The State of Maine turns 200 this March, but prior to 1820 the District of Maine had been part of Massachusetts. On display from March 5 through April 1 is a broadside that was issued in 1818 by the Commissioners of the Land Office in Boston. In the broadside, which functioned as an advertisement, residents of Massachusetts were encouraged to move north and apply to settle on land in Hancock, Cumberland, and Somerset counties. To spread the word of the available land, copies of this broadside were distributed to town selectmen who were tasked with reading it at public meetings, posting it in public places, and depositing it with Town Clerks so it could be shared with many residents.You may be familiar with the phrase “Go west, young man, and grow up with the country” which was used throughout the 1800s as a rallying cry to urge the settlement of the western United States. This broadside shares a similar call to draw Massachusetts residents north. It is peppered with lines like “Ye men of the country, who are independent on your farms, and have many sons to provide for, why not take up a lot for one, and try the experiment of an improvement.” The broadside stressed the affordability of buying land in the District of Maine, as well as listing the many benefits of its natural environment, from navigable waters and plentiful fish to excellent land for grazing. For those concerned with the isolation of settling in a new area, the broadside assured readers that new roads were completed (or would be completed) that would connect Maine to the Commonwealth and to Canada. It described townships along these routes that were in development, and encouraged several families from one neighborhood to go in together and start up a new enterprise in Maine.
Control of land in Maine had been contested by various groups over many years, but the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, formally established Maine as part of Massachusetts. Maine tried to separate in 1807 and during the War of 1812, but did not achieve a successful vote to secede until 1819. Two years after this broadside was issued, Maine entered the United States and became the 23rd state on March 15, 1820. It joined as part of the Missouri Compromise, which established Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while also prohibiting slavery north of the 36°30′ parallel.
Mark Maine’s 200th birthday by visiting the library during March and taking a closer look at a piece of its settling history.
By Elizabeth Roscio
Preservation Librarian
