Maine's Governors

Since William King was inaugurated as Maine’s first governor on June 2, 1820, the state has been led by 70 men and one woman. The position held today by Janet Trafton Mills has been occupied by such notable figures in our history as Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president; Abner Coburn, generous benefactor to Maine educational institutions; Joshua L. Chamberlain, Civil War hero at the Battle of Gettysburg; Percival P. Baxter, donor of Mount Katahdin to the state; and Edmund S. Muskie, champion of Federal environmental protection legislation.

Only two governors are not represented by pictures. Of the balance, four are shown in portraits and the rest in photographs. Photographic images dating back to the 1840s enable us to study with complete clarity the faces of the men who governed Maine during the first decades of statehood before the Civil War as well as their more recent successors. These pictures come from three sources, the Maine State Archives, the Maine Historical Society, and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

These pages are based upon research which I initially undertook in 2001 assisted by the Commission’s summer intern Adam M. Crowley of the University of Maine at Orono, now an Assistant Professor of English at Husson College in Bangor. At that point, the project was envisioned as a publication, but the ever expanding use of the internet during the last decade has led me to offer this information to a broader online audience. I want to thank the Friends of the Blaine House for hosting this information. 

Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr.
Maine State Historian

 

Gov Samuel E Smith 250px

Samuel E. Smith
1831-1834

Gov Edward Kent 250px

Edward Kent
1838-1839, 1841-1842

Gov John Fairfield 250px

John Fairfield
1839-1841, 1842-1843

Gov Edward Kavanagh 250px

Edward Kavanagh
1843-1844

Gov John W Dana 250px

John W. Dana
1844, 1847-1850

Gov John Hubbard 250px

John Hubbard
1850-1853

Gov Samuel Cony 250px

Samuel Cony
1864-1867

Gov Sidney Perham 250px

Sidney Perham
1871-1874

Gov John F Hill 250px

John F. Hill
1901-1905

Gov Burton M Cross 250px

Burton M. Cross
1952-1953, 1953-1955

Gov Paul R LePage 250px

Paul R. LePage
2011-2019

Gov Janet T Mills

Janet T. Mills
2019-Present

THE BLAINE HOUSE
Home of Maine's Governors since 1919.
Visit Us

Pinecones

info@blainehouse.org
PO Box 68
Augusta, ME 04332