BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 5, 2026
This year we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The anniversary gives us the opportunity and obligation to educate Maine people on the principles, leadership, hopes, wins, and losses that collided to form a radical, new, lasting American democracy. Yet wIth regret, several Maine state historic sites are today closed to the public due to a lack of financial resources appropriated to the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. We urge the Maine Legislature to vote for pending bipartisan legislation that would use available state surplus funds for badly needed one-time capital investments in state historic sites. ~ Julia Gray, Castine’s Wilson Museum, and Benjamin Smith, Arnold Expedition Historical Society