Winterport

Marsh Bay on the Penobscot River just South of Winterport Village (2003)

Winterport is primarily a rural community with its land area extending ten miles westward from the river. See photos. An attraction along Route 139 among the farms and woods is the Winterport Dragway, featuring auto drag races with specialty vehicles and “street” vehicles. In recent years a marina has expanded and an export business has been established on the river. A dockside freezer operation enabled the storage and shipping of commodities such as fish and chicken.

Oxford

Field Overlooking Thompson Lake in Oxford (2012)

Routes 26 (the commercial strip) and 121 serve the community. See photos. The Oxford Casino is on Route 26 in the south of town. Oxford village, at the north end of Thompson Lake, hosts the town office, post office, and a small veterans memorial park. The Congregational Church was established in 1806 and is listed on the National Register. Though famous for auto racing at Oxford Plains Speedway, the nearby Androscoggin River passes several sizable ponds and Thompson Lake abuts the main village.

Agricultural Fairs

Team of Mules at the Common Ground Fair in Unity (2003)

2018 Acton Aug 23-26 Augusta Athens Aug 7-9 Bangor State Fair July 27-Aug 5 Blue Hill Aug 30 – Sept 3 Clinton Maine Farm Days Aug 22-23; Lions Fair Sept 6-9 Common Ground (Unity) Sept 21-23 Cumberland Sept 23-29 Farmington Sept 16-22 Fryeburg Sept 30 – Oct 7 Harmony Free Fair Aug 31 – Sept 3 Houlton June 30-July…

Skowhegan

Recorded as Skwahegan in early reports, the name means “watching place for fish,” drawn from the falls in the Kennebec River that harbored salmon. See photos. Local Indians speared them as they attempted to scale the falls. Textile and shoe manufacturing were major employment options for local residents during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Once home to Camp Modin, a camp for Jewish boys and girls until 1992, Lake George Regional Park is split between Skowhegan and Canaan.