Although explorer John Cabot is believed to have seen the Maine coast in 1498, the first English settlements came more than a century later. English colonists led by George Popham established Fort St. George in Maine in 1607, the same year that Jamestown, Virginia, was founded. Popham’s death and a harsh climate forced the colonists to return to England – leaving Jamestown to be regarded as the first permanent European colony in North America.

Agamenticus was the first city to be chartered in Maine in 1641. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony annexed southwestern Maine in 1652, governing the district until its statehood, it was reincorporated as York.Maine became the 23rd state in 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise, which allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state.The anti-slavery abolitionist movement found passionate allies in Maine, and in 1850, when Harriet Beecher Stowe’s husband accepted a teaching post at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, she settled in to write "Uncle Tom's Cabin," considered the icon of anti-slavery literature. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House still stands in Brunswick.

1st state with highest percentage of “A-grade” hospitals

2nd Best state to live in ( Thrillist)

3rd highest state rate of adults with high school education or better

 5th safest state to live in ( Movoto)

6th best state for women (Wallethub)

8th highest state in high school rankings  (USNews)

Advanced Materials & Composites – a premier supplier of advanced materials for multiple industries, including Aerospace

Environmental Technology – abundant natural resources and commitment to sustainable use

Food & Beverage – major exporter of food, beverage and agricultural products

Forest Products – one of the world’s largest pulp-paper producers & wood research centers

Hospitality & Tourism – 8 million visitors per year, over 3,000 lakes and ponds, and 3,478 miles of coastline

Life Sciences – home to world-class research facilities

Marine Construction & Technology – boat building heritage spans four centuries

Renewable Energy – #1 in New England for renewable energy generation

Maine International Trade Center

Wade Merritt

T: (207) 541-7408

F: (207) 541-7420

511 Congress St. #100

Portland, ME 04101