SeacoastNH.com Presents
Historic Portsmouth #295

Amesbury / Haverhill poet John Greenleaf Whittier roamed from the Seacoast to the White Mountains in search of local legends that he transformed into romantic poetry. Among my favorites is "Maud Muller" about a simple farm girl whom Whittier reportedly met in 1885 on what is now Route 91 in York, Maine. (Cintued below)

In the poem Maud stoops to fill a small tin cup from a bubbling stream and hands it to a handsome gentleman on a horse. He rides off and becomes a lawyer and judge. She goes back to haying the field with her long wooden rake. And for the rest of their lives, the two wonder "what might have been" if they had hooked up. The poem (published by Portsmouth’s James T. Fields) was a huge seller and made Whittier wealthy. Today the spring is gone and marked by a pyramid-shaped memorial. Maud Muller became an icon for the fading New England farm and the innocence of 19^th century life that was, even then, being wiped out by technology and consumerism. This image comes from an early 20^th century calendar, but my obscure "Maud Collection" now includes almost two dozen illustrations on postcards, books, posters, candy wrappers, advertisements, magazine covers and even poem cards found in soap powder. (Courtesy of SeacoastNH.com)

READ the entire poem here

READ Whittier Died in NH