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Take a journey back in time through the charming scenes of small-town life in the vibrant community of Cumberland.

The town of Cumberland seceded from North Yarmouth in 1821, one year after Maine's secession from Massachusetts. Farming, fishing, shipbuilding, and the carrying trade formed the foundation of the local economy, and Cumberland's population increased during the period leading up to the Civil War. The industries sustaining coastal Maine underwent dramatic changes during the second half of the 19th century. New opportunities were sought by the community, with chickens and carnations being two of the novel agricultural products that helped the town survive a 35 percent decline in population between 1860 and 1920. Cumberland's proximity to the state's largest city created prospects for residents in shipbuilding and other industries in Greater Portland during World War II, and the postwar years saw a gradual transformation of the town into a bedroom community. Today, Cumberland has a school system known for excellence and attracts residents to a rural landscape in close proximity to the amenities and opportunities of the city. The Cumberland Historical Society (CHS) was founded in 1939 by a group of citizens interested in preserving the history of the town. Carolyn Small, CHS curator and former president, worked for 35 years in the local school system. Thomas C. Bennett is the director of Prince Memorial Library in Cumberland and has a graduate degree in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine.

Halfway up the coast of Maine, on the northwest shore of Penobscot Bay, lies the city of Belfast. The Penobscot people once hunted its forests and speared sturgeon in the Passagassawakeag River. In 1770, envisioning a prosperous town, like-minded Scots-Irish farmers settled here. During the 19th century, hardworking men and women established Belfast as a major seaport and shipbuilding center, thanks to its abundant resources and accessible harbor. As the maritime economy faded, enterprising citizens invested in manufacturing as the city's chief employer. Belfast takes the reader back to the early settlement, through the bustling shipbuilding heyday and gritty industrial decades, up to the city's centennial celebration in 1953. Join us as we sail a tall ship, stitch boots inside the noisy shoe factory, and eat chicken barbecue on the shores of the bay.

In the summer of 1643, John Sanders was granted land bordering the Mousam River in Kennebunk.

From this early grant to the present, many generations have called Kennebunk home.Through nearly two hundred vintage photographs, Kennebunk portrays life in this charming village from 1850 to 1940.From the architecture of its downtown neighborhoods to scenes of the rural countryside, the images in this book provide a window on Kennebunk’s past.They also capture the people who made up the fabric of this community, from early sea captains to hardworking farmers.Among them are immigrant Sam Tvedt, an eccentric preacher who sported shoulder-length hair and a long flowing coat while shouting sermons from beside the town pump, and Colby Jack Coombs, the famous World Series pitcher, shown spending time with his family on their Alewive farm.

From the era of the indigenous Passamaquoddy people to the booming growth that led to its development as a 20th-century commercial hub, the history of Calais is distinctly American. Briefly settled by Europeans in 1604 when a French group that included Samuel de Champlain spent an ill-fated winter fraught with casualties, Calais's first permanent settlers arrived in 1779. As the lumber trade developed, the young city thrived in spite of its remote location. The first industrial railroad in the state was built in Calais in 1832 to fuel its development as the second-busiest port on the Eastern Seaboard, and soon, families like the Murchies and the Becketts were heavily involved in furthering local businesses. Lumber, shipbuilding, and granite quarrying each contributed to Calais's rise--as well as its gradual 20th-century decline as the respective industries collapsed. From a height of nearly 8,000 residents in 1900, Calais's population steadily dwindled to less than 3,000 today.