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.
Osborn hosts two lots of Maine’s Public Reserved Lands with many trees well over 100 years old. The Osborn lots have a long history of timber management. Spectacle Pond, through which the Union River flows, is a major asset of the town. With few major roads, it is served in its northwest corner by Maine Route 179.
The town, with substantial frontage on Graham Lake and the east and west branches of the Union River, was named for William Bingham’s daughter Maria. With over 17% of its area covered with water, it is one of the most water-covered non-coastal towns in the state. While somewhat remote twelve miles north of Ellsworth, the town has a small but consistently growing population.
The small main village is a mile south of Great Pond. The town office, an old church, and a few houses are there. See photos. “Stud Mill Road” runs east-west through the Plantation from Washington and Hancock counties, to the Costigan stud mill in Milford. The Union River, outlet from Great Pond, flows south through Ellsworth to Union River Bay. The Navy has a recreation center at the lake.
Settled in 1763, it has relied on lumbering, shipbuilding, and industry to support its economy. The classic Grand Theater has been saved as an active movie and performance space. See photos. At the confluence of seven highway routes, the city is a shopping center for the area and summer tourism. The Col. John Black Mansion, a modified Georgian design, was home to the land agent for William Bingham.
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.