December 31, 2002
Great Portland Moments
Having finally finished reading the Portland Timeline, I thought I'd share some of my favorite tidbits, all of which are taken from the 1843-1901 section.
April 27, 1846:
High Sheriff indicted
William Johnson, former High Sheriff, was indicted for "retailing of ardent spirits." The indictment charged Johnson with, "Being moved and reduced by an evil heart, did sell, barter, give or trade ardent spirits."
1891:
The first horse patrol was established in the newly developed Fulton Park area. This was a one-officer patrol that was nearly terminated when the assigned officer was discharged for shooting live pigeons with his service revolver.
And then there's the first City Council meeting, in 1851, whose minutes reveal that it took a total of seven ballots for the Council to find the four votes necessary to elect anyone to the position of Marshall -- the first five of which gave three votes each time to a candidate who somehow did not manage to become the candidate who was finally elected with five votes.