Theodore Roosevelt Timeline Parallel with STM Railway Collection Part 1 - 1858-1900

Theodore Roosevelt utilized rail transportation throughout
his life. August 31, 1916, TR was a passenger aboard

the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 16, Clematis.

He would also ride a PLI  interurban, No. 14, Narcissus,

August 18, 1914.  The Narcissus is currently undergoing

restoration in Kennebunkport, Maine, at the

 Seashore Trolley Museum's Town House Restoration Shop.

Updated 12-30-2024

Part 1 - 1858-1900

Click Here - Part 2 - 1901-1909

Click Here - Part 3 - 1910-1919

Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline and Parallels with

Seashore Trolley Museum's Historic Railway Collection 

(Excerpts in  part from Trolley Car Treasury, (1956) by Frank Rowsome)

      In the year of TR's birth, 1858, Philadelphia opened its first horsecar line.

Horse Railroads/Horse-drawn passenger cars (horsecars) on rails, first came onto the public transportation scene in the late 1820s. They evolved from the earlier horse-drawn omnibus, which was basically a city version of the stagecoach. Manhattan had its first horsecar line in 1832. By the early 1850s, horsecar lines had been spreading throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Horse Railroad of Fryeburg, Maine 1887-1917 - postcard above

postmarked October 22, 1909 Collection of  PWM

     Many forms of "horseless" cars were tried over many years, but the system that ultimately won out was the electrically-fed trolley car designed by Frank Julian Sprague and first put into large-scale operation in Richmond, VA beginning in January 1888.

     Seashore Trolley Museum's extensive collection includes railway vehicles and buildings that were built and were part of the fabric of public transportation throughout TR's life.

Trolley description details from the Seashore Trolley Museum website, a guide to the Seashore Trolley Museum Collection, and from Historic Cars by Ben Minnich.

Theodore Roosevelt's timeline info was taken from NPS Theodore Roosevelt's Timeline.

Theodore Roosevelt (Left)                               Seashore Trolley Museum Collection (Right)

Timelines (abridged)

Click Here for the 28th East 20th Street - site                             To see more details on any of the vehicles

Click Here for the TR's First Visit to Maine - site                        in the Museum's Collection Click Here

Click Here for the Island Falls Maine began in 1878 - site           and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter

                                                      To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places Click Here

Click Here for the TR visits MDI - site                                      To see more details on any of the vehicles

Click Here for the TR's wife Alice Lee related - site                      in the Museum's Collection Click Here

Click Here for the Dakota Territory related - site                         and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter

                                                                                         Click Here for a brief history of the Mousam River RR

                                                     To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places Click Here

Click Here for the Elkhorn Ranch - site                                    To see more details on any of the vehicles

Click Here for the TR's wife Edith Carrow - site                         in the Museum's Collection Click Here

                                                                                         and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter

                                                                                                   

                                           To see the STM Cars in the National Register of Historic Places Click Here

Click Here for the Rough Riders - site                                     To see more details on any of the vehicles

Click Here for the Spanish-American War - site                          in the Museum's Collection Click Here

Click Here for the Remember the Maine - site                          and then enter the car ##, scroll & hit enter

                                                                                  Click Here for a brief history of the Biddeford & Saco RR

Click Here - Part 2 - 1901-1909

Click Here - Part 3 - 1910-1919

                                                                                                                          

Resources 

Many Theodore Roosevelt-related Links are here - scroll down from here 

Following the guidance of the Maine Department of Education, these lesson plan units target the

2019 Maine Learning Results for Social Studies and Common Core State Standards:

English Language Arts Standards > History/Social Studies > Grades 6-8

The lesson plans in this companion to the curriculum explore a variety of topics including;

• The history of the trolley used in early 20th Century Maine
• Maine rural life at the turn of the century,
• The story of Theodore Roosevelt and his relationship with Maine
• World War One
• The flu pandemic of 1918-1920

Maine Historical Society has created eight companion lesson plan units inspired

by Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride - These companion curricula State-standard-based

units for classroom use in grades 3-5 & 6-8 are now available as open-access

resources online through the Seashore Trolley Museum's website

www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/ and online at

Maine Memory Network with other statewide K-12 lesson plans. 

Content Areas and Strands:

* Social Studies - Civics & Government

* Social Studies - Geography

* Social Studies - History

Duration: 8-18 days

A time period: 1851-1920

Bicentennial Themes:

* Living in Maine

* The Business of Maine

* Maine Leads

* The Maine Character

Intended Outcomes:

• Students will practice the skills involved in researching and analyzing primary sources.
• Students will practice historical research skills.
• Students will be able to identify different modes of transportation historically used in Maine
• Students will be able to answer why the use of the trolley system was innovative and efficient.
• Students will be able to identify different types of trolley cars that were used in Maine.
• Students will be able to describe the history of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban and the Narcissus.
• Students will be able to describe the shift from small family farms to commercial farming in ME.
• Students will be able to identify the major agricultural industries and products historically associated with Maine.
• Students will be able to describe life on an early 20th-century Maine family farm and how life has changed in Maine since the early 1900s.
• Students will be able to describe the difference between attending school in the early 20th century and attending school today.
• Students will be able to explain Theodore Roosevelt's connections to Maine and the people of Maine.
• Students will be able to describe the work and accomplishments of Theodore Roosevelt.
• Students will be able to describe the platform of the Bull Moose Party.
• Students will be able to explain the role and duties of the president of the United States.
• Students will consider what qualities and skills would make a person a good candidate for President of the United States.
• Students will be able to describe the lives, work, and contributions of Americans on the home front during World War I using primary resources.
• Students will be able to explain what propaganda is and how it was used by the U. S. government during World War I.
• Students will be able to describe what many soldiers faced during World War I.
• Students will be able to describe the impact of the 1918-1920 flu pandemic on World War I and the people in Maine.

