The post office fire on Peaks Island on June 8th got us thinking about the long and terrible history of fires on the island, and how they raised questions regarding islander’s access to utilities and public safety services. Structural fires are always dreadful, but on unbridged islands they are particularly dire. Peaks Island has …

The National Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War collection at the Fifth Maine Museum is a fascinating look at women’s struggle for recognition for their service in the Civil War. Engraving on the Association’s letterhead, 1899 The group was founded by Dorothea Dix (a Maine native) in 1881. Dix served as the …