New Sweden

Little Madawaska River, a tributary of the Aroostook River, crossing Jemtland Road in New Sweden (2016)

After the Civil War, Maine, like other states, was losing population to the great westward migration. A conscious public policy of encouraging Swedish immigration resulted in the very successful settlement of Swedes in New Sweden. Just northwest of Caribou on Maine Route 161, the town is just south of Stockholm.

Crime

Violent Crime by Month 1994-2011

Major crime in Maine has decreased from 30.8 offenses per 1,000 population in 1998 to 27.5 in 2011. However, since 2004 the rate has increased slightly. See how Maine ranks among states on crime rates. The Maine Department of Public Safety reported a 8.5 percent increase in property crime during the period 2000-2011, while violent…

Castle Hill

Irrigation Equipment in a Potato Field in Castle Hill (2014)

in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1903. The 1,341 foot high Haystack Mountain is the only exception to the relatively flat, potato growing area. Castle Hill is on Maine Route 227, ten miles west of Presque Isle. It shares a town manager with Mapleton and Chapman.

Capital Punishment

was abolished in 1876, restored in 1883, and abolished again in 1887, although attempts to restore it have continued to the present. (Michigan was the first state to do so, in 1847.) Nevertheless, Maine has one of the lowest murder rates in the United States, while large “death penalty states” such as Texas and California…

Crimes, Index

Murders 1980-2013

As the graphs below indicate, both violent and non-violent crime have been decreasing in frequency since 1980, with a slight increase since 2005. The number of crimes in 2013, compared to the 1980 figures, declined 22% for violent offenses and 36% for property offenses. See also Crime, Weapons. The Maine Department of Public Safety summarizes…

Amherst

A web of dirt roads leads into the hinterland where several streams, the West Branch of the Union River, and a half dozen small ponds attract fishermen, hunters, and vacationers. Amherst was the site of an unsolved a homicide, in 1976. Video. Named for Amherst, New Hampshire, it is located on the east-west Maine Route 9, known as the Airline.