Sanford, with Springvale Village, is the seventh largest town or city in Maine by population according to the 2010 Census, up from a ranking of ninth in 1990. Traditionally an industrial town, primarily with textile mills and shoe making, Sanford has diversified and continues to be a growing community.
the county seat of Piscataquis County, born of the union of Dover and Foxcroft in 1922, and home to Foxcroft Academy and three members of Congress, is the commercial center of the area. See photos.
Early settlers from Biddeford in England may have given the area its name. Biddeford was destroyed during Queen Anne’s War, but was resettled beginning in 1714. Lumbering was the major industry until the early 19th century; textiles dominated for 100 years from mid-century. First Irish, then French Canadians came to work in the mills. See photos.
Capital since 1832, originally “Cushnoc,” it was the site in 1628 of the Pilgrims’ trading post, and in 1754, Fort Western. The Blaine House governor’s residence is here. The Pine Tree State Arboretum has 200 acres of rolling hills and meadows and a diversity of habitats.