The Maine Historical Society has free, online collections available for research as well as subscription (membership-only) collections.
Online Collections
Maine Memory Network, a statewide digital museum that provides unprecedented access to over 45,000 historical items from over 270 museums, archives, historical societies, libraries, and other organizations from every corner of Maine.
Included in the database are:
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Letters, journals, notes, manuscripts, and other hand–written materials
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Photographs, albumen prints, glass plate negatives, paintings, and other images
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Sketches, woodcuts, broadsides, business cards, and other graphic items
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Architectural and mechanical drawings, maps, and other oversized documents
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Clothing, tools, household goods, archaeological artifacts, and other museum objects
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Audio and video files
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1924 Portland Tax Records
Vintage Maine Images
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, biographical & historical site
Brown Research Library, online collections are at the Maine Memory Network
Member-only Collections
You must be an active member of Maine Historical Society to use the Members Only databases. If you are not a member, join by purchasing a membership. As a current member, you may create an online account or use an account you have previously created to access these materials. You will only be asked for your membership ID number the first time you log in, and your privilege will continue as long as your membership remains current.
You do not need to be a member or register for an account to browse the public databases.
NOTE: ProQuest stopped remote access to HeritageQuest Online or Sanborn Digital Maps of Maine to our members. We still, however, offer these resources within our library.
Maine History, publication of the Maine Historical Society
Maine History is the only periodical devoted to scholarship on Maine history. It is published two times a year by the Maine Historical Society in cooperation with the Department of History at the University of Maine. This database contains fully searchable pages from Volumes 9 through 52. From this section you can also download and view recent issues of Maine History. Access this remotely through the Members Only section.
A leader in high-quality digital content, JSTOR provides access to interdisciplinary journals on such topics as the arts, business, economics, education, history, humanities, political, and social sciences, as well as other areas of the larger academic and research community. Maine Historical Society’s institutional membership includes access to nearly 1,500 full-text journals, fully searchable by traditional methods (author, title, subject), as well as keyword. Access this remotely through the Members Only section.
Naturalization Petitions of U.S. District Court (Portland, Maine), 1912-1929
This database contains over 5,200 names extracted from 23 rolls of microfilm housed at MHS: Naturalization Petitions of the United States District Court, Portland, Maine, 1912-1929. NARA Microfilm Publication M2086. Finding a name in this database can lead you to an actual record on microfilm in the Brown Library at MHS. Access this remotely through the Members Only section.
Portland Voter Registrations 1891–1902
This database is from Manuscript Collection 4 in the Maine Historical Society. It lists voter registrations from all the wards in the city of Portland between 1891 and 1902. Find name, address, occupation, date of birth and other valuable information. This data is from the first 11 volumes of Collection 4. Access this remotely through the Members Only section.
Town of Deering, Record of Naturalization Papers, 1873-1898
This database is also from Manuscript Collection 4 in the Maine Historical Society. It lists those who filed naturalization record papers in the town of Deering from 1873 to 1898. Find name, date on which the papers were filed, and in what court. This data is from Volume 82 of Collection 4. Access this remotely through the Members Only section.
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