Alfred

Church on Shaker Hill in Alfred (2012)

Originally, the area was known to the Native Americans as Massabesic and was acquired from Chief Fluellin in 1661 by Major William Phipps. Later a Shaker community settled on a hill overlooking what is now called Shaker Pond. Alfred is the county seat of York County and was the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the 1930’s.

Economy

Haying in Western Maine (George French Collection, Maine State Archives)

The Maine economy has passed through stages typical of most states, with an initial focus on extractive activities (fishing, logging, slate and granite quarrying, other mining, and ice harvesting), and moving from subsistence farming to substantial agricultural development (apples, blueberries [see video in Hiram], potatoes, poultry). More Economic Data Ice harvesting, from ponds, streams or…