Can You Guess the #1 Most Common Job in Maine 150 Years Ago?

I can't even personally picture Maine 150 years ago if I tried. However, your guess may or may not be too far off from what the #1 most common job worked in Maine that long ago.

All you really have to do is lean into the stereo type this state has.

"Maine is a bunch of hick farmers," is a sentence I've personally heard too many times over the years after telling somebody in Boston that I'm moving to Vacationland.

I'll be honest, I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I know everything about the history that the state of Maine has, because I know it has a lot. Rather, the route I'm taking here is just facts.

I saw this headline on Stacker, and was curious what type of jobs Maine even had back then, considering even now there's slim pickings. It feels like unless you own a bar, you're a fisherman, or are, I guess in radio, then there's not a lot of other options out here.

But let's rewind to 150 Maine years ago. If you guessed "a farmer" as Maine's most common job, then you'd be just about right.

Farmers and Planters took the top spot. Also according to Stacker, 56,941 people were employed by this occupation just in Maine. Nationally, 2,977,711 people were either farmers or planters back then. Going off of these statistics from 2022, the number one job in the U.S. 150 years ago is also a farmer or planter of some sort.

Fun fact, my dad grew up on a farm and grew his own food, so no I was not allowed to leave the dinner table growing up unless I finished my entire plate. Ha! I get it now.