City of Hallowell

09/10/2026

Hallowell’s World War I Memorial

This is a photograph of Hallowell, Maine’s World War I memorial, honoring the young men of the city who served during the First World War.

The bronze plaque is mounted on a rough-hewn granite block. It reads:

“Dedicated by the Citizens of Hallowell
to the
Young Men of This City
Who Gave Their Services in the
World War
In Defense of the Principles of
Liberty — Justice — Democracy.”

The dates 1917–1919 appear on either side of the plaque, along with an American eagle, crossed flags, a shield, laurel wreaths and the Maine state seal at the bottom. The monument is officially documented in the University of Southern Maine’s Maine World War I Memorial Inventory as a granite monument with a bronze plaque in Hallowell.

Hallowell’s memorial is particularly interesting because it does not simply list names. The inscription reflects how the war was understood by the community at the time — as a defense of liberty, justice and democracy.

The United States entered World War I in April 1917, and the armistice ended the fighting on November 11, 1918. The memorial uses 1919 as its second date, reflecting the period of American service surrounding the war.

Today, Hallowell also has a much larger veterans monument at Legion Park in Hallowell Cemetery. That monument was dedicated in 2012 and includes the names of Hallowell veterans from multiple conflicts, including World War I.

This older memorial remains a direct reminder of the Hallowell men who answered the call during the First World War.

Hallowell, Maine.

AI colors/redraws are approximate. Original images are included for comparison. We do not deliberately alter history.

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09/10/2026

Water Street, Hallowell — 1904

I’ve seen this image labeled “Water Street, Hallowell, Maine — 1904,” and there’s an important detail I wanted to check before writing about it.

The Hallowell location and Water Street identification are solid, but I would be careful about treating the 1904 date as the date the photograph was actually taken. The same image is circulated as a postcard with “1904” printed on it, but the historical collections I found describe other Water Street photographs as circa 1900, rather than giving this exact scene a firmly documented photographic date.

And looking at the cars in this particular image, 1904 doesn’t make sense as the photographic date. The automobiles are clearly from a much later period. So I would not repeat 1904 as an established photograph date just because it appears on the postcard. Maybe 1934? Certainly, postcards were misprinted and I think this may be a perfect example of that as I have found a couple like this one.

What is well documented is the story behind the street.

Water Street was the commercial spine of Hallowell, running along the Kennebec. Hallowell grew into an important river port through shipping, shipbuilding, lumber, trade and manufacturing. At one point there were 71 stores along Water Street.

Hallowell’s waterfront was particularly important during the 18th and 19th centuries. Ships were being built and launched here, and Hallowell vessels carried Maine products throughout the Atlantic world. Historic Hallowell records document 50 ships launched from Hallowell wharves between 1783 and 1901, while another local historical account documents even larger numbers for the broader 1785–1875 shipbuilding era.

Then the railroad changed things.

Rail service reached Hallowell in 1851, and that gradually shifted commerce away from the river. The railroad made it easier for agricultural and manufactured goods to move directly to larger markets, while the importance of Hallowell’s waterfront declined.

That’s what I like about this view of Water Street. You’re looking at a street that had already been through several different lives — river port, shipbuilding center, industrial town and commercial downtown — and was still carrying that history forward.

And there are all those little things that make an old street photograph worth studying. The storefronts. The signs. The brick buildings. The cars parked along the curb. The man walking down the sidewalk.

Even the old Esso sign survives in the photograph.

I don’t know exactly when this particular photograph was taken, and I’m not going to pretend I do. But I do know what I’m looking at:

Water Street in Hallowell, during another chapter in the long history of one of Maine’s oldest river towns.

That’s the history I want to preserve.

09/10/2026

09/10/2026

🍁It's official--the 2026 Maine fall foliage season is underway!

The first foliage report of the season is now available at www.mainefoliage.com

09/10/2026

❤️ $7,500 RAISED — LET'S KEEP IT GOING! ❤️

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the our Summer Fundraiser so far! Because of your generosity, we’ve raised $7,500 toward our $13,000 goal! 🎉

Your donations help us make sure our neighbors have access to nutritious food and support. Every gift—big or small—makes a meaningful difference in our community.

We’re more than halfway there, but we still have $5,500 to go!

👉 Help us reach our $13,000 goal. Please give today:
hallowellfoodpantry.org/donate

Thank you💙❤️

09/10/2026

Please help us improve invasive species management in Maine! Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sent this bulletin at 09/10/2026 10:32 AM EDT View as a webpage / Share Help us improve invasive species management in Maine! The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and th...

09/10/2026

🎉 Community Well-Being Day at Hallowell Food Pantry! 🎉

Today, we were grateful to welcome volunteers from Camden National Bank who took on several projects at the pantry as part of their Community Well-Being Day.

First up: Sydney Darveau, Jaime Bernard, and Paige Williams assembled Birthday Boxes! 🎂✨
Each box includes everything needed to bake a cake—plus candles for a full celebration.

They also took on other helpful projects and we’re so thankful for their time and teamwork. 💛