Cleveland Abbe
In order to compile his information, Abbe required a time-keeping system that was consistent among the stations. To accomplish this he divided the United States into four standard time zones. He published, in 1879, a paper titled "Report on Standard Time". In 1883, he convinced North American railroad companies to adopt his time-zone system. In 1884, Britain, which had already adopted its own standard time system for England, Scotland, and Wales, helped gather international consent for global time. In time, the American government, influenced in part by his 1879 paper, adopted the time-zone system.
Time in Maine
The entirety of Maine currently uses the Eastern Time Zone, which is UTC-5. Daylight saving time is used; during that period, Maine uses UTC-4. The eastern portion of Maine which is east of 67.5° W geographically is in the Atlantic Time Zone, which is used by adjacent New Brunswick. Eastern Maine has the earliest solar noon of the entire contiguous United States; solar noon can be as early as 11:35 and 11:11am in West Quoddy Head.