Peaks Island

An Informal Stone Art Site along Seashore Avenue on Peaks Island

The Island is a City of Portland neighborhood in Casco Bay, accessible by ferry from the terminal on Portland’s waterfront.  The brief trip carries freight, vehicles, bicycles and tourists. Little Diamond Island and Great Diamond Island are just to the west. While the population is about 900, the number of people on this 720-acre island…

Benedicta Township

Plunkett Pond, locally known as Perry Pond, in Benedicta (2015)

Benedicta is located in southern Aroostook County. It was established as a plantation on February 1, 1873 with a population of about 400. Just over one-hundred years later, in 1987, it surrendered its plantation status and became an unorganized township administered by the State.     By 1970 it had reached a historic low of…

York

1787-1794 John Hancock Warehouse and Wharf in York (2018)

Most of the town’s inhabitants are located between U.S. Route 1 (inland) and U.S. Route 1A which runs along the coast. Its population has more than doubled in the past thirty years, and grew by nearly 31 percent between 1990 and 2000. Beaches and cottages characterize the coast.

Washburn

Location Map for Washburn

Long a potato growing and processing area, it lies northwest of Presque Isle on Route 164, which curves through the town and links it with Caribou to the northeast. See photos. Washburn’s main village is in the southwest near the Aroostook River, which crosses its southern portion. The villages of Bugbee, Crouseville, and Adeline are along the river on Route 164.

South Berwick

Counting House Day Lily Memorial Park at the Salmon Falls River (2018)

Maine’s oldest educational institution, Berwick Academy, was established here in 1791 when the town was part of Berwick. See photos. South Berwick is the birthplace of Sarah Orne Jewett, who attended Berwick Academy for four years — her only formal education. The town is accessible to the coastal communities of York and Kittery via Maine Routes 91 and 236.

Prospect

on the west bank of the Penobscot River, across from Bucksport, the main village is at the junction of Maine Route 174 and U.S. Route 1A, near the South Branch of the Marsh River. Prospect is home to Fort Knox, built in 1844 with Mount Waldo granite from Frankfort and named for Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War.

Limington

The Campus of Limington Historical Society (2014)

Limington Academy, now on the National Register of Historic Places, was incorporated in 1848. See video and photos. After 200 years, the old Town Hall was replaced by a modern Municipal Complex. Primary education now takes place in the Emery Memorial School, a major change from the old Longfellow School. Nevertheless, the main village retains its historic character thanks to the local efforts to establish its Historic District.