Hancock County, located on the state’s east coast, is now the home of Acadia National Park and the Maine Maritime Academy. It also […]

June 24, 1794: The Massachusetts State Legislature charters Bowdoin College, which is named after the late Massachusetts Gov. James Bowdoin II, an amateur scientist and influential advocate of American independence. At the time of its founding, Bowdoin is the easternmost college in the United States. The Massachusetts state government and the governor’s son, James Bowdoin […]

June 23, 1862: The first issue of the Portland Daily Press appears. The four-page tabloid newspaper is published on Exchange Street. Subscriptions cost 50 cents a month or $5 per year. The Press later is merged with The Portland Herald in 1921 to form the Portland Press Herald. June 23, 2017: About 100 firefighters combat […]

June 22, 2013: The Bangor Theological Seminary graduates its final class after nearly two centuries of operation. Founded in 1814 in the Congregational tradition of the United Church of Christ, it was northern New England’s only graduate school of religion. The school had announced in 2011 that it was planning to close. Forty-seven students receive […]

June 21, 1954: U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith (1897-1995), running for election to a second Senate term, defeats Robert L. Jones in a Republican primary election by a 5-to-1 margin, even though U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin Republican noted for his accusations about communists infiltrating the federal government, surreptitiously backs Jones. Smith aide William […]