Maine - The 23rd State (The Beginning)

Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer who sailed for France, made the first recorded exploration of Maine in 1524.  In 1622, England’s King James I awarded Sir Ferdinando Gorges the territory between the Merrimack and Kennebec rivers.  Gorges called his land the Province of Maine.

Though he was not successful in establishing a permanent colony, Gorges set up Maine’s first system of government.  The English made their first permanent settlements around 1630.  In 1641, Gorgeana (present-day York) became the first English-chartered city in what is now the United States.  In 1677, Gorges’ family sold Maine to Massachusetts.

Maine at this time was a wild frontier, and most of the settlers were involved in fishing, fur trading or timber.  The white pine tree was a valuable resource for shipbuilding, which helped Falmouth (present-day Portland) become and important shipbuilding center around 1730.

The first naval encounter of the American Revolution took place in Maine’s Machias Bay when local patriots captured the British schooner Margaretta on June 12, 1775.  Maine’s loyalties were divided, but sentiment shifted towards the Americans after the British navy nearly destroyed Falmouth in October 1775.

Maine was one of the most sparsely populated regions of the United States, with only about 49,000 residents by 1780.  By the time voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum in favor of statehood in 1819, Maine’s population had reached nearly 300,000.

Maine was admitted as the 23^rd state of the Union on March 15, 1820, breaking away from Massachusetts.  Under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri was admitted as a slave state, thereby maintaining the numerical balance between free and slave states.  Maine’s first capital was located in Portland.  It was moved to Augusta in 1832.