1.
Boston
–
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
2.
Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee
–
Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee was a Boston architect and a partner in the firm of Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell. Bradlee was born in Boston to Elizabeth Davis and Samuel Bradlee and he married Julia Rebecca Weld on April 17,1855. Their children were Joseph Williams Bradlee, Caroline Lousia Bradlee, Elizabeth Lydia Bradlee, Eleanor Collamore Bradlee, Bradlee designed many of the townhouses in Bostons South End, and was president of the Cochituate Water Board. The Bradlee Basin at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, Newton, Massachusetts, from 1866 to 1896 his family lived in the Alvah Kittredge House, a Greek Revival mansion at 10 Linwood Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts. He vacationed in Altamonte Springs, Florida in what is now known as the Bradlee-McIntyre House, in 1885, Henry Herman Westinghouse, younger brother of George Westinghouse, built a nearby house whose plan was a mirror image of the Bradlee-McIntyre House. Westinghouse also had Bradlee design homes of 12 to 15 rooms near Boston Avenue in town, Bradlee died unexpectedly in Bellows Falls, Vermont while on a train from Boston to Keene, New Hampshire. His papers are archived in the Boston Athenæum, some outraged customers cut up their credit cards in protest of the demolition. These protests and preservationist grassroots efforts led to the creation of the Boston Landmarks Commission and he built for Royal Robbins of Waltham Watch Co. A series of 8 freight stables in 1866, which serviced the adjoining Boston and Providence Railroad property, 1853–1854 – First Church in Jamaica Plain, Unitarian-Universalist, a National Register of Historic Places site. 1855 – William F. Schultz House,53 Beacon Street, Boston, early 1860s – Jordan Marsh department store,450 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 1861–1862, Phillips School, Boston, Massachusetts. A rare substantial surviving Italianate school building.1866 eight freight stables at 13-45 Stanhope Street,1870 – Mount Auburn Reception House, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. One of only two existing buildings in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Bradlee,1874, Railway Station, North Conway, New Hampshire. 1874– Second Church, Boston, on Boylston Street, between Dartmouth and Clarendon 1874–1878 – Danvers State Hospital,450 Maple Street, Danvers, Massachusetts, a massive complex designed to care for the mentally ill. 1875, commercial building,6 East Springfield Street, South End, Boston 1876 – Boston Young Mens Christian Union,48 Boylston Street, Boston, an outstanding example of the High Gothic style, another NRHP site. 1878 – Unitarian Church, Brunswick, Maine,1879 – 542–550 Columbus Avenue, South End, Boston. Late 1870s – Palladio Hall, 60–62 Warren Street, Boston, an Italian Renaissance-style commercial block designed and owned by Bradlee. Nathaniel J. Bradlee, History of the Introduction of Pure Water into the City of Boston, with a Description of Its Cochituate Water Works, Boston, Danvers State Insane Asylum — information and Nathaniel J Bradlee biography
3.
Jordan Marsh
–
Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macys, the store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated Department Stores. Allied also operated a group of stores in Florida called Jordan Marsh Florida. In 1841, Eben Dyer Jordan left his job at a Boston dry goods store, ten years later, Jordan partnered with Boston merchant Benjamin L. Marsh. They began by selling linen, silk, and other dry goods from Europe to wholesale customers in, as the business grew, it moved from one location to another and in 1861 Jordan and Marsh decided to begin selling directly to the public. They acquired a building at 450 Washington Street, in the heart of what is still Bostons downtown shopping district. After the American Civil War, Jordan and Marsh expanded into nearby buildings, eventually the partners had established the nation’s first departmentalized store and called it Jordan Marsh and Company. During the second half of the 19th century, Eben Jordans son, Jordan Jr. and a new partner named George Mitton took over the company, turning it into a modern department store. Jordan Marsh and Company, in addition to establishing the first department store, introduced the concept of “department shopping. ”Jordan Marsh combined an elegant atmosphere with excellent personal service and a wide range of merchandise. With many different departments displaying wares from around the world, the store drew shoppers from the city as well from the streetcar suburbs. Once at the store, consumers could do more than just shop, Jordan Marsh offered fashion shows, a bakery famous for its blueberry muffins, art exhibitions, and even afternoon concerts. Jordan Marsh also pioneered new services for not available in more traditional specialty shops. Most important, it offered credit, usually in the form of charge accounts and it introduced the customer-is-always right policy, and offered money-back guarantees. Jordan Marsh was always known for implementing new technology as well, one of the first stores to feature electrical lights, glass showcases, telephones and it also installed pneumatic tubes that delivered cash and credit information to individual departments. In 1935, Bostons Jordan Marsh became one of the founders of New York City-based Allied Stores Corporation, after World War II, the management of Jordan Marsh announced that it would build a new store in downtown Boston. Jordans five older buildings would give way to a new building that would take up a city block. Covering an area larger than Harvard Stadium, it would have two stories under ground, another 14 would rise into the air and it would have all the latest technology, including air conditioning, automatic doorways, block-long show windows, and radiant-heated sidewalks. After the addition of the new building in 1949, the Jordan Marsh Complex was split into four units, the 1949 new store, the original main store, annex
4.
