Bowdoinham

settled originally as early as 1623, but Indian raids precluded a permanent presence. Reportedly named for Dr. Peter Bowdoin, an early proprietor, it occupies the western shore of Merrymeeting Bay. The Cathance River runs through it and into the Bay. A fast growing community, Bowdoinham has attracted commuters and retirees to its still rural open spaces. See photos.

Brunswick Landing

Control Tower and Building at former Naval Air Station (2010)

Brunswick Landing is a multi-purpose site on the former Brunswick Naval Air Station in the Town of Brunswick. Brunswick Executive Airport (BXM) at Brunswick Landing has two 8,000 foot runways, 650,000 square feet of hangar space and maintenance facilities, over 103 acres of taxiways and aircraft parking apron space. It also has an advanced glycol…

Airports

In 2006 Maine had 50 airports, 36 publicly owned.  Of the publicly owned, only 6  were served by regularly scheduled passenger service.  The other 30 serve the general aviation community which flies smaller, unscheduled aircraft.  There are some others reserved for private use only. According to an economic impact study by the Alliance for Aviation…

Carrabassett Village

Rest Area off Route 27 in Carrabassett Valley near the Carrabassett River (2012)

Carrabasset village in the town of Carrabasset Valley is located along the river of the same name.  The village is east of Sugarloaf Mountain, about eight miles by road. It is served by Maine combined Routes 16/27 from Farmington (27) and Anson (16) and by a regional airport. Carrabasset Valley Academy is a private school,…

Waterville

Waterville is a regional service center for northern Kennebec and southern Somerset counties. See photos. Its downtown and the Kennedy Memorial Drive commercial strip provide business and professional services. It has been home to several U.S. Senators and Maine governors. Colby College is here.

Trenton

Union River Bay from Bayside Road at Low Tide (2013)

South on Route 230 (Bayside Road) from Ellsworth, on the west shore of town, one notes the very modest houses on the inland side and the more substantial houses and cottages set back from the road on the Union Bay side. Route 3, the “Bar Harbor Road,” on the east side has a completely different character, featuring attractions for tourists bound for Acadia National Park, and the Hancock County – Bar Harbor Airport.

Sanford

Sanford, with Springvale Village, is the seventh largest town or city in Maine by population according to the 2010 Census, up from a ranking of ninth in 1990. Traditionally an industrial town, primarily with textile mills and shoe making, Sanford has diversified and continues to be a growing community.

Princeton

Boat Launch and Swimming Area at Lewy Lake (2013)

The town surrounds most of Pocomoonshine Lake, the origins of whose fascinating name is unclear. In 1886, the Gazetteer of Maine referred to it as “Shining Lake.” See photos. Along its northern boundary is a chain of lakes, including Long Lake and Lewey Lake, easily accessible from Princeton Village.

Portland

With its large population, financial and legal services, cultural and historical attractions, and “Old Port” dining and shopping district, the City is the only true metropolitan area in the state. See photos. Portland harbor is a working waterfront serving tankers, tourists, and fisheries, along with recreational boating from year-round and summer residents. Ferries connect the mainland to the many Casco Bay islands. Settled in 1632 and incorporated as a town on July 4, 1786, Portland became a city in 1833.

Owls Head

The Knox County Regional Airport is located in Owls Head and is one of Maine’s busiest during the summer months. Owls Head State Park offers views of Penobscot Bay and the nearby Owls Head Transportation Museum contains vintage aircraft frequently flown over the Bay. Owls Head Light Station marks the southern entrance to Rockland Harbor.

Old Town

The town is heavily influenced by the nearby University of Maine, and the long-lived Old Town Canoe Company maintains an outlet that attracts customers with a broad range of outdoor recreation interests. See photos. DeWitt Field, Old Town’s municipal airport, hash three runways. Since 1669, the area has been the principal home of the Penobscot Indians.

Limestone

The town is a port of entry into the United States from Limestone, New Brunswick, Canada. In the north of the town, the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge straddles the town line with Caswell. The disastrous impact on the community of the demise of Loring Air Force Base in the 1990’s may be told by Limestone’s sharp population decline. The School of Mathematics and Science, a high school for top students from across the state, is now located on the former military facility.

Houlton

In 1828 a military post was established and the military road to supply the post was completed in 1832. The garrison stayed until the Webster-Ashburton treaty was completed in 1842. See photos. Served by the New Brunswick and Canada Railway as late as 1886. By 1894 the new Bangor and Aroostook Railroad connected the town to central Maine. The “Houlton Band” of the Maliseet Indians has its tribal offices near the Canadian border.

Greenville

Plaque noting the early settlement of Greenville and the site of its first school

On the shore of Moosehead Lake, it serves as the gateway to Lily Bay State Park and to the upper reaches of the lake via combined Maine Routes 6 and 15. See video and photos. It is also an access point for Elephant Mountain and the preserved site of a B-52 bomber crash in 1963. In 1853 Henry David Thoreau met his guide, Joseph Atteon, in Greenville before boarding a steamboat passing Mount Kineo, to Northeast Carry for the portage to the West Branch of the Penobscot River.

Eastport

Friar Roads Channel from the Waterfront in Eastport (2013)

is on Moose Island at the end of a peninsular surrounded by Cobscook Bay and Passamaquoddy Bay. See video and photos. Visited by European fishermen and traders in the 1600’s, the area was settled in 1772. A proposed oil refinery was rejected based on concerns about oil spills and environmental threats. Once a fish canning center (the first sardine cannery in the U.S. opened in 1875), the city struggles against its isolated location. The historic downtown has undergone substantial restoration.

Millinocket

This 1912 building was the Great Northern Paper Co. administration building. Later mill owners used it for offices until just before the mill

The Great Northern Paper Mill and the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad have been keys to the economic life of Millinocket for many years. See photos. The declining employment in the paper industry contributed to the steady loss of population over the past forty years – 42%. Millinocket is the gateway to Baxter State Park and its famed Mount Katahdin.

Deblois

Narraguagus River at Route 193 in Deblois (2013)

Once part of William Bingham’s “million-acre purchase,” in western Washington County, incorporated 1852, contains Wyman’s extensive blueberry fields, with a private airstrip and migrant labor cabins. A former fish hatchery is on Hatchery Road.

Temperature Normals

by the month for forty-nine locations in Maine, one aspect of the climate, are calculated by taking the mean (average) of the maximum and minimum temperatures for a location, in a given month, over the thirty-year period. “Normal” temperatures are calculated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on a thirty-year basis. The data, available…

Brunswick

Picard Theater and Maine State Music Theater at Bowdoin College (2018)

Since the demise of textile and shoe manufacturing, Brunswick has become a service center for the region and a residential community for commuters to the greater Portland area. With Bowdoin College, Maine State Music Theater, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Pejepscot Historical Society, and many historic buildings, it is a powerful cultural magnet. AMTRAK service to Boston resumed in 2012. The town has a 66 mile ocean shoreline and 12 miles along the Androscoggin River.

Avon

Mount Blue and Webb Lake in Weld (2017)

in Franklin County, named for the river in England and incorporated in 1802. Settled after the American Revolution, by 1886 Avon had two saw mills and eleven public schools, supported by an 1880 census population of 571. The 3,000-foot Mount Blue is located in the southwest corner of the town in Mount Blue State Park.