Maine Township was organized on September 5, 1871, and received its name at the request of Roswell Adley, one of the first settlers, who came from Maine Prairie in Stearns County and asked that the new township be named in honor of his home state. Adley later died in a hay wagon accident in November 1885 after surviving several earlier mishaps. Although Maine Township was one of the county's earliest townships, no village was ever platted within its limits. By 1873, Monitor Falls on the Otter Tail River had a store, post office, and grist mill, and in 1887 William Thomas built a dam and flour mill north of Monitor Falls called Maine Roller Mills, which became one of the county's most active flour milling operations. In the spring of 1884, J.A. McConkey built a store and established a post office, and in 1889 his son-in-law W.L. Wilson built the present store and stagecoach stop across from the original building and operated it for 50 years. The Old Maine Store carried a wide range of goods, served as a post office until free rural delivery began in 1895, and also functioned for many years as a telephone office. Located halfway between Fergus Falls and Perham, it became a convenient stopping place where W.L. Wilson's parents cared for horse teams and served meals. In 1935 the store and business were sold to Mr. and Mrs. T.A. Davis, who operated it until 1946; after standing empty for nearly 20 years, the building was bought by Lee Field, who renamed it Snowy Hollow Creations before restoring the name Old Maine Store in 1996. Between 1870 and 1875, growing settlement in Otter Tail County created a need for mail service, and a stagecoach line brought mail to Fergus Falls three times a week from Campbell while also carrying settlers and township officials to the county seat. County commissioner Barney L. Bull led the building of a county road from Fergus Falls to Perham through Maine Township, much of it completed by volunteers in 1878 because county funds were lacking. The 45-mile journey at first took two days, then later could be made in one day, before automobiles and improved roads gradually ended the stage line. South of Maine, in the clergy house of Maine Presbyterian Church, William O. Douglas was born on October 16, 1898, to Rev. William and Julie Douglas; after the family moved to California, he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1939, served for more than 36 years, resigned in 1975, and died in 1980.