Beacon Hill, Boston
–
Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. According to the 2010 U. S. Census, the population of Bostons Beacon Hill neighborhood is 9,023 and it is a neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses and is known for its narrow, gaslit streets and brick sidewalks. Today, Beacon Hill is regarded as one of the most desirable, like many similarly named areas, the neighborhood is named for the location of a former beacon atop the highest point in central Boston. The beacon was used to warn the residents of an invasion, Beacon Hill is bound by Storrow Drive, and Cambridge, Bowdoin, Park and Beacon Streets. It is about one square, and situated along the riverfront of the Charles River Esplanade to the west, just north of Boston Common. The block bound by Beacon, Tremont and Park Streets is included as well, Beacon Hill has three sections, the south slope, the north slope and the Flat of the Hill, which is a level neighborhood built on landfill. It is west of Charles Street and between Beacon Street and Cambridge Street, the name trimount later morphed into Tremont, as in Tremont Street. Between 1807 and 1832 Beacon Hill was reduced from 138 feet in elevation to 80 feet, the shoreline and bodies of water such as the Mill Pond had a massive filling, increasing Bostons land mass by 150%. Charles Street was one of the new roads created from the project, before the hill was reduced substantially, Beacon Hill was located just behind the current site of the Massachusetts State House. According to the 2010 U. S. Census, the population of Bostons Beacon Hill neighborhood is 9,023 and this reflects a slight decrease from the 2000 Census. According to 2007-2011 American Community Survey estimates, of the 5,411 households in Beacon Hill,27. 3% were family households and 72.7 were non-family households, of the 1,479 family households 81. 6% were married couple families. 36. 6% of married families were with related children under the age of 18 and 63. 4% were with no related children under age 18. Other family types make up 18. 4% of Beacon Hills population, with 90. 8% being female householder with no husband present, the first European settler was William Blaxton, also spelled Blackstone. In 1625 he built a house and orchard on Beacon Hills south slope, roughly at the location of Beacon, the settlement was a preformal arrangement. In 1630 Boston was settled by the Massachusetts Bay Company, the southwestern slope was used by the city for military drills and livestock grazing. In 1634 a signal beacon was established on the top of the hill, sailors and British soldiers visited the north slope of Beacon Hill during the 17th and 18th centuries. As a result, it became an area for Boston residents. Fringe activities occurred on Mount Whoredom, the backslope of Beacon Hill, Beacon Street was established in 1708 from a cow path to the Boston Common
5.
