NEAL DOW MEMORIAL

 Headquarters of the Maine Woman's Christian Temperance Union
 

The Neal Dow Memorial, 714 Congress Street, Portland Maine, was the lifelong home of Neal Dow, one of the great men of the reform movement of the nineteenth century. The late Federal style mansion was built in 1829 for the occupancy of Neal Dow and his bride, Maria Cornelia Durant   Maynard. The residence was a center of political and humanitarian activity. From here the zealous reformer set out on countless journeys throughout Maine, over much of the nation, and  finally abroad in the cause of temperance.

In Neal Dow's youth, Portland was a center of the rum trade with the West Indies. Local liquor outlets abounded. The resulting poverty, suffering, and disorder stirred to action the young man whose prosperity derived from the sobriety, industry and frugality of his Quaker heritage. With others of like mind he tried first by moral suasion, then by law to improve life conditions by destruction of the liquor traffic. These labors culminated in passage of the world-famous so-called Maine Law, drafted by Neal Dow in the little study at the rear of his home. This law made Maine  in 1851 the first state to prohibit the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages and was the  model for similar legislation in other states and foreign countries.

During the Civil War, Neal Dow was commissioned to Brigadier General by President Abraham Lincoln. While serving his country, Neal was injured, captured and held as a POW for nine months at the Libby Prison in Virginia. Later, he was exchanged for for a Southern prisoner General Fitzhugh Lee, a relative of Robert E. Lee. His Civil War memorabilia is on display at the Neal Dow Memorial.

The reformer's son, Col. Fred N. Dow, a prominent political figure, publisher and adherent  to his father's principles, willed the family mansion and its contents to the Maine Woman's Christian Temperance Union with provision for restoration and maintenance of the property from his estate. His hope was that acquaintance with the career of his father through visits to his Memorial would inspire many to devote themselves to the cause of temperance. The completely restored mansion was dedicated October 22, 1971, as the Neal Dow Memorial. State headquarters of the Maine WCTU are in the building and facilities for group meetings are available at the discretion of the organization. The Memorial is on the National Register of Historical Places as a National Historic Landmark and in open to the public for tours Mon. through Fri. from 11a.m.to 4 p.m.