USS Maine

Why Our Maine Street Has An "e"

ENID, OK - Most small to medium cities in America have a Main Street that is the center of activity. Enid is unique in that we have a Maine Street rather than a Main Street. Have you ever wondered why?

February 15 is National Remember The Maine Day. Remembering the Maine is exactly why Enid has a Maine Street.

In January 1898, Battleship Maine was sent from Key West, FL, to Havana, Cuba, to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban War of Independence. The U.S.S. Maine was a battleship, 319 feet long and weighing 6,682 tons. It was the largest ship ever to enter the harbor at Havana.

On February 15, 1898 an explosion on board the Maine occurred in the Havana Harbor destroying the forward third of the ship. The remaining wreckage sank to the bottom of the harbor. In total 260 men lost their lives as a result of the explosion and related injuries.

It has never been established exactly what caused the explosion or who was responsible, but the consequence was the brief Spanish-American War of 1898. The yellow press, led by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, proprietors of the New York Journal and the New York World, took every opportunity to inflame the situation by exclaiming, ‘Remember the Maine.’

Immediately after hearing of the incident, the Enid City Council changed what was known as D Street to Maine Street to honor the battleship and her crew. And that's why Enid has a Maine Street!

In 1976, Adm. Hyman Rickover of the U.S. Navy mounted yet another investigation into the cause of the Maine disaster. His team of experts found that the ship's demise was self- inflicted--likely the result of a coal bunker fire.

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