Back Bay, Boston
–
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is also a shopping destination and home to some of Bostons tallest office buildings, the Hynes Convention Center. Prior to a colossal 19th-century filling project, Back Bay was a literal bay, today, along with neighboring Beacon Hill, it is one of Bostons two most expensive residential neighborhoods. This bay was tidal, the rose and fell several feet over the course of each day. As early as 5,200 years before present, Native Americans built fish weirs here, in 1814, the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation was chartered to construct a milldam, which would also serve as a toll road connecting Boston to Watertown, bypassing Boston Neck. However, the project was a failure, and in 1857 a massive project was begun to make land by filling the area enclosed by the dam. The firm of Goss and Munson built additional railroad trackage extending to quarries in Needham, twenty-five 35-car trains arrived every 24 hours carrying gravel and other fill, at a rate in the daytime of one every 45 minutes. Present-day Back Bay itself was filled by 1882, the project reached existing land at what is now Kenmore Square in 1890, much of the old mill dam remains buried under present-day Beacon Street. The project was the largest of a number of reclamation projects which, beginning in 1820. The Esplanade has since undergone changes, including the construction of Storrow Drive. The Back Bay is traversed by five east-west corridors, Beacon Street, Marlborough Street, Commonwealth Avenue, Newbury Street and Boylston Street. These are interrupted at intervals by running from north to south streets, Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester. All of the west-east streets, except Commonwealth Avenue, are one-way streets, west of Hereford are Massachusetts Avenue and Charlesgate, which forms the Back Bays western boundary. Setback requirements and other restrictions, written into the lot deeds of the newly filled Back Bay, produced harmonious rows of dignified three- and four-story residential brownstones. The Back Bay is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Copley Square features Trinity Church, the Boston Public Library, the John Hancock Tower, and numerous other notable buildings. Trinity Church, deservedly regarded as one of the finest buildings in America, the first monumental structure in Copley Square was the original Museum of Fine Arts, begun 1870 and opened 1876. After museum moved to the Fenway neighborhood in 1909 its red Gothic Revival building was demolished to make way for the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, the Boston Public Library, designed by McKim, Mead, and White, is a leading example of Beaux-Arts architecture in the US. Sited across Copley Square from Trinity Church, it was intended to be a palace for the people, baedekers 1893 guide terms it dignified and imposing, simple and scholarly, and a worthy mate. to Trinity Church
6.
Connecticut
–
Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area and it is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport, the state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U. S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for long tidal river, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Connecticuts center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticuts first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park, initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, the Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along the Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today. The state also has a history of hosting the financial services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford. As of the 2010 Census, Connecticut features the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the United States. Landmarks and Cities of Connecticut Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital and third largest city is Hartford, and other cities and towns include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich. Connecticut is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, there are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state, the highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet, on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts. At the opposite extreme, many of the towns have areas that are less than 20 feet above sea level. Connecticut has a maritime history and a reputation based on that history—yet the state has no direct oceanfront
7.
Hartford, Connecticut
–
Hartford is the capital of the U. S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, as of the 2010 Census, Hartfords population was 124,775, making it Connecticuts third-largest city after the coastal cities of Bridgeport and New Haven. Census Bureau estimates since then have indicated Hartfords subsequent fall to fourth place statewide as a result of sustained growth in the coastal city of Stamford. Nicknamed the Insurance Capital of the World, Hartford houses many insurance company headquarters, founded in 1635, Hartford is among the oldest cities in the United States. In 1868, resident Mark Twain wrote, Of all the towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief. Following the American Civil War, Hartford was the richest city in the United States for several decades, today, Hartford is one of the poorest cities in the nation with 3 out of every 10 families living below the poverty line. In sharp contrast, the Hartford metropolitan area is ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production, various tribes, all part of the loose Algonquin confederation, lived in or around present-day Hartford. The area was referred to as Suckiaug, meaning Black Fertile River-Enhanced Earth, the first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch, under Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam returned in 1623 with a mission to establish a trading post, the original site was located on the south bank of the Park River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called Fort Hoop, or the House of Hope, in 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from the Pequot chief for a small sum. It was home to perhaps a couple families and a few dozen soldiers, the area today is known as Dutch Point, and the name of the Dutch fort, House of Hope, is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but its neighborhood in Hartford is still known as Dutch Point, the Dutch outpost, and the tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers that were stationed there, did little to check the English migration. The Dutch soon realized they were vastly outnumbered, the House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was steadily swallowed up by waves of English settlers. The English began to arrive 1637, settling upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown, the settlement was originally called Newtown, but was changed to Hartford in 1637 in honor of Stones hometown of Hertford, England. Hooker also created the town of Windsor. The etymology of Hartford is the ford where harts cross, the Seal of the City of Hartford features a male deer, which in full maturity was referred to by the medieval hunting term hart. The fledgling colony along the Connecticut River had issues with the authority by which it was to be governed because it was outside of the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colonys charter. Historians suggest that Hookers conception of self-rule embodied in the Fundamental Orders went on to inspire the Connecticut Constitution, today, one of Connecticuts nicknames is the Constitution State
8.
