Did You Know? The Revolutionary War monument in Lexington is America’s oldest war memorial (July 4, 1799). Female mill workers in Lowell struck in 1845 and won a workday reduction from 14 to 11 hours. In the 1850s, more whaling voyages originated at New Bedford than from all of the
Did You Know? The red maple, which can grow to 120 feet, is America’s most common tree. About 400 of North America’s 1,000 cranberry farms are in Massachusetts. The Topsfield Fair, first called the Cattle Show, is America’s oldest agricultural fair (1820). The colors in autumn leaves are brightest when
Did You Know? Approximately 63% of the Island’s housing stock is second homes for seasonal residents. The first Bible printed in the U.S. was written in the language of the Wampanoag Indians on Martha’s Vineyard. Martha’s Vineyard was part of the New York colony before being transferred to Massachusetts (1692).
Did You Know? Acadia National Park was the first U.S. national park east of the Mississippi (1919). Quoddy Head State Park is the country’s easternmost point. Maine has more than 1 million acres of state parks, nature preserves and public lands. In 1607/1608, English settlers built North America’s first ocean-going
Did You Know? Grammar school dropout Chester Greenwood of Farmington invented earmuffs at age 15 (1873). The L.L. Bean flagship store, open 24/7, has no locks on the doors. A Freeport business, Sea Bags, has kept more than 500 tons of sails out of landfills in 15 years. The original
Did You Know? Maine’s 32,000 miles of rivers and streams together are longer than the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile and Yangtze combined. The state boasts 330 bird species. Maine produces more blueberries than any U.S. state including 99% of all wild ones. Maine is the most sparsely populated state east of
Did You Know? Maine rarely replants after cutting trees because its forests reseed themselves. Each American uses the equivalent of a 100-foot tree per year. Maine’s lobster harvest averages nearly 40 million pounds yearly. The vast majority (95.6%) of Maine’s timberland is privately owned; government owns 4.4%. Maine’s apple varieties
Did You Know ... ? Machias was the site of the first naval battle of the American Revolution (June 1775). Andrew Wyeth was staying in Rockland when he painted “Christina’s World." Cabot Cove, setting for TV’s “Murder She Wrote,” is fictional; film sites were in California. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge
Did You Know ... ? The Grand Hotel’s 660-foot porch is the world’s largest. When the Grand Hotel opened in 1887, room rates were $3 to $5 per night. In summer, there are more than 500 horses on Mackinac Island. Admission to a Mark Twain lecture on Mackinac Island in
Did You Know? Nottoway was saved from destruction in the Civil War by a Union officer who had been a guest there. The same family has occupied the Butler Greenwood Plantation home since its construction in the 1790s. Senegalese slaves at Laura Plantation are believed to have first told a
