CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE
August 25, 1966
Page 20566
MAINE'S LITERARY TRAIL
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, Maine's majestic coast and the beauty of Maine's inland landscapes have been admired by generations of tourists and residents. Frequently overlooked, however, is the influence which Maine has had an America's literary heritage.
That influence has been impressive. For instance, Maine was the birthplace of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sarah Orne Jewett, Kenneth Roberts, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Kate Douglas Wiggin, and Bert L. Standish.
Maine was home to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Elijah Kellogg, Artemus Ward, Daniel Webster, Kellogg, Parish Lovejoy, S. F. Smith, and Gladys Hasty Carroll at various times in their lives.
Both Longfellow and Hawthorne were graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825.
Summer residents of Maine have included William Dean Howells, John Greenleaf Whittier, Booth Tarkington, Ben Ames Williams, Margaret Deland, and Walter Lippmann.
The New York Times of Sunday, August 14, carried an article by William C. Roux describing Maine's literary trail, a tour through the communities which helped shape the personalities and writings of many of America's foremost men and women of letters. I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Roux's article appear in the RECORD at this time.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
[From the New York Times, Aug. 14, 1966]
LANDMARKS ALONG A LITERARY TRAIL IN MAINE
(By William C. Roux)
AUGUSTA, MAINE.-This state is noted for many things other than lobsters, scenery and vacation spots. For example, within a 100 mile radius of Augusta, the capital, are perhaps more literary landmarks than one will find within any similar circle in America.
The list of famous authors from this area includes contemporary writers, as well as many who have distinguished themselves in American literary history. The area where these writers lived is contained roughly in a triangle whose top point is Bangor and whose sides extend along U.S. 1 to Kittery and U.S. 2 to Bethel.
A visit to these places offers not only a rewarding opportunity to relive a vast portion of America's literary history, but also a chance to enjoy the variety and beauty of many of this state's coastal and inland towns. And throughout this journey along Maine's so-called "Literary Trail," one is never far from comfortable lodgings and good food.
SUMMER HOME
Kittery Point, directly outside of Kittery, is where William Dean Howells, dean of American letters and author of "The Rise of Silas Lapham" and other works, had his summer home. And in the local cemetery the gravestone of Levi Thaxter, husband of Celia Thaxter, the poet, is distinguished by a poem written by Robert Browning.
The trail moves through York, York Harbor and York Beach, three coastal towns that suggested to Sarah Orne Jewett the writing of "Deephaven." And it was in York Harbor that John Greenleaf Whittier met the young woman he immortalized in "Maud Muller."
From York, the trail turns to South Berwick, where Sarah Jewett was born in 1849. Her home, which was built in 1780, is open to the public during the summer. On the outskirts of town is the home of Gladys Hasty Carrol, author of “As the Earth Turns," "Donnybrook" and other novels.
The next stop is Kennebunk, where Kenneth Roberts, whose historical novels rival those of James Fenimore Cooper, was born in the Storer House. It is just off U.S. 1. Roberts's summer home, along with those of Booth Tarkington and Margaret Deland, were in nearby Kennebunkport.
Further along scenic U.S. 1 is Portland, the city that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once described as "the beautiful town that is seated by the sea." He we born there in 1807, and his home on Congress Street, the first brick building in the city, is open to the public.
FOLKLORE REPOSITORY
In the rear of the house is the headquarters of the Maine Historical Society, a well stocked repository of the state's folklore and history.
State Route 22 leads from Portland to Bar Mills, where Kate Douglas Wiggin, best known for her "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," lived in a fine old Colonial residence called Quillcote. The barn on the estate has been remodeled into an assembly hall and decorated with drawings that illustrated her books.
Miss Wiggin is buried in the churchyard at the Tory Hill Meeting House, just a half mile from the estate. This church and the surrounding neighborhood were the setting for her book, "Old Peabody Pew"; a dramatization of this story is presented here every August.
The tourist then proceeds to South Casco, on the northeast shore of Lake Sebago, where the 12-year-old Nathaniel Hawthorne came to live with his widowed mother. Hawthorne House, built in 1812, is still standing. So is Manning House where Hawthorne's uncle lived.
The "Literary Trail" next leads to Brunswick. This is the home of Bowdoin College, where both Longfellow and Hawthorne studied and were graduated with the Class of 1825. The new Longfellow-Hawthorne Library on the campus contains a complete exhibition of manuscripts, letters, early editions, portraits and other personal memorabilia of these two classmates and close friends.
NATIONAL LANDMARK
No. 25 Federal Street in Brunswick, where both Hawthorne and Longfellow lived, is not far from the Harriet Beecher Stowe House at 83 Federal Street. This house, now, a national landmark, is where she wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
The first Parish Congregational Church, in which the author had her "vision" of the story, is at the corner of Harpwell, Maine and Bath Streets.
SPIRED CHURCH
Nine miles out of Brunswick, by way of State Route 123, is Harpswell Center and the Elijah Kellogg Church, a lovely spired building that is still used for worship. Kellogg was the author of the well-known boys' books, "The Elm Island Series" and "The Whispering Pines Series." Both series had their setting in the rustic landscape around Harpswell Center.
From Brunswick, the "Literary Trail" also continues, via U.S. 201, to Gardiner. This was the home of Edwin Arlington Robinson, the three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. This is the "Tilbury Town" of his poems, and a memorial stone we raised in his honor on the Town Green.
Here in Augusta, a few miles farther along U.S. 201, the State Library in the State House contains more than 200,000 volumes. It is there, too, that a permanent collection of books by Maine's authors is maintained.
The next step on the trail is Thomaston. This is the site of Montpelier, a reproduction of the home built in 1793 by Gen. Henry Knox, Washington's Secretary of War. Hawthorne made fictional use of the family and the estate in his "The House of the Seven Gables."
About five miles farther along U.S. 1 is Rockland, where Edna St. Vincent Millay was born. The site, at 200 Broadway, is marked with a tablet. She was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
"NICK CARTER" HOUSE
The trail then moves northeast to Bangor. At 166 Union Street is a brick house occupied at various times by Owen Davis, the playwright, and Gene Sawyer, the author of the "Nick Carter" books, a series of dime novels from another era.
West of Bangor, by way of U.S. 2, is Corinna, where Gilbert Patter, better known as Bert L. Standish, author of the "Frank Merriwell Series" for boys, was born in 1866. Farther along this route is Skowhegan. There, Artemus Ward, the American humorist, once worked in a printing office.
The tourist then moves south to Waterville. This is the site of Colby College, whose library contains an impressive collection of the manuscripts of Maine authors. Included is an autographed copy of the poem, "My Country 'tis of Thee," by S. F. Smith, who taught modern languages at the college.
Just east of Waterville is Albion, the estate of Elijah Parish Lovejoy, journalist and antislavery leader. Lovejoy we killed in a mob riot in Alton, Ill., while defending his right to a free press.
WEBSTER TAUGHT HERE
Still another interesting stop on the trail is Fryeburg, on U.S. 302, in the western precincts of the state. It was there that Daniel Webster taught at the Fryeburg Academy for the meager stipend of $20 a month. This town is also to birthplace of James R. Osgood, the Boston publisher, and the scene of "The Village," a 2,000-line poem by Enoch Lincoln, poet-Governor of Maine.
A scenic trip over U.S. 302 winds trough lovely hill and lake country and back to Portland.