Danbury, Connecticut
–
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 70 miles from New York City. Danburys population at the 2010 census was 80,893, Danbury is the fourth most populous city in Fairfield County, and seventh among Connecticut cities. The city is within the New York metropolitan area, the city is named for Danbury, England, the place of origin of many of its early settlers. It is nicknamed the Hat City because of its prominent history in the hat industry, the mineral danburite is named for Danbury. Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Fair Mall, Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. The Danbury area was then called Pahquioque by its namesake, the Pahquioque Native Americans, one of the original settlers was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioques in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. Also called Paquiack by local Native Americans, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court appointed a committee to lay out the new towns boundaries. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal patent was granted in 1702. During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military depot for the Continental Army. On April 26,1777, the British, under Major General William Tryon, the central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is Restituimus, a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The American General David Wooster was mortally wounded at the Battle of Ridgefield by the same British forces which had attacked Danbury and he is buried in Danburys Wooster Cemetery, the private Wooster School in Danbury also was named in his honor. It is the first known instance of the expression in American legal or political writing, the letter is on display at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury. The first Danbury Fair was held in 1821, in 1869, it became a yearly event, the last edition was in 1981. The fairgrounds were cleared to make room for the Danbury Fair Mall, in 1835, the Connecticut Legislature granted a rail charter to the Fairfield County Railroad, which saw no construction as investment was slow. In 1850, the plans were scaled back, and renamed the Danbury. Work moved quickly on the 23 mi railroad line, in 1852, it, the first railroad line in Danbury, opened, with two trains making the 75-minute trip to Norwalk. The central part of Danbury was incorporated as a borough in 1822, the borough was reincorporated as the city of Danbury on April 19,1889. The city and town were consolidated on January 1,1965, the dam impounding the Kohanza Reservoir, one of many reservoirs built to provide water to the hat factories, broke on January 31,1869
9.
New Haven, Connecticut
–
New Haven, in the U. S. state of Connecticut, is the principal municipality in Greater New Haven, which had a total population of 862,477 in 2010. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is the second-largest city in Connecticut, with a population of 129,779 people as of the 2010 United States Census, according to a census of 1 July 2012, by the Census Bureau, the city had a population of 130,741. New Haven was founded in 1638 by English Puritans, and a year later eight streets were laid out in a four-by-four grid, the central common block is the New Haven Green, a 16-acre square, and the center of Downtown New Haven. The Green is now a National Historic Landmark and the Nine Square Plan is recognized by the American Planning Association as a National Planning Landmark, New Haven is the home of Yale University. The university is an part of the citys economy, being New Havens biggest taxpayer and employer. Health care, professional services, financial services, and retail trade also help to form a base for the city. The city served as co-capital of Connecticut from 1701 until 1873, New Haven has since billed itself as the Cultural Capital of Connecticut for its supply of established theaters, museums, and music venues. New Haven is also the birthplace of George W. Bush, New Haven had the first public tree planting program in America, producing a canopy of mature trees that gave New Haven the nickname The Elm City. The area was visited by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block in 1614. Dutch traders set up a trading system of beaver pelts with the local inhabitants, but trade was sporadic. In 1637 a small party of Puritans reconnoitered the New Haven harbor area, the Quinnipiacs, who were under attack by neighboring Pequots, sold their land to the settlers in return for protection. By 1640, the theocratic government and nine-square grid plan were in place. However, the north of New Haven remained Quinnipiac until 1678. The settlement became the headquarters of the New Haven Colony, at the time, the New Haven Colony was separate from the Connecticut Colony, which had been established to the north centering on Hartford. Economic disaster struck the colony in 1646, however, when the town sent its first fully loaded ship of goods back to England. This ship never reached the Old World, and its disappearance stymied New Havens development in the face of the rising power of Boston. In 1660, founder John Davenports wishes were fulfilled, and Hopkins School was founded in New Haven with money from the estate of Edward Hopkins, in 1661, the judges who had signed the death warrant of Charles I of England were pursued by Charles II
10.
