The National Law that Created UMaine

The sign below explains the federal legislation from 1862 that provided the funds to create the University of Maine. The 1873 photograph in the banner documents the founding era when the main campus was located along the hill overlooking the Stillwater River. The three main buildings in the photo are (l. to r.) Oak Hall and barn (1871), White Hall (1867-68), and Chemical Hall (1869-70), which still stands, and is known today as Fernald Hall. If you are viewing this site on a cell phone, the banner image is probably cropped on both sides. To see the full photo go to the DigitalCommons@UMaine here. 

This earliest known engraving of the campus recalls the military context of the Morrill Act (1862) during the Civil War. It shows cadets drilling in the foreground, the Stillwater River in the left upper distance, and a row of campus buildings on a hill to the right. The most prominent building is Oak Hall (at center with a flagpole on its roof). First known as the Maine State College of Agricultural and the Mechanic Arts, the name was changed to the University of Maine in 1897. This engraving was printed in History of Penobscot County (1882), p. 171. Photo courtesy of the University Archives, Special Collections, Fogler Library. The image is also available on the DigitalCommons@UMaine.

The "Coburn Cadets" in the days of early military training. Student officers from UMaine's Class of 1882. 

Back row (l. to r): Lieuts. Starrett, Flint, Woodward, Howard, Reed.

Front row (l. to r.): Capt. Kimball, Major A.E. Rogers, Commandant, Capt. A.J. Keith, Lieut. Boynton.

Photo courtesy of the University Archives, Special Collections, Fogler Library. 

The image is available on the DigitalCommons@UMaine.