Livermore

Livermore, the main village, fronts on Brettuns Pond. A boat launch is located off Route 4. Near Livermore village several old community buildings suggest an earlier location for the village center. North Livermore village is centered on twin water bodies, Round Pond and Long Pond. North Livermore Baptist Church graces the community, just north of “The Norlands” a living history center.

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…

Stratton

Stratton is a village in the town of Eustis. It is the main village with a small commercial area and civic facilities, including the town office, fire department, library, and post office. The Oramendal Blanchard House, home to the local sawmill owner in the late 19th century, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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.

Woolwich

Woolwich Shore on the Kennebec River from Thorne Head in North Bath (2010)

Woolwich, across the Kennebec River from Bath and with long shores on Merrymeeting Bay, is home to two nature preserves. Settled in the 1600s, it has several historic buildings. Alewives have been a historic part of the community.

Woodland

Long view in Woodland on the Colby Siding Road (2003)

With little in the way of a central village, the town lies west of Caribou served by Maine Routes 161 and 228. See photos. Unable to find enough land in New Sweden, members of the Swedish Colony were granted 100 acre lots in Woodland. This northern community, in the heart of potato and forest product country, is not to be confused with the village of Woodland in the town of Baileyville.

Wesley

Blueberry Barrens on Route 9 (2013)

Blueberry production is a major industry in this Washington County town. See photos. The Jasper Wyman company is the primary employer and owner of the blueberry barrens in the area. Fishing and camping is available at Seavey Lake, Little Seavey Lake and the western shore of Long Lake. Maine Routes 9 and 192 pass through this sparsely populated, heavily forested area.

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.

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.

Vanceboro

Sunset over Small Stream in Vanceboro (2013)

At the easternend of Maine Route 6, Vanceboro lies across the river from St. Croix, New Brunswick where 24-hour per day customs stations manage border crossings. See photos. A hill in the village overlooks the main street. With the large houses, the veterans hall and memorial, it appears to have been an important neighborhood in the history of Vanceboro. The local school of recent vintage is located there. Trains from Maine pass through Vanceboro to Canada.

Union

Union (see photos) became the subject of Ben Ames Williams’ historical novel Come Spring, which chronicles the early settlement of the town through the lives of the Robbins family, whose home is now that of the Vose Library and the Union Historical Society. Most of the 591-acre Crawford Pond and the 523-acre Seven Tree Pond are shared with Warren to the south.

Surry

Patten Bay near Union River Bay from Route 172 in Surry (2003)

Surry is just southwest of Ellsworth on Maine Route 172 where it crosses Route 176. Once an active fishing, farming and lumbering community, it is now primarily residential with modest tourism and fishing supplementing the local economy. The town’s Newbury Neck extends over six miles from the mainland, a virtual island surrounded by Morgan Bay and Union River Bay.

Stockholm

Named for the Swedish capital, the village lies on the Little Madawaska River, just off Maine Route 161 and just north of New Sweden, also part of the Colony. The village, essentially off the main highways, is not “on-the-way” to anywhere. This small community, with a continued significant reliance on agriculture and a declining population, still supports three churches: Catholic, Baptist, and Lutheran.

South Thomaston

The town lies on the Weskeag River, which broadens into several large coves before emptying into the Muscle Ridge Channel. In addition to the main village, Pleasant Beach, Waterman Beach, and Spruce Head villages hug the shore on Penobscot Bay. Spruce Head Island, connected to the mainland by a bridge, juts into Muscle Ridge Channel, a favorite passage for boaters seeking the protection of the outlying islands.

Searsmont

The main village is located on the St. George River and is adjacent to Quantabacook Lake. See photos. The town is served by Maine Routes 3, 131 and 173 and lies about ten miles southwest of Belfast. In 1925 the first international radio broadcast was relayed from Belfast through Searsmont and on to New York City.

Readfield

Lake and Mountains in Readfield (2002)

Kents Hill School was established here initially as the Maine Wesleyan Seminary in 1824. See photos. Readfield is the birthplace of two governors: Jonathan G. Hunton and Dr. John Hubbard. Another governor and member of Congress, Anson P. Morrill, lived at Readfield Corners. Its Kennebec County Fair has been held annually since 1856. Meeting House Common was the site of militia musters in the 1800’s.