Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present (Judd, Churchill, and Eastman)
Chapter 14: Transportation & Manufacturing
Dr. Joel W. Eastman and Paul E. Rivard initially focus on the three geographical influences that benefited Maine's manufacturing industry in the 19th century (proximity to metropolitan markets, river systems, and access to the ocean), and then make a case for the symbiotic relationship between manufacturing and transportation.
Examples of overland transportation were private toll roads such as the Camden Turnpike, the Cumberland Turnpike, the Wiscasset and Woolwich Turnpike, etc. The primary mode of transportation in the early 19th century, though, was the canal--most notably the Cumberland and Oxford Canal that connected Sebago Lake to the Atlantic Ocean. Toward the end of the 19th century, railroads became more and more common, including the Atlantic and St. Lawrence railroad that connected Portland with Montreal.
And finally, Eastman and Rivard analyze the feedback loop Maine natural resources, raw materials, manufacturing industries, and transportation networks led to the steady growth of the state's economy.
