Tell me a little bit more about this city. Well, portland, maine, to start on your initial point, is actually the First Portland in the United States. Portland, oregon, is the one that stole our name. It wasnt stolen as much as it was given to it. The two people who founded this city decided they both wanted to name it after their hometown, so they tossed a coin, and the guy from portland, maine, won. First Parish Church is ahead of us, its one of the oldest churches, working parishes in the city continuously. Its changed locations and, in fact, the original building was wooden. The wooden steeple on top is original from that building. Oh, wow. This was actually the church where Henry Wadsworth longfellow family all worshiped so theres that great history here, right . Exactly. And theres a revolutionary war cannonball in the chandelier that they found when the city was attacked in 1775 by the british. So give me a sense of the city. For what is portland best known . For lobsters and li
Petersburg, virginia, for the historical park civil war symposium. Next, chief historian at fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National historical park will speak. All right, lets call it back to order. Thank you. Welcome back from lunch. We wanted to mention that today is the 100th anniversary to the day that the first u. S. Troops went in france. [applause] i am happy to introduce our next speaker. He is a public historian and author currently serving as the chief historian and chief of interpretation at Fredericksburg National military park. Parts worked for the four years. As well as probably the definitive book on manassas. Lets welcome him. [applause] john i have to start with this. This is not a gratuitous phrasing of my team that i have loved since i was 11 years old. You may remember they one the stanley cup in the spring. I offer this is context for some of what you have heard this week. Does anybody recall who was defeated in the final . Do you remember . Is in the state of ten
We are about five miles outside the city of portland. The white house the lighthouse was first lit in 1791. Construction probably started several years earlier but was halted at one time when it ran out of funds. This was part of the district of massachusetts at that time and the funds werent coming through. In 1789 all the lighthouses were placed under federal control and the portland lighthouse was the first lighthouse that was finished after that always signed by george washington. It rises above the surrounding land, so it is the portland head. At that time it was the portland head and when they built the lighthouse here it was portland head light. It was very treacherous for ships to sail into a harbor, when they didnt have much control over a sailing vessel at the time. I lighthouse was supposed to guide a lighthouse guided shipping to a harbor on the right path. And this piece of land on portland head, there is nothing on this side of it or that side of it that is blocking the v
Anthem. Ring the what cspans washington journal live at 7 00 a. M. Eastern. Join the discussion. All weekend long, American History tv is join our spectrum Cable Partners to showcase the history of portland maine. To learn more, visit cspan. Org citiestour. We continue with our look at the city of portland. Tour of the driving city. Thank you for showing us around. When people hear portland, theland, maine may not be first place that comes to mind. Portland, maine is the First Portland in the United States. Oregon is the one that stole our name. The two people who founded the city both wanted to name it after their hometown. In this city was a part of massachusetts when it started. Its one of the oldest working parishes in the city continuously. The original building was wooden with a steeple on top. Was the church with a Henry Wadsworth longfellow family worship. There is actually a revolutionary or cannonball in the chandelier that they found when they tore down the wooden structure.
Lobster boats going back and forth all the time, you see the islands, sailboats, all the activities that probably people think of a maine visit would be. We take a boat to fort gorgeous, a civil war era just off the portland kos. We are on hog island ledge. Where they built for gorgeous in 1858 to help defend portland harbor. We have completed an 18 6 it was completed in 1865 and was built with two sister forts off to the south. Its camel on how silent. They were designed to work in conjunction with each other to defend the harbor. Everyone thinks for gorgeous is a civil war fort when it was funded long before, and it was approved by congress. Things that occurred much earlier. We begin our feature on portlands history, talking about lobstering. In 2016, the Maine Lobster industry generated over 500 million. Next, we learn about its history and economic impact. Over here is my gps and radar. Here in the fog, it helps us figure out where we are. Traps with amy gps. I kind of do it by fe