Titles of Companion Lesson Plan Units

* "Clang, Clang, Clang, Went the Trolley..."

* Then and Now: Life in Maine

* Maine Agriculture

* The Narcissus and the PLI (Portland-Lewiston Interurban)

* Teddy Roosevelt in Maine

* President Theodore Roosevelt 

* World War l Letters

* United States Home Front and Propaganda during World War l

Vocabulary (Word banks and Reading activities) for grades 3-8, along with grades 6-8 ELA and History/Social Studies unit lesson plans are available now at www.trolleymuseum.org/elegantride/

Links to blog posts that include materials related to Lesson Plans above - More will be added over time

* "Clang, Clang, Clang, Went the Trolley..."

Click Here: Destinations Travel Times by Trolley "In-State" and to "Out-of-State"

Click Here: Field Guide to Maine Trolley Car Types - the 1870s-1930s

Click Here: Poetry Inspired by Trolleys and Operators 1898-1940

* Then and Now: Life in Maine

Click Here: Mildred Knowles Obrey 1908-2007 Oral History Transcript

* The Narcissus and the PLI (Portland-Lewiston Interurban)

Click Here: Narcissus and the PLI 

Continue to scroll down to see links and resources People, Places, and Events in Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride.

Click Here to go to the People, Places, and Events online resource post

Theodore Roosevelt
His Life and Times on Film -  Timeline - Library of Congress
Theodore Roosevelt Timeline - World War I  Theodore Roosevelt Center
Theodore Roosevelt Timeline - The Life of Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Center
TR - Brief Biography Theodore Roosevelt Center
TR - Connections to Maine Narcissus Project Blog
TR - 26th President of the U.S. Whitehouse.gov
TR - Rough Rider in the White House (43a) USHistory.org
TR - Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt (First Wife) Theodore Roosevelt Center
TR - Alice Lee Roosevelt (First Daughter) Theodore Roosevelt Center
TR - Edith Carrow Roosevelt (Second Wife) Theodore Roosevelt Center
TR - Spanish-American War Theodore Roosevelt Center
TR - "Remember the Maine!" (44c)  USHistory.org
TR - Spanish-American War and Its Consequences (44d) USHistory.org
TR - 1912 Presidential Election (43f) USHistory.org
TR - Amazon Expedition/River of Doubt-Videos Library of Congress
TR - Malaria MentalFloss
TR - Panama Hat President1906
TR - My Debt to Maine (TR's letter) TR Maine Heritage Trail post
TR - Sagamore Hill National Park Service
TR - Sagamore Hill Friends of Sagamore Hill
TR - Died January 6, 1919/Young Memorial Cemetery-Video Library of Congress
TR - Quotes ("Feet on the Ground...") Goodreads
TR - General Wood  First World War

TR - African Safari - 1909

Suffrage/Women's Rights
Maine and National  Maine Suffrage Centennial
Women's Suffrage At Last (42-c) USHistory.org
Florence Whitehouse - suffragette/publicist Red Cross - Maine items - Maine Memory Network
Federal Suffrage amendment - Maine and National resources Maine Suffrage Centennial
TR quotes in support of Women's Rights Theodore Roosevelt Association
TR at Sagamore Hill with Suffragettes Library of Congress video
19th Amendment to the Constitution Interactive Constitution

TR Children WW I - Library of Congress videos
Sons in Regiments - WWI-Video Library of Congress
Theodore (Ted) Roosevelt, Jr (First Son) Theodore Roosevelt Center
Kermit Roosevelt (Second Son) Theodore Roosevelt Center
Archibald (Archie) Roosevelt (Third Son) Theodore Roosevelt Center
Quentin (Fourth Son) Military.com
Ethel Roosevelt (Second Daughter) Theodore Roosevelt Center

TR and the Badlands/Dakota Territory
Timeline  Theodore Roosevelt Center

William (Bill) W. Sewall
William W. Sewall Theodore Roosevelt Center
Bill Sewall & Wilmot Dow - National Park Service
Mattawamkeag, Maine (train station) Mattawamkeag Facebook page
"The County" - Aroostook County

TR's visits to Island Falls 1878 & 1879 TR Maine Heritage Trail post

Politics
Bull Moose Party Britannica.com
Bull Moose Party Progressivism Sweeps the Nation 42 USHistory.org
Progressive Party - Student-Teacher Resource Study.com
Progressive Party U-S-History.com
Republican Party - 1916 UCSB.edu
Conservative/Progressive wings of Republican Party 1916 Library of Congress
Democratic Party - 1916 UCSB.edu
William McKinley (25th President of the U. S.) Whitehouse.gov
William Howard Taft (27th President of the U.S.) Whitehouse.gov
Woodrow Wilson (28th President of the U.S.) Whitehouse.gov
Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom-43g USHistory.org
Charles Evan Hughes ConstitutionCenter.org

A portion of my collection of TR-related books :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban. 

Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts

Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem.  This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!

Click Here: Donation Options

The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.

Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban

     The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.

Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project

Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding

the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for

 the Middle Reader category for The Eric

Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to

award-winning Maine author,

Jean M. Flahive