On our way back from Quebec City whale watching, we decided to make a stop at the Maine state house in Augusta. This was the fourth capitol in our Statehouse Selfies Quest. Since 1832, this stunning building has housed the Maine Legislature.
In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into some fun facts about the history, architecture, and our experience at the Maine State House, giving readers a unique perspective on this iconic landmark.
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Table of contents
The Maine State House
Arriving in Augusta early evening after a long drive from Quebec, we explored the beautiful grounds of the State House. The landscaping is very well done and there are many spots where you can sit and quietly reflect while looking at a tinkling fountain. Let’s find out more about this capitol.
I Bet You Didn’t Know that Augusta wasn’t Always the Capital of Maine
When Maine became a state in 1920, Portland was chosen as its capital. After a while, they realized that Portland wasn’t a very central location, so in 1932, the capital moved to Augusta. This made it easier for the Northern Maine residents to visit the State House.
Designed by Charles Bulfinch, the Famous Architect
After designing the Massachusetts Capitol in Boston, renowned architect Charles Bulfinch began work on the drawings for the Maine Statehouse in 1829. He based most of the design on its Massachusetts counterpart.
He did most of his design work for the Maine State House while he was Commissioner of Public Building in Washington DC. During that time, he completed a lot of the US Capitol building, including its wings and central portion.
Although the Maine State House has been expanded and remodeled several times since then, the current form still resembles the Massachusetts State House.
Life Size Replica of The Liberty Bell!
Still in the early stages of our Liberty Bell Replica Quest, we were looking forward to discovering the Maine one. The US Treasury department donated this bell to Maine during a savings drive in 1950. Luckily, this one was not locked up, unlike the one in Massachusetts!
One fun detail we noticed is that this bell has a crack painted on it. By now we know that not all the replicas have this detail. No idea why the discrepancy between the various liberty bell replicas. As with most of the other replicas, there was plaque to explain about the bell.
This bell is an inspirational symbol that from May until July 4th, 1950 was displayed in every part of the state of Maine. The dimensions and the tone are identical with those of the original liberty bell when it rang out our independence in 1776.
Liberty Bell Replica Plaque
Both the plaque and the enclosure of the bell are rusty and the wood is not in very good shape. This bell could use some restoration. The serial number is 40, each state has a different serial number.
When we were in Vermont, their bell’s serial number was not so easy to find. The bell was in a dusty hallway and we totally could not find the number. It took us way longer than it should have but eventually we succeeded! Luckily, by now we are better at knowing where to look and what to look for.
Ye Olde School Bell
While we were exploring the grounds of the Maine state house, we noticed a big bell which of course we wanted to check out. Maybe we have become bell obsessed. Everyone needs a hobby, right?
Soon we discovered this was an old school bell! Relocated from an unorganized territory in Maine. The inscription showed that it had rung for 124 years since 1840 to mark the start of the school day for countless children. Even better, the bell let them know when they were free to leave the building. Fun to imagine these generations of Mainers growing up with the ringing of this bell.
Since I had no idea what an unorganized territory is, I did some research. It turns out there are many of them in Maine and other states. Simply said, it just is a piece of land without local government. Therefore the state of Maine must have paid for their education and for the school bell. Which makes it more understandable how this bell ended up at the state house grounds.
Funny Coincidence – Hotel Bell… Yes, Bell Obsessed
Before we went to the state house, we had checked into our Hilton hotel, where we stayed for free using hilton honors points. When we went to our room, we were happily surprised to get a room with a bell picture! Clearly this was a harbinger of the liberty bell replica we were going to see.
Lady of Wisdom
The Maine artist William Clark Noble created a classic 12-foot high figure of a woman he named “Lady of Wisdom” with right torch holding hand rigidly upraised. He wanted to show this wise woman as Augusta (the City), holding a pine torch (the State).
Nice to see a woman in a top position, especially now that Maine has had a female governor since 2019.
Obligatory Bad Statehouse Selfie
Of course, we took our obligatory bad selfie which actually was not as bad as usual. Maybe we are getting better at this selfie stuff 😀
Conclusion
Happily we got our state house selfie and we visited Maine’s liberty bell. Next time, we hope to actually see the inside of the state house. This time we chose to spend the next morning overlooking the Kennebec river. We hoped to see sturgeons jump, but that’s a blog post for another time.
How many state houses have you visited? What was your favorite? Have you seen any of the liberty bell replicas? Follow our blog for more tips on how to travel mindfully and seize the day!
More State Houses to Discover
- Ten Surprising New Hampshire State House Facts New Hampshire people are cheapskates!
- Ten Surprising Vermont State House Facts Discover ancient fossils;
- The Maine State House With bells on;
- The Massachusetts State House Where the Boston Italian North End was born;
- The Old State House in Boston, site of the Boston Massacre.
- Connecticut Capitol Fun Facts Home of the so-called “Black Law”;
- Rhode Island State House: Ten Surprising Facts Discover its Dutch history;
- New York State Capitol. An expensive boondoggle;
- Alaska Capitol. Which animal guards it?
- Washington State Capitol. Women’s suffrage for the win!
- Breaking news: why Puerto Rico has a State House of its own!
- The US Virgin Islands have a Capitol Building in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Voted the state Capitol building with the best view!
- Get inspired by our Travel Quests and start your own!
If you are going to visit any of these state houses, make sure to check whether it has a full size replica of the Liberty Bell.
Pin The Maine State House
Comments
9 responses to “Unlock The Unforgettable Maine State House And Its Liberty Bell”
This was such a cool post, love seeing new places through others’ blogs! Glad you found the bell! xx
Thank you!
Yes, reading blogs makes our world more connected. The bell was much easier to find than the Massachusetts one 🙂
http://ourcarpediem.com/2018/08/07/the-liberty-bell-that-is-locked-up/
I visited the Liberty Bell a few years ago!
Cool! The original one in Philadelphia?
WOW! Visiting each one in every state is a big task but I’m excited to watch in unfold. This building is beautiful and I LOVE all the bells.
[…] The Maine State House and Its Bells […]
[…] According to my mother, Maine is prettier than New Hampshire. Make up your own mind by visiting the Maine State House in Augusta! […]
I LOVE your idea of visiting all the capitals. Can’t wait to read more about these trips!
[…] Massachusetts State house in Boston. We had visited three bells already (New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine) and were excited to see this one and find out which serial number was on the […]