Sure, you may know that Auburn was originally formed out of Danville and parts of Minot. That names like Little and Goff played a big part in its early days.

And that shoes were huge here. HUGE. Until they weren’t.

But how well do you really know the 150-year-old city?

In honor of its sesquicentennial, have a crack at our All About Auburn Quiz.

Lizards. Bricks. Astronauts. It’s all here!

1. Auburn’s name is believed to have come from what classic poem?

1) John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”

2) Oliver Goldsmith’s “The Deserted Village”

3) Anne Dudley Bradstreet’s “Dialogue Between Old England and New”

2. Which of the following is NOT true about lawyer, philanthropist and high school namesake Edward Little?

1) He had two wives over his lifetime. Both were named Hannah.

2) He founded the Lewiston Falls Congregational Church.

3) Shortly after moving here in 1826, he went over the present-day Great Falls in a whiskey barrel on a bet. He won.

3. Considered the “cradle of the Auburn shoe industry” when it was built in 1871, Roak Block was at the time the largest commercial industrial building ever built in Maine. How many bricks went into it?

1) 900,000

2) 1,200,000

3) 1,800,000

4. To celebrate Auburn’s 100th anniversary, 300 local actors and actresses staged what performance six times in July 1969?

1) “Auburn-A-Rama,” billed as an “unforgettable outdoor drama” with a cast that included Keystone kops, square dancers, astronauts and bathing beauties.

2) “Auburn, Ho!”, a tale of the city’s founding that involved every elementary-age student in the city and then-Maine Gov. Ken Curtis dressed as Edward Little.

3) “A Midsummer Night in Auburn,” Shakespeare’s famous play, reimagined. Mayor Thomas Littlefield played Puck and City Council members played wood nymphs.

5. True or false: The Brothers of the Brush were 700 costumed men who made several appearances during Auburn’s 100th anniversary festivities.

6. The Auburn Public Library opened in 1890 with 2,150 books. Today, it has roughly how many books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs and downloadable offerings?

1) 56,000

2) 86,000

3) 106,000

7. Within the Maine Community College System, Central Maine Community College in Auburn has what unique attribute:

1) It was the first campus built from scratch; students took classes at a former Buick dealership while it was under construction.

2) It’s the only college with a mammal mascot; all of the others are inanimate objects. (“Go Calais Toasters!”)

3) It was the first to host the Taiwanese Olympic Table Tennis team in the 1988. The team has since held an exhibition match at all seven campuses.

8. What year was the first toll bridge connecting Auburn and Lewiston built?

1) 1823

2) 1824

3) 1825

9. Dr. J.F. True’s Elixir was among the king of claimed cures back in the day with hundreds of thousands of bottles manufactured in Auburn. Which of these ailments and/or intestinal hazards could be banished, according to makers?

1) Sluggish bowels, influenza and pinworms.

2) Furred tongue and malaria.

3) At least once, a 70-foot tapeworm and 6-inch spotted lizard.

10. Thirsty after all that quizzing? Let’s turn on the tap for a glass of Lake Auburn! Approximately how many gallons of water are in the lake?

1) 9 billion

2) 19 billion

3) 29 billion

ANSWERS

1. What poem is Auburn’s name from?

2) Oliver Goldsmith’s “The Deserted Village”

From the Auburn Centennial History Committee’s book “Auburn 1869-1969”: “Chosen to select a name for the new town, Mrs. James Goff, wife of the legislator, is said to have based her choice on the line from Oliver Goldsmith’s poem, ‘The Deserted Village,’ which ran, ‘Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain.'”

2. Which statement about Edward Little wasn’t true?

3) Shortly after moving here in 1826, he went over the Great Falls in a whiskey barrel on a bet.

Oh, but we wish. According to Douglas Hodgkin, longtime local historian and author of “Dear Parent: A Biography and Letters of Edward Little,” Little did have two wives who were both named Hannah and he founded the Lewiston Falls Congregational Church, which became the High Street Congregational Church.

3. How many bricks went into the building of Roak Block?

3) 1,800,000

It’s actually “over 1,800,00,” according to the application with the National Register of Historic Places, which, wow. The 270-foot-long building takes its name from Jacob Roak, a shoe manufacturer who “conceived the idea of constructing a four-story brick factory in the principal business center.”

Bonus fun fact: Since 1912, Auburn has been home to Morin Brick, which says on its website that it’s the “sole remaining wet mold Waterstruck (brick) manufacturer in North America.”

4. To celebrate Auburn’s 100th anniversary, 300 local people put on what performance?

1) “Auburn-A-Rama,” billed as an “unforgettable outdoor drama.”

In addition to the Keystone kops, square dancers, astronauts and bathing beauties, according to the program in the Auburn Centennial souvenir historical booklet, there were also shoemakers, Charleston dancers and Abraham Lincoln.

Produced by Terry G. Rowell and directed by Barbara L. Rowell, it was called “a mammoth historical pageant-spectacle saluting 100 years of progress.” Sounds like quite a show.

5. True or false: The Brothers of the Brush were 700 costumed men who made several 100th anniversary-related appearances.

True — I couldn’t make up something as delightful-sounding as the Brothers of the Brush, who were, according to that same booklet, a “beard-growing phalanx of male citizens, appearing in weekly promenades, the street dances and grand ball.” They were matched by 700 costumed women named Centennial Belles.

6. How many offerings does the Auburn Public Library have today?

2) 86,000 books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs and downloadable books, according to Director Mamie Anthoine Ney.

Live in Auburn? Check it out.

7. What’s unique about CMCC?

1) It was the first campus built from scratch; students took classes at a former Buick dealership while it was under construction.

According to “Central Maine Community College at the Half Century” by Jason C. Libby, the first two technical institutes in South Portland and Presque Isle were in former military facilities.

8. What year did the first toll bridge connect Auburn and Lewiston?

1) 1823

According to the Auburn Centennial History Committee book, it cost a penny for a person on foot to cross, 6 cents for a person on horseback and 10 cents for a buggy. The bridge washed away and was rebuilt in 1854. Passage became free in 1865.

9. What did Dr. J.F. True’s Elixir claim to cure?

Trick question! All three: Sluggish bowels, influenza and pinworms, furred tongue and malaria and, at least once, an intestine-dwelling 70-foot tapeworm and 6-inch spotted lizard, according to a Sun Journal story by Steve Collins.

You want to read about that lizard, right? Do it! There was also an 18-inch snake. Allegedly.

Bonus fun fact, courtesy of CMCC spokeswoman Heather Seymour: “Rumor has it Dr. True’s Elixir was manufactured where the college currently stands and we’ve found bottles during construction.”

10. How much water is in Lake Auburn?

3) 29 billion gallons!

Special thanks to the Auburn Water District for doing that math.

Now, let’s raise a glass and toast to another 150 years.

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