Gorham Civil War monument

 On March, 30 I walked to the Civil War monument on a warm spring day from my fraternity house down the road. The monument is located on the front lawn of the the Art Gallery at the University of Southern Maine, Gorham campus. As look at the monuments faded names of all the people from Gorham that fought in the Civil War. I realize that this is a peace of American history that many people will never see or know of the contribution that Gorham had in the Civil War. Besides historians studying of Maine's involvement in the Civil War, history majors of the University of Southern Maine, and/or people living in Gorham.

Historical Importance:
 The Civil War monument in Gorham is historically important to Maine's involvement in the Civil War. The civil war monument was erected in Gorham in 1866. The monument was created by William Johnson in Malden, Massachusetts. The civil war monument was funded and erected by Toppan Robie would paid $3,060. This monument was dedicated for to the soldiers who lost their lives in the civil war. The fence enclosing the monument was donated by Col. F. Robie in 1872. The monument shows the significant of Gorham in the Civil War and how far the Civil War effected the country in a bad way with showing how many names are on the monuments. Finally, I believe that Gorham as a community should restore the names of the soldiers because people should know who fought for our country in our country's bloodiest war.


Sources: http://www.maine.gov/civilwar/monuments/gorham.html



    

What is now called the New England Ethical Leadership Center

The New England Ethical Leadership Center or the Odd Fellows meeting hall is my second site visit. This build has been a meeting place for the Odd Fellows, then was a Market palace and now at function hall and a place for Greek Life to conduct business. The owners of the Odd Fellows have been restoring the building from early 2000- present.






 Historical Importance:
This was the meeting place for the Gorham Lodge of the Odd Follows. This lodge was founded on January, 15, 1883. The Odd Fellows mission is

• " To improve and elevate the character of mankind by promoting the principles of friendship,love, truth, faith, hope, charity, and universal justice.
•   To help make the world a better place to live by aiding each other, the community, the less fortunate, the youth, the elderly, and the community in every way possible. 
• To promote good will and harmony  amongst peoples and nations through the principle of universal fraternity, holding the belief that all men and women regardless of race, nationality, religion, social status, gender, rank, and station are brothers and sisters" 

Also, this build was the home to Bert Libby's and Ridlon's store after the Odd Fellows owned it. The store became a main place for Gorham residence in the 1930's.  Like I said earlier this build is know used for Greek Life educational purposes.
Sources: http://books.google.com/books?id=c1tAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=history+of+gorham&hl=en&sa=X&ei=521YUaq7M6fB4AP4voGADA&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=odd%20fellows%20&f=false page 365
http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/15711
http://www.ioof.org/ourmission.html

Lewis McLellan

The Lewis McLellan house is were I live at which is in Gorham. The McLellan house is the current home to the brothers of the Iota Nu chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. McLellan Houses first two floors were build by Lewis's father Samuel when Maine was still part of Massachusetts. Then Lewis added the third floor and the cupola when Maine became a state. Fun fact the cupola got burnt down in 1989 because of faulty wiring. Another fun fact is that Lewis's last name is missed spelled on the plaque next to the front door by Greater Portland Landmarks by spelling it McLellen instead of McLellan. 


Historical Overview: 

Lewis McLellan is historically important political figure to the town of Gorham . Lewis took a lot of interest in many different aspects of the town of Gorham. Mr. McLellan was a board of selectmen for the town of Gorham for many years (1885-86-93-94-95-97-98). He was also a country treasurer for three years. The McLellan family was also one of the first families to live in Gorham.Lewis McLellan is a related to Hugh McLellan who was one of the first people to settle in Gorham and he the first person to build a brick house in all of Gorham.

Source:http://books.google.com/books?id=c1tAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=history+of+Gorham&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4GlbUe3jJtPI4APm8IGQBw&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20Gorham&f=false

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