Cowan talks to Hebron Historical Society about Trans-Antlantic cable

HEBRON — Author Mary Morton Cowan, who lives in the Sebago Lake region, recently spoke to the Hebron Historical Society and detailed her extensive research on the history of laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable between the United States and Europe.

Cowan is the author of “Cyrus Field’s Big Dream,” a book on the topic for 10 to 14-year-olds.
With his concept of revolutionizing communications with Europe, Cyrus Field, a wealthy paper industry businessman, proposed the idea of connecting the continents through Newfoundland with the new telegraph and Morse Code method of communication.
After several financial setbacks and broken cables and ship failures Cyrus finally achieved his goal with communications in 1858.
The Civil War however delayed the implementation of a more reliable cable system.
Another of Cowan’s books, “Timberrrr, A History of Logging in New England,” won the 2003 Lupine Honor Award, the Maine Library Association’s honor recognizing excellence in children’s literature in Maine.