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…

Logging in Maine

Hunt Sawmill in Jefferson (2012)

The cutting and moving of logs destined for lumber or paper was a tough, manual effort until the second half of the 20th century. Here is an eyewitness assessment by Louise Dickenson Rich of logging camp life in the 1940’s near Middle Dam in western Maine. I also had to learn to differentiate between a…

North Maine Woods

The 20 mile North Maine Woods checkpoint in the Pittston Academy Grant (T2 R4 NBKP) (2008)

North Maine Woods In addition to be a general term for the forests of northern Maine, North Maine Woods is an organization that manages access to a specific area of mostly privately own land. Land Ownership                           The complicated historic land ownership in…

Winterville Plantation

Location Map for Winterville Plantation

Located about 25 miles south of Fort Kent on Maine Route 11, the area is an attraction for fishermen and hunters. St. Froid Lake (see photo) dominates the plantation by running virtually its whole length from north to south, a watery barrier separating the eastern from the western land portions. Quimby village is on the eastern shore of the lake; Winterville village is on Route 11, about two miles east of the lake.

Whitneyville

Location Map for Whitneyville

On the west bank of the Machias River, it was the site where the vessel Margaretta was hidden from the British after her capture in 1775. Lumbering and blueberry growing have been the mainstays of the local economy over the years. See photos. The town is a long, narrow north-south mile-wide strip of land on U.S. Route 1A between Jonesboro and Machias.

Whiting

The main village is located at the easterly end of the township where the Orange River flows into Whiting Bay at the Junction of U.S. Route 1 and Maine Route 189 to Lubec. A dam creates a pond on the river in the village. See photos. Cutler Coast Public Preserved Land, in Cutler and Whiting, contains almost five miles of dramatic cliff-bound ocean shore. Water abounds in Whiting’s the northern half, with many acres of lakes and ponds.

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.

Portage Lake

Late Summer Sunset over Portage Lake (2003)

in Aroostook County, settled in 1844, incorporated 1909, the village lies at the southeastern end of Portage Lake, about twelve miles northwest of Ashland. See photos. In 1967 a small community of Tibetan refugees was established, but dissolved in 1970 when their work project terminated. They scattered to other states.

Nashville

Location Map for Nashville

Located northwest of Ashland and south of Portage Lake on Route 11. Little Machias Lake, through which the Little Machias River runs, is in the northwest corner of the plantation. Nashville hosts two lots of Maine’s Public Reserved Land, of which about 10% of the acreage is reserved for wildlife, with the remainder allocated to timber management and harvesting.

Moose River

Historic Samuel Holden House [remaining portion] (2019)

Jackman’s Main Street (U.S. Route 201/Maine Route 6) merges with that of Moose River. See photos. The two towns, otherwise isolated, share a single community. The historic Moose River Congregational Church is in Jackman. The Town Office and most commercial activity lies along U.S. Route 201/Maine Route 6. The Scott Road (or the Moose River Road) proceeds east into the heart of the township.

Moosehorn Refuge

Sign: Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (2004)

The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, a nature preserve, was established in 1937 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. It is the first in a chain of migratory bird refuges that extends from Maine to Florida. The refuge consists of two units. The Baring Unit covers 17,200 acres and is…

Masardis

Railroad Crossing in Masardis near Fraser Timber Mill on Route 11 (2015)

The Aroostook River flows northward through the middle of the township and by the village of Masardis. The small Pollard Flat Wildlife Management Area lies on the west bank of the river north of the village. A boat launch provides access to Scopan (formerly Squa Pan) Lake. Most of the Lake is in adjoining Scopan Township.

Lumber Industry

Logging Equipment at a Sawmill in Belgrade (2003)

From earliest European presence, the Maine woods have been a source for masts, boat building, housing, and other structures. Later, the paper industry and recreational hunting, hiking, and camping, broadened its importance. Still later, people saw its role in absorbing greenhouse gasses, providing wildlife habitat wildlife, and protecting water resources.

Hersey

Hersey Village is in the extreme west of the township on Route 11. Townline Road is its northern boundary, separating it from Moro Plantation. The interior of the township is accessible on the Retreat Road, which extends from Route 159 in Crystal in the south to Route 11 in Hersey’s northwest corner. The 137-acre Crystal Lake is the only one in the town.

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.

Machias

Sheriff

The town, and its Burnham Tavern, was the site of anti-British plotting resulting in capturing the schooner Margaretta. The Tavern was built in 1770, the only building in eastern Maine directly connected with the American Revolution. The Washington County seat, it is located on the Machias River, the engine of its earlier lumbering and shipbuilding industries. Once a haven for pirates, and now a commercial center, it is home to the University of Maine at Machias.

Dennysville

Cobscook Bay (2004)

is in eastern Washington County, settled 1786 and incorporated 1818. While using tidal power to generate electricity was to emerge in the 20th century, direct tidal power was at work in 1886, supporting lumber mills and a grist mill on the Denny’s River.