Tag Archives: Maine history

Rum Running in Scarborough – 1925

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Don Taylor

A look back at Prohibition-era Scarborough, when local resident Ralph Woodward had his car seized for rum running. A 1925 Portland Press Herald article reveals how the national struggle over alcohol reached even Maine’s quiet coastal towns. Continue reading →

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Scarborough Town Farm Cemetery

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Don Taylor

Ron Romano’s The Graves of Scarborough’s Paupers: The Town Farm Cemetery, 1867–1891 offers a moving, thoroughly researched account of Scarborough’s 19th-century approach to caring for its poorest citizens. When the town purchased the Brackett Farm in 1867, it became a … Continue reading →

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Letting Out the Poor

Posted on June 25, 2025 by Don Taylor

Ron Romano’s Letting Out the Poor uncovers the mid-19th-century system of poor relief in Scarborough, Maine, through the logbook of Ebenezer Libby, Overseer of the Poor from 1857–1867. The paper explains how impoverished residents were “let out” to townspeople—essentially placed in homes where … Continue reading →

Posted in 19th Century Maine, History, Notable Papers & Presentations, Presentations, Scarborough History, Social Welfare & Poor Relief | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment