Columbia Falls

Location Map For Columbia Falls

Year Population 1970 367 1980 517 1990 552 2000 599 2010 560 Geographic Data N. Latitude 44:40:23 W. Longitude 67:42:49 Maine House District 138 Maine Senate District 6 Congress District 2 Area sq. mi. (total) 24.7 Area sq. mi. (land) 24.5 Population/sq.mi. (land) 22.9 County: Washington Total=land+water; Land=land only [kol-UM-bee-ah FALLS] is a town in…

Capitol Park

Capitol Park (2004)

Capitol Park is significant as a landscape design, dating from 1827, that survives with its spatial structure intact. It is unique as an early example of a designed landscape and as a remarkable survivor within the Capitol complex. Although the park has accommodated a variety of functions, it continues to perform its primary function of…

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…

Kennebec Bridge

New Kennebec Bridge (2016)

This bridge, built in 1931 by the American Bridge Company was slated for replacement in 2013, and was described in the Federal Infrastructure Projects web site as noted below. The project replaced an 80 year-old movable span truss bridge at the end of its service life with a high level, fixed bridge over the Kennebec…

Harpswell Center

Widgeon Cove Trail in Harpswell Center (2014)

During Harpswell’s early settlement and before a bridge connected it to the rest of the town, Harpswell Neck was the site of several small villages.  Harpswell Center hosted a church, the 1759 meetinghouse (later the town office), a 200-year plus old cemetery, and a 1793 cattle pound. The cemetery is  the site of “The Witch…

Wales

Rolling Hills in Rural Wales (2002)

The early settlers arrived in about 1773, some of whom came from Wales in Britain. See photos.The gentle hills in the town reflect the landscape of the old country. With access to Sabattus Pond, the town is within easy reach of Lewiston-Auburn via Maine Route 132, and of Gardiner by way of Routes 9 and 126.

South Solon Meeting House

Toward the Balcony (2003)

The 1842 South Solon Meeting House in Solon, is a period piece well preserved, with colorful murals depicting religious themes on the walls. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Meeting House is located about five miles Southeast of Solon village. The Maine Historic Preservation Commission has compared the meeting house to others, …

Stow

Cold River in Stow (2014)

Stow borders New Hampshire, which may be reached by Maine Route 113 north from Fryeburg. It was once the home of the Pequawket Indians, who traveled the Pequawket Trail to Biddeford Pool during the summers to fish and gather shellfish. The Cold River enters the state in Stow and flows south through most of this narrow north-south shaped town.

Shirley

House with Mountain View on the Lower Shirley Corner Road in Shirley (2011)

Located just south of Greenville on Maine combined Routes 6 and 15, its main village, Shirley Mills (see photos), grew up around early 19th century clapboard and saw mills, using water from the Piscataquis River. Along the east side of the pond, the B&A Railroad North Road runs north along the river. It was created from the old rail bed.

New Portland

Bridge over the Carrabassett River in New Portland (2017)

North New Portland hosts Morton’s Country Store, the Community Church, and Chase Memorial Hall. This village lies at the junction of routes 146 and 16, with Gilman Stream, and its Dam, flowing through it. See photos. The Carrabassett River, with its spectacular rocky bed, passes through East New Portland Village and under an arch bridge.

Katahdin Iron Works

Katahdin Iron Works Chimney

National Register of Historic Places – Listings Katahdin Iron Works [Northwest of Brownville Junction at Silver Lake] Katahdin Iron Works Township, T6 R9 NWP, is an unorganized township northwest of Brownville and just east of Gulf Hagas and The Hermitage. Red iron oxide from Ore Mountain is believed to have been the source of paint…

Jefferson

Abandoned granite quarries and clay banks where bricks were made suggest the early economic activities of the area. See photos. Several fine farm houses and barns have survived to recall the great heritage of the town. See images below from the Library of Congress of the old cattle pound.

Industry

Settled in 1783, Industry’s main villages are Allens Mills, at the southern end of Clearwater Pond, and West Mills. The mills produced wood and leather products, tools and flour. See photos. Goodridge Corner school, the “little red schoolhouse,” is the home of the town’s historical society.

Hallowell

Just one of many early "Grand Houses" in Historic Hallowell (2019)

Early in the 19th century, Hallowell on the Kennebec has become an important commercial center in the District of Maine. River ice and shipbuilding were staple industries. Granite quarries were active and productive in the 19th century, with one on “Granite Hill.” Maine’s smallest city in area has a vital downtown with antique and book shops, along with restaurants. See photos. The first settler arrived in 1762; surveyor Ephraim Ballard, in 1776; his wife Martha, the next year. Maine’s first Anti-Slavery Society was founded here in 1833.

Glenburn

Model Village of Glenburn on the Sparkle Pond Road in Glenburn (2014)

The town is becoming a major suburb of the Bangor area with population expanding nearly four-fold in the 40 years 1970-2010, and growing 16 percent 2000-2010. Glenburn’s school contains the public library. See photos. In Penobscot County, it was incorporated in 1822 under the name of Dutton, changed to Glenburn in 1837. Dutton held a major interest in the original township, became a Judge of Probate and a founder of Bangor Theological Seminary.

Ellsworth

Settled in 1763, it has relied on lumbering, shipbuilding, and industry to support its economy. The classic Grand Theater has been saved as an active movie and performance space. See photos. At the confluence of seven highway routes, the city is a shopping center for the area and summer tourism. The Col. John Black Mansion, a modified Georgian design, was home to the land agent for William Bingham.

Eagle Lake

Eagle Lake in Eagle Lake (2018)

settled 1840’s by Acadian-French and Irish immigrants, it was named for the many eagles at the Lake by a Major Strickland during the Aroostook War. Eagle Lake spawns the Fish River, which empties into the St. John River at Fort Kent. See photos. It is the birthplace and residence of former Maine House Speaker John L. Martin.

Durham

Durham Community School on the Royalsborough Road (2013)

The 1835 Union Church was a community meeting house, then in 1922, the Town Office, and recently home of the Durham Historical Society. The early 20th century religious movement known as the Sandfordites, after their leader Frank W. Sandford, built their 1897 temple “Shiloh” here. Runaround Pond offers a pleasant canoe trip through water lilies and bird life. See video and photos.

Cumberland

Former Town Hall, now an office building, in Cumberland Center (2005)

in Cumberland County, incorporated 1822, includes two islands in Casco Bay: Sturdivant and Basket. Basket Island, is a nature preserve of .9 acres of mixed forest and shell and gravel beaches. The town, a suburb of Portland, grew by almost 23 percent between 1990 and 2000, and continues its population growth. See photos.