Anson was the home of Francis B. Henderson, who moved there from from New York City in 1940 where he had been Captain of a barge moving critical material, equipment and supplies in New York Harbor for the military during World War II. Soon after moving to Anson, he was appointed Chief Deputy Sheriff and…
This island group township in Knox County is just offshore from South Thomaston in the Gulf of Maine. Its more than a dozen islands includes the larger Andrews, Dix, Fisherman and Pleasant. [click images to enlarge and clarify, for these and all others] The “shoals” refer to ledges and reefs that threaten safe passage. Otter…
Great Diamond, home to Fort McKinley, is just northeast of its neighbor Little Diamond Island, linked only by a sandbar at low tide. The island has a limited network of roads, used primarily by golf carts and bicycles. Access is by about a half hour ferry ride from Portland Harbor, with two landing sites. Landing site…
Once bearing the name Hog Island, Little Diamond has overcome its past and has been a respectable community of the City of Portland for decades. Few people make it their year-round home, even though there are 50+ homes and cottages on the Island. A major reason is that the City turns off the water supply in…
This mile-long, 89-acre island is near the southwest shore of Great Chebeague Island. It has been a part of the City of Portland, the Town of Cumberland, and the Town of Chebeague. In 1935 Hope Island, then part of the City of Portland, was owned by Howard S. Eckels and Josephine H. Eckels. The photo…
East Shore of Bangs Island (2015) On Casco Bay in the town of Chebeague Island, narrow Bangs Island is just short of a mile long. It is owned by the Maine Department of Conservation and was managed by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in 2013. An aquaculture lease for suspended culture of blue…
Two Islands These two small islands, in the town of Harpswell, are in Middle Bay, a major inlet off Casco Bay. A popular destination for boaters, they lie just off the southern tip of Lower Goose Island. Each has campsites with a strict carry-in carry-out policy. Maine Coast Heritage Trust is the owner and steward.…
Etienne Orson was a settler in the area around 1793. McCauley reports that the name came from a mispronunciation of Etienne. In the township-range system it is T6 R7 NBKP. The U.S. Census reported a single resident in 1870, five in 1900, fifteen in 1910, eighteen in 1920, and fifteen in 1930, the last report…
Haskell is an island in the town of Harpswell, not accessible by land. It lies at the edge of Casco Bay on the south end of Merriconeag Sound. A summer home to seasonal residents, the island retains many features of its earlier history. Once known as New Damariscove Island, then Pulpit, it was finally named…
Inhabited since 1762, the island has many historic structures, such as the 1855 Meetinghouse and 1900 Chapel, that have survived the test of time. Part of the town of Harpswell, it is home to the Coastal Studies Center of Bowdoin College, on the shore of Harpswell Sound near Casco Bay. Several wooded walking trails offer ocean views.
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…
This relatively brief canoe trip makes about five of its six miles through the town of Gilead. Infrequent Class I rapids are involved; shallows where the river divides around several small islands require one’s attention. Launching is near Bridge Road off U.S. 2 in Gilead. The bridge over the Androscoggin is immediately apparent after entering…
This sea bird with a colorful bill lives year round near the coast of Washington and eastern Hancock counties. The largest concentration of puffins is at Machias Seal Island, off shore from Cutler in Washington County. The island is claimed by Canada. At twelve inches tall, the birds seem tiny in the water among the…
Glenwood contains most of Wytopitlock Lake (the balance is in T2 R4 WELS) and Orcutt Brook, which empties into it. In 2004 only a few camps were scattered along the rocky shore. The Bureau of State Parks and Public Lands owns and maintains a boat launch in the shallow outlet cove, located in Glenwood. Wytopitlock Stream is the outlet and the start of a popular canoe trip. Glenwood is subject to the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, which has identified critical natural areas in the plantation.
is located on an island in the Penobscot River between the towns of Prospect and Bucksport. The Island is bounded by the Main and the Eastern Channels of the Penobscot. The Eastern is supplemented with the outlet of the Orland River. The old Waldo-Hancock Suspension Bridge provided the link from the Town of Prospect as U.S. Route 1 and Maine Route 3 pass through the town to Bucksport, then “Downeast” to Bar Harbor and Calais. The bridge was replaced by the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge in 2007.
Townships is the designation of minor civil divisions that have no organized local government, such as a plantation, town or city.
School Bell Commemorating the Maine Unorganized Territory School System (2001)
Bell Recalling the Unorganized Territory School System (2001)
Townships in Maine are administered directly by the State government. Taxes are due directly to the State Bureau of Taxation, with funds disbursed to support township services such as schools. They have names or may simply be designated by a township and range identification, such as T3 R4 WELS or T5 ND BPP. T stands for township, and R indicates a range. More abbreviations are here.
In a park near the town office, St. George and the dragon reenact their famous battle. See photos. The Fort St. George’s memorial is nearby.St. George was the site of granite quarries and was the birthplace of the Granite Cutters Union in 1877, the first in the state’s history. The town may be better known by some by its villages of Port Clyde, at the southern tip of its long peninsular, and Tenants Harbor.
(1863-1955), Arctic explorer and writer, was born in Washington D.C. and raised in a wealthy environment as the oldest of four children. After graduating from high school, she attended a business college and worked as a clerk at the Smithsonian Institution where her father taught languages. At a dancing class, she met Robert E. Peary,…
The town is located on Mount Desert Island, between Bar Harbor and Tremont. See map and photos. Several granite quarries were located in the town. In 1902 the Quarrymen’s Protective Union was organized.