Maine

Out of Massachusetts

For more than 150 years Maine was part of Massachusetts, governed from Boston as the “District of Maine.” By the early 1800s many people in Maine wanted their own state, and after years of debate, Maine’s voters approved separation. Congress tied Maine’s admission to the fight over slavery: under the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Maine entered the Union as a free state, balancing Missouri, which came in as a slave state. Maine became the 23rd state on March 15, 1820.

A name nobody can explain

Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name, and nobody knows for certain where it came from. The name, sometimes spelled “Mayne,” was on record by 1622. The leading theories trace it to the former French province of Maine, or to a sailors’ term for the “main” land, as distinct from the many islands along the coast. An old story that it honored Queen Henrietta Maria has been debunked. A 2001 legislative resolution named the French province as the source, but historians have not settled the question.

The Pine Tree State

The eastern white pine shaped Maine’s history. In 1605 Captain George Weymouth took samples back to England. In 1691 England’s “Broad Arrow” policy reserved the biggest pines near water as masts for the Royal Navy, and Maine timber built ships and towns for centuries. Most of the accessible old-growth pine was cut by 1850, but Maine’s lumber output peaked as late as 1909. The pine is on the state seal and flag, its cone and tassel became the state “floral emblem” in 1895, and the white pine itself became the state tree in 1945. “The Pine Tree State” is a traditional nickname, not a legal one.

The state motto, Dirigo, Latin for “I lead” or “I direct,” has been on the seal since 1820, beneath the North Star.

Augusta

After statehood, Portland served as the temporary capital while towns competed for the permanent one. In 1827 the legislature chose Augusta, on the Kennebec River, for its more central location, and in 1832 lawmakers moved into a granite State House designed by Charles Bulfinch, the architect of the Massachusetts State House. With about 19,000 residents in 2025, Augusta is one of the smallest state capitals. The capital page tells the story.

Lobsters, moose and whoopie pies

Maine has 35 official symbols, many of them from its woods and waters. The moose is the state animal: Maine has the largest moose population in the lower 48 states, estimated at 60,000 to 70,000. The black-capped chickadee is the state bird, the Maine coon the state cat, the Maine lobster the state crustacean and the landlocked salmon the state fish. Tourmaline, found in Maine’s pegmatite rock, is the state mineral. The food list is famous too: the wild blueberry is the state berry, blueberry pie the state dessert, the whoopie pie the state treat and Moxie, a bittersweet soda invented by a Maine native in 1884, the state soft drink. See every symbol on the Maine symbols page.

The flag shows the state coat of arms, a farmer and a sailor beside a pine and a moose, on blue. In 2024 voters rejected a proposal to return to an older pine tree flag.

Land and people

Maine covers 35,380 square miles, almost as much as the rest of New England combined, and is 39th in area among the states. It had about 1.41 million residents in 2025, 42nd in the country. It borders only New Hampshire among the states, the only state to border just one other, and shares a long border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. Its deeply indented Atlantic coast has more than 3,400 miles of shoreline. Portland, with about 70,000 people, is the largest city, followed by Lewiston and Bangor.