The patterns at work in Maine’s harvesting of natural resources

The patterns of resource gathering in Maine decreased prior to the American Civil War as a result of advances in technology. As new methods of doing things were introduced by technological progress during that time, the value of the resources that were mined in the state began to decline. For example, Maine was well known for its ability to produce natural ice that was used to keep food. Artificial refrigerators were introduced thanks to technical advancement, which eliminated the need for ice storage. Thus, the people of Maine had to search for other alternatives of economic growth due to the decrease in value of some of the natural resources they depended on to trade (Judd, Churchill, and Eastman 245).

What made Ice, Granite, Timber, Lime product important in the pre-Civil War Years?

In the pre-civil war years, the natural resources such as Ice, Granite, Timber and Lime product were very important to the people of Maine. For instance, Ice was used to preserve food. The location of Maine made it possible for the high production of Ice due to the cold winter. Due to the lack of another way of preserving food, plenty ice was then used by many to prevent the stored food from spoiling. Also, timber, granite, and lime were highly used for house construction purposes. For instance, lime was used to make mortar which was for the purpose of holding bricks together during the construction process (Judd, Churchill, and Eastman 260).

How the minerals change

As technology went on advancing, the natural resources that were harvested from Maine went on decreasing their value in the market. For instance, the invention of the artificial refrigerator automatically kicked the ice storage method out of the market since it was seen as outdated. When people embraced the artificial refrigerator, the people of Maine ran out of ice business which was one of their strong natural resources. Although the building materials did not get affected by the technological advancement as such, they were too affected although timber still remained staunch natural resource produced by the people of Maine (Judd, Churchill, and Eastman 264).

Work Cited

Judd W. Richard, Edwin A. Churchill, and Joel W. Eastman. Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present. Orono, Me: University of Maine Press, 1995.