Mapleton

Autumn Fields and Hills in Mapleton from Route 163 (2014)

is a town in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1880 from Mapleton Plantation. The early settlers, arriving in about 1836, were from New Brunswick. Potatoes have been a major part of its economy in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Aroostook War of the 1840s discouraged settlement until the 1850s.

Manchester

Still a basically rural community, Manchester has maintained its old 1793 North Manchester Meetinghouse. It also features a sustainable forestry project within a few hundred yards of the Meetinghouse on Scribner Hill Road. A suburb of Augusta, the town has substantial frontage on the northern half Cobbosseecontee Lake.

Mammals

Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has developed a summary table describing well-known mammals that make their home in the state.  To expand  that effective presentation, we have added some creatures to the table. Features Size Habitat Food Litter When Behavior BEAVER Largest rodent, flat scaly tail, large front teeth; sexes indistinguishable L 35-46″…

Rabbits

Map: Cottontail Rabbit and Snowshoe Hare Habitat

The New England cottontail rabbit was, in 2011, a candidate for federal listing as a threatened species. Less than 300 rabbits are believed to be in Maine, most in the south.  Threats include the loss of young forest and thickets due to the loss of agricultural land, pets such as cats, and invasive vegetation not…

Lobster Township

                                        Lobster Lake in Lobster Township is east of the northernmost portion of Moosehead Lake and of adjoining Northeast Carry Township.             Lobster lake, so-named because of its shape, dominates as…

Dresden Bog

The waterway broadens from the bog to the open water (2010)

The Erle R. Kelley Wildlife Management Area encompasses most of Dresden Bog, within the town of Dresden, and much of the adjoining land, some of which is in Alna. The Bog, one of Maine’s many nature preserves, is accessible from the south side of Bog Road in Dresden, where a nondescript, very narrow stream leads…

Beavers

Beaver Dam at Dresden Bog (2010)

are the largest of rodents. They have flat, scaly tails, and large front teeth. Beavers use their teeth to cut down and dismember small trees to use in construction projects: their homes (lodges) and dams to surround their lodges with water.  Access to the lodges is underwater, so most bothersome animals cannot get in. They…

Maine, U.S.S.

U.S.S. Maine Memorial (2014)

was the United States battleship that steamed past the lighthouse in Havana (Cuba) Harbor  in January, 1898. In a few weeks the U.S.S. Maine was destroyed  there on February 15, 1898 by an explosion. A memorial is in a small park in Bangor. The event, which killed 260 men, sparked a national debate and outrage…

Census Quick Facts Maine 2010

For county Quick Facts, use the menu bar above, clicking on “Government,” then “Counties.” See also population. People QuickFacts Maine USA Population, 2010 1,328,361 308,745,538 Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010 4.2% 9.7% Population, 2000 1,274,923 281,421,906 Persons under 5 years, percent, 2010 5.2% 6.5% Persons under 18 years, percent, 2010 20.7% 24.0% Persons 65…

Maine Maritime Academy

Harold Alfond Student Center (2001)

is a college located in Castine created primarily to educate and train students for service in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Former Governor Kenneth M. Curtis, once its President, is a distinguished graduate. According to the statute establishing Maine Merchant Marine Day each May 22nd, “The purpose of commemorating the United States Merchant Marines is to…

Magalloway Plantation

Signs at the entrance to Fish Pond Road in Lincoln Plantation

Named for the Malecite Indian word for “caribou,” it is located on the New Hampshire border, with substantial frontage on Umbagog Lake and on Upper and Lower Lower Richardson Lakes. A section of Maine Public Reserved Land sits just north of the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge on that lake’s Sunday Cove. The plantation is accessible from Maine Route 16 in Lincoln Plantation.

Madawaska

was named for the river whose Indian name means “having its outlet among the reeds” and “worn out grass (land).” A monument marks the landing of the Acadians. Its main street, U.S. Route 1, is dominated by Fraser Paper Company, whose plant straddles the border with Edmunston, New Brunswick. Agriculture remains a significant portion of the economy. Most residents in this heavily Catholic community are fluent in French and have extended family members in Canada.

Macwahoc

The name (the Indian term for “bog” or “wet ground”) is appropriate since the main village lies at the north end of a bog on Molunkus Stream. See photos. The township has some frontage on Molunkus Lake. A 485 acre section of Maine Public Reserved Land is here.

MacDonald, Moses

(1815-1869) a U.S. Representative, was born in Limerick on April 8, 1815. He received an academic education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837 and began his practice in Biddeford in 1837. A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1841, 1842, and 1845, he served as speaker in 1845, then served…

Lynx, Canada

Canada Lynx (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

The Canada lynx is a forest­ cat of northern latitudes and high mountains. While Maine has long been a home to the Lynx, experts believe relatively few have inhabited the state until recently. It is listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, about…

Lynch, John

(1825-1892) a U.S. Representative, was born in Portland on February 18, 1825. He attended the public schools, was graduated from the Portland High School in 1842. Lynch engaged in business and was manager of the Portland Daily Press in 1862. A member of the Maine House of Representatives 1862-1864, he was elected as a Republican…

Lyman

Dam and Spillway near the old Sawmill (2003)

Earlier called Swansfield, it was named after Theodore Lyman of York, a successful businessman and Boston merchant. Goodwins Mills is a village straddling the town lines of Lyman and Dayton. The first saw and grist mills were located there in 1782. Lyman’s United Methodist Church was established in 1840. Dotted with ponds, the area is a rural commuter community with easy access to Sanford and the Biddeford-Saco areas..

Lumber Industry

Logging Equipment at a Sawmill in Belgrade (2003)

From earliest European presence, the Maine woods have been a source for masts, boat building, housing, and other structures. Later, the paper industry and recreational hunting, hiking, and camping, broadened its importance. Still later, people saw its role in absorbing greenhouse gasses, providing wildlife habitat wildlife, and protecting water resources.