New Britain, Connecticut
–
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford, according to 2010 Census, the population of the city is 73,206. The citys official nickname is the Hardware City because of its history as a manufacturing center, because of its large Polish population, the city is often playfully referred to as New Britski. New Britain was settled in 1687 and then was incorporated as a new parish under the name New Britain Society in 1754, chartered in 1850 as a township and in 1871 as a city, New Britain had separated from the nearby town of Farmington, Connecticut. A consolidation charter was adopted in 1905, during the early part of the 20th century, New Britain was known as the Hardware Capital of the World, as well as Hardware City. Major manufacturers, such as The Stanley Works, the P&F Corbin Company, in 1843 Frederick Trent Stanley established Stanleys Bolt Manufactory in New Britain to make door bolts and other wrought-iron hardware. In 1857 his cousin Henry Stanley founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company in the city, the two companies merged in 1920, and the Stanley Rule and Level Company became the Hand Tools Division of Stanley Works. The wire coat hanger was invented in 1869 by O. A, in 1895, the basketball technique of dribbling was developed at the New Britain YMCA. In 1938, New Britain High School competed in the school football national championship game in Baton Rouge. 1954 saw the development of racquetball, also at the YMCA, New Britains motto, Industria implet alveare et melle fruitur – translated from Latin – means Industry fills the hive and enjoys the honey. This phrase was coined by Elihu Burritt, a 19th-century New Britain resident, diplomat, philanthropist and social activist. In 2007 it was reported that the Latin word for honey in the motto had been a typo for decades, it should be melle, but it had long been misspelled as mele. Former mayor William McNamara, who tried to fix it during his term. As controversy arose from the matter, the word was superseded with the correct spelling, melle. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 13.4 square miles. New Britains terrain is made up of soft, rolling hills. The many parks are populated with trees, and in small, undeveloped areas, New Britains streets also have many trees lining the sides of the roads. Many front yards in the half of the city have at least one tree
11.
Maine
–
Maine is the northernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 39th most extensive and the 41st most populous of the U. S. states and territories and it is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the north. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and it is known for its jagged, rocky coastline, low, rolling mountains, heavily forested interior, and picturesque waterways, and also its seafood cuisine, especially clams and lobster. There is a continental climate throughout the state, even in areas such as its most populous city of Portland. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples were the inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine. At the time of European arrival in what is now Maine, the first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607, as Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maines territory during the American Revolution, Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820, when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become an independent state. On March 15,1820, it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state under the Missouri Compromise, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the name Maine, but the most likely origin is the name given by early explorers after a province in France. Whatever the origin, the name was fixed for English settlers in 1665 when the English Kings Commissioners ordered that the Province of Maine be entered from then on in official records. The state legislature in 2001 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day, other theories mention earlier places with similar names, or claim it is a nautical reference to the mainland. Attempts to uncover the history of the name of Maine began with James Sullivans 1795 History of the District of Maine. He made the allegation that the Province of Maine was a compliment to the queen of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. MAINE appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in reference to the county of Dorset, the view generally held among British place name scholars is that Mayne in Dorset is Brythonic, corresponding to modern Welsh maen, plural main or meini. Some early spellings are, MAINE1086, MEINE1200, MEINES1204, mason had served with the Royal Navy in the Orkney Islands where the chief island is called Mainland, a possible name derivation for these English sailors. Initially, several tracts along the coast of New England were referred to as Main or Maine, Maine is the only state whose name has exactly one syllable. The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Penobscot, who had a loose confederacy. European contact with what is now called Maine started around 1200 CE when Norwegians interacted with the native Penobscot in present-day Hancock County, most likely through trade
