Maine State Tartan

A confusing situation. The Maine tartan is the oldest of American 'state' tartans. Designed 1964 by Sol Gilis of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and originally woven by the Maine Spinning Company which has now gone out of business. When the tartan was first introduced it was reported in the Glasgow Herald (30.12.65) that it had been 'duly accredited by the State of Maine'. The State archives, however, are unable to locate the authorization

Maine State Tartan: State Tartan

Maine has a State Tartan, designed in 1964 by Sol Gillis and adopted in 1979. It is the oldest State Tartan in the US and is registered with the Scottish Tartans Society in Scotland and It is also registered with the Tartan Education and Cultural Association (TECA) a US based (Pennsylvania) tartan society, doing here in the US what the Scottish Tartans Society was/is doing in Scotland, namely registering tartans, especially the new ones that are being designed almost daily and the Scottish Tartans AUTHORITY, based in Scotland.

The Maine Tartan was first woven in Maine by Jane Holmes of Plymouth, ME in 1988 and items made from the fabric are made and sold by her company, the Maine Tartan and Tweed Co. The Maine State Tartan was copyrighted in 1988 by the MTTCo. Items made out of the Maine Tartan are also available from the Maine State Museum Gift Shop in Augusta, My Maine Bag in Bangor, and Just Me in Portland.

Tartan Details - Maine, Original State of

The information held within The Scottish Register of Tartans for the "Maine, Original State of" tartan is shown below.

STA ref: 502
STWR ref: 502
Designer: Gilis, Sol (Sliomas)
Tartan date: 01/01/1965
Registration date: This tartan was recorded prior to the launch of The Scottish Register of Tartans.
Category: District

Restrictions:

Registration notes: A confusing situation. The Maine tartan is the oldest of American 'state' tartans. Designed 1964 by Sol Gilis of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and originally woven by the Maine Spinning Company which has now gone out of business. When the tartan was first introduced it was reported in the Glasgow Herald (30.12.65) that it had been 'duly accredited by the State of Maine'. The State archives, however, are unable to locate the authorization. The tartan dropped out of sight and was then re-discovered in 1987 and then woven in Maine in 1988 by Jane Holmes of Plymouth, ME and items made from the fabric are made and sold by her company, the Maine Tartan and Tweed Co. The Maine State Tartan was copyrighted in 1988 by the MTTCo. Items made out of the Maine Tartan are also available from the Maine State Museum Gift Shop in Augusta, My Maine Bag in Bangor, and Just Me in Portland. Since this #502 is not the official Maine tartan (that is #3068, original Scottish Tartans Authority references), the foregoing information (taken from the Internet in June 2006) is confusing. The later variation of this (Maine Dirigo #3068, original Scottish Tartans Authority reference) has been adopted as the official State of Maine Tartan in January 2001.

Colors:

Maine Law

Maine has a State Tartan, designed in 1964 by Sol Gillis and adopted in 1979. It is the oldest State Tartan in the US

Maine State

US State Symbols

Maine Symbols

Maine State Tartan

State Tartan

Designed in 1964 by Sol Gillis.

Adopted in 1979