When Blaine Township was founded in 1877, Moses Ripley, a farmer and carpenter who soon became the chairman of the town board of supervisors, pushed to name the place after his political idol: James G. Blaine, a prominent politician in Maine, according to Orville Lindquist, who heads the Blaine Historical Society. Ripley grew up in Maine.

Blaine's career included stints in the state legislature, the U.S. House and Senate and a run for president. He also was twice U.S. secretary of state under presidents James Garfield, Chester Arthur and Benjamin Harrison.

Blaine was "kind of a big deal," Lindquist said. He tended to make "long, grandiose speeches," which earned him the nickname the "plumed knight."

Blaine, a Republican, ran for president against Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1884. "It was a really nasty race," Lindquist said.

During the campaign, it was rumored that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child, and Blaine supporters chanted, "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?" about Cleveland.

Cleveland's supporters responded with "James Blaine, continental liar from the state of Maine," Lindquist said.

Blaine lost the presidency by fewer than 2,000 votes, "when he failed to carry the state of New York by that small margin," according to information from the Blaine House.

Earlier, Blaine had backed Abraham Lincoln along with the union effort and black suffrage. He also was a big proponent of railroad development, Lindquist said.

Today, his sprawling home in Augusta, Maine, serves as the governor's mansion, Lindquist said.

ANNA PRATT