1. Maine became a state on September 16, 1820. At the time, it was the 23rd state to join the Union.
2. In 1922, on September 16th, Maine's largest fire destroyed much of the city of Portland. The fire started in a warehouse and eventually spread to more than 1,700 buildings, causing over $15 million in damage (equivalent to over $220 million in today's dollars).
3. On September 16, 1942, the U.S. Navy commissioned the destroyer USS Aulick (DD-569) in Bath, Maine. The ship served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War before being decommissioned in 1973.
4. Legendary author Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine on September 16, 1947. He has written dozens of novels and short stories, many of which are set in Maine.
5. On September 16, 2015, the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington Railway Museum in Alna, Maine received a donation of a steam locomotive from the Boothbay Railway Village. The locomotive, built in 1894, is one of the oldest surviving steam locomotives in the United States.