Insects, Biting

Female Deer Tick

Also see: Browntail Moth. Deer ticks are small, about 1/8 of an inch. They may reach 1/2 inch if swelled with blood. Lyme Disease Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium transmitted to a person through the bite of an infected deer tick. (Actually not an insect but, with eight legs, an arachnid.) Symptoms include the…

Indian Township

Peter Dana Point, in the southwest corner, is the village center for the Passamaquoddy people in the township. U.S. Route 1 hosts another cluster of facilities and population. The tribe’s governing body is the policy maker for the Passamaquoddy People of Indian Township with each member elected for a four year term. Municipal offices, public safety building, housing authority and Boys & Girls Club Fitness Center are in the southeast corner near the town line with Princeton and near the shore of Lewy Lake.

Climate, Ice Out Dates

Ice fishing is facing 15 fewer days on the lakes since the late 19th century.

Historical Changes in Lake Ice-Out Dates as Indicators of Climate Change in New England, 1850-2000U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS 2005-3002 January 2005. Changes in water resources over time may affect public and private water supplies and the health of aquatic ecosystems. The U.S. Geological Survey is studying the relation…

Hudson

sign: "Welcome to Hudson"

Little Pushaw Pond is in the northwest portion of the town. Pushaw Stream flow from it to Pushaw Lake in the southeast. See photos. Hudson is a growing community in a rural setting with easy access to Bangor and to the University of Maine in Orono.

Howland

Penobscot River South of Howland Village on Route 116 (2005)

Att the junction of the Piscataquis River with the Penobscot, and Seboeis Stream with the Piscataquis, it once had a thriving paper mill, The Advance Bag and Paper Company. See photos. The old mill remains empty. Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife supervises the Old Pond Farm Wildlife Management Area featuring eagles, osprey, deer, moose, and water birds.

Senate, Maine

Maine State Senate Chambers (2001)

The Senate currently has 35 members, although the number has varied over the years. The President of the Senate presides over that body and is constitutionally eligible to act as Governor in the event of the chief executive’s disability or death. Its smaller number of members compared to the House (35 v. 151) make each…

Elections, Congressional Districts

Congressional Districts for Elections 2004-2010

Maine once had as many as eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives, thus eight congressional districts.  When Maine achieved statehood in 1820, Congress assigned the new state one At-Large Representative, leaving Massachusetts with its allotted 20 Representatives. In the 17th Congress (1821–1823), the final Congress before the apportionment following the 4th Census (1820),…

Legislature, House of Representatives

Maine House Chambers (2006)

  The Maine House of Representatives, on of the two houses of the Maine Legislature, contains 151 voting members elected from as many House Districts. House members are assigned to Joint Standing Committees, as are members of the Senate, to hear and recommend proposed legislation.   Both House and Senate districts are reapportioned every ten…

Legislative Branch

Appropriations Committee Hearing Room (2002)

The legislature was established: in 1820 “To make and establish all reasonable laws and regulations for the defense and benefit of the people of this State, not repugnant to the Constitution, nor to that of the United States.” Maine Constitution, Article IV, Part Third, Section I. It consists of a 35 member Senate and a…

Houlton

In 1828 a military post was established and the military road to supply the post was completed in 1832. The garrison stayed until the Webster-Ashburton treaty was completed in 1842. See photos. Served by the New Brunswick and Canada Railway as late as 1886. By 1894 the new Bangor and Aroostook Railroad connected the town to central Maine. The “Houlton Band” of the Maliseet Indians has its tribal offices near the Canadian border.

Hope

Located just northwest of Camden on Maine Routes 105 and 235, Hope has a cluster of lakes and ponds attractive to summer vacationers. See photos. The town’s population has more than tripled since 1970, and in the 2000-2010 decade continued growing by over 17 percent. The town hosts at least one extensive orchard featuring apples and pears, among other products.

Homer, Winslow

Boardwalk in woods in Prouts Neck, Scarborough (2002)

1836 Birth in Boston 1854? Lithography workshop 1857 Free-lancing, Harper’s Weekly 1859 National Academy of Design 1862 Artist for Harper’s 1863+ Civil War paintings, Harper’s 1866 Prisoners from the Front 1867 Homer returns to New York 1872 Snap the Whip. 1875 1st view of Prouts Neck 1881 Northumberland, England 1882 Homer returns to New York…

Holmes, John

John Holmes, courtesy Maine State Museum

John Holmes (1773-1843) was a Representative from Massachusetts and a Senator from Maine; born in Kingston, Massachusetts, March 14, 1773. He attended the Kingston public schools; graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University), Providence, Rhode Island, in 1796. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1799, and commenced practice in Alfred, Maine…

Hollis

Just 10 miles northwest of Biddeford-Saco, the town was the summer home of Kate Douglas Wiggin, author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm among others. See photos. Her house is now the library. Wildfires of 1947 wiped out many historic homes, so only about 20% of all houses are older 50 years. The village with most commercial development is Hollis Center, with restaurants, gasoline stations, a food market and other service businesses. Poland Spring bottling plant was the only substantial industrial use in Hollis as of 2004.

Holeb Township

Holeb was and is a place for harvesting forest products. Amos A. Logging crews and camps were here and in the 19th century. See photos. Most of the shores on Attean and Holeb Ponds, and a significant length of the Moose River including Holeb Falls, lie within the Maine Public Reserved Lands. Canoe trips are frequent.

Holden

Mill Stream Winding through East Holden (2004)

The town has substantial frontage on Brewer Lake, which is shared with neighboring Orrington. At East Holden, where Maine Route 46 crosses 1A, a commercial area has blossomed in recent years. See photos. Administrative offices, library, and museum of the Grand Lodge of Maine Masons are located at the crossroads.