How Far Back Does Maine’s Famous ‘Vacationland’ Nickname Go?

I've lived in Maine my whole life...

While the majority of us have lived here forever, I can honestly say I never thought twice about the term "vacationland". As long as I could read, I know it's been on our license plates. But I guess I always just assumed we called it Vacationland because it was so beautiful here. I figured it meant it was simply a nice place to take a vacation.

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Of course, we all know it is. But have you ever wondered much about how we got it? Or how long people have been referring to Maine as such. Initially, I can assure we're all right about the first part. We call Maine Vacationland because it is so beautiful, and people do indeed like to come here.

How far back does our beloved nickname go?

That part is a bit hard to quantify. But recently in the BDN, some light was shed on how all this came to be. In Maine's history, the famous and the wealthy have been coming to visit for the better part of two centuries. In the late 1800's, when rail and steamboat travel became more accessible and reliable, people started coming to Maine.

There are tales of Eleanor Roosevelt passing through, and famously getting lost in the fog, as well as wealthy businessmen like Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. As more of these powerhouses of fortune came to visit more often, the name Vacationland was thrown about quite a bit.

License plates pretty much sealed the deal.

After beginning as a fun way for tourists to refer to Maine, it began to stick. I imagine it was probably in print ads at the time and things like that, but it really became sort of official in 1936. At that point, it was actually out on license plates. And probably the rest is history from there.

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To this day, it's still on Maine plates. You can certainly choose from a variety of license plates in Maine that don't have the nickname on it, but I doubt it will ever go away completely. Which is a good thing. If there's one thing Mainers love, it's a sense of pride and history. Our famous nickname fits both bills.

Since we all love nostalgia...