Franklin
Blueberries and Christmas trees are major crops in this still growing rural community. The Taunton Bay Islands nature preserve consists of two small islands. Named for Benjamin Franklin, the town lies east of Ellsworth.
Franklin County
located in west central Maine, was formed from towns and land previously belonging to Kennebec, Oxford, and Somerset counties on May 9, 1838. Smaller adjustments were made during the following fourteen years. See an 1861 map of the county in the Map Cabinet. The county extends from Chesterville, New Sharon, and Farmington in the south,…
Freedom
in Waldo County, settled in 1794 by Revolutionary War soldier Stephen Smith, was incorporated in 1813.The three acre Freedom Park, near the center of town, occupies the original grounds of Freedom Academy. Sandy Pond, also known as Freedom Pond, has a boat launch for easy access. Freedom village is at its northeast tip.
Freeman Township
On March 4, 1808 Freeman was organized as a town. In 1823 is set off land to form North Salem (now Salem Township. Ten years later it set off more land to New Portland. By 1838, during the Great Depression, it surrendered its organization and reverted to become an unorganized township in in Franklin County.…
Freeport
is a popular center of “outlet” stores, including the legendary L. L. Bean, which has a virtual campus of retail buildings. See video and photos. It was named, say some, for Sir Andrew Freeport, a character in Addison’s Spectator Papers. Freeport-built vessels Lafayette and Blen were captured and burned by Confederate raiders. Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan lived in Freeport, as did a young John Gould, later author, humorist, and newspaper editor.
French, Ezra
(1810-1880) a U.S. Representative was born in Landaff, Grafton County, New Hampshire, September 23, 1810. He attended the common schools and pursued an academic course. He studied law in Bath and Plymouth, New Hampshire, was admitted to the bar in 1833 and began his practice in Portland and Waldoboro. French moved to Damariscotta (then a…
Frenchboro
Settled in the early 1800s, the island had a population of 19 in 1820, when fishing and some logging sustained the community. Other than for a period of pulpwood harvesting, few roads were constructed outside Lunt Harbor. See amateur film, video and photos. While many Maine islands struggle to maintain a critical mass of population, Frenchboro experienced a substantial reversal of three decades of decline when the 2010 U.S. Census confirmed sixty-one people as resident.
Frenchtown Township
This unorganized township northeast of Greenville is probably best known for the village of Kokadjo and First Roach Pond. The village is at the north end of the pond, which is wholly contained within the township. Kokadjo is short for Kok (kettle) Wadjo (mountain) pegwasebem (lake); together “Kettle Mountain Lake.”* …
Frenchville
in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1869 under the name Dickeyville. The name was change to Frenchville in 1871 in recognition of the French-Acadian population of the town. Its northern border is with Canada along a great bend in the St. John River. A potato farming community, it has lost population over the past three decades. The Frenchville Historical Society’s “Caboose” is part of a railroad station full scale exhibit.
Friendship
Settled in 1750, its boat building heritage began soon after and became best known for its specialty – the Friendship Sloop. See photos. The town, whose islands extend far out into Muscongus Bay, hosts the Friendship Sloop Races each summer, organized by the Friendship Sloop Society. The harbor, with its wharfs, moorings, and public landing, is a central economic and social focal point for the community.
Frye Island
The Island once had been governed by a semi-autonomous village corporation. It is primarily a summer vacation home destination. See photos. The Frye Island Ferry operates between the end of Raymond Neck, in the town of Raymond, to the ferry dock on the island. Vehicles, supplies, and people make the trip in about fifteen minutes every half hour.
Frye, William Pierce
William Frye (1830-1911) a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator, grandfather of Wallace Humphrey White, Jr., was born in Lewiston on September 2, 1830. He attended the public schools in Lewiston and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1850; studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Rockland in 1853. He returned to…
Fryeburg
a town in Oxford County, incorporated in 1777 on the site of an Indian settlement known as Pequawket. See photos. Daniel Webster was a teacher at Fryeburg Academy in 1802. Native American Molly Ockett was born about 1740 into the Pigwacket tribe. The Battle of Lovewell’s Pond was one long day in 1725, during which the leader of the white volunteers, Captain Lovewell, was slain along with the Indian leader Pangus.
Fuller, Melville W.
Maine’s only native to serve as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Count was born in Augusta on January 11, 1833. Melville Weston Fuller was appointed to that post by president Grover Cleavland, taking the oath of office on October 8, 1888. After graduating from Bowdoin College Phi Beta Kappa in 1853, he studied…
Fuller, Thomas James Duncan
(1808-1876) a U.S. Representative was born in Hardwick, Caledonia County, Vermont, March 17, 1808. He attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the bar and began his practice in Calais. Elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1857), Fuller was chairman of the…
Garcelon, Alonzo
(1813-1906) born in Lewiston on May 6, 1813, was Maine governor from 1879 to 1870. Educated at academies in Monmouth, Waterville, and Newcastle, he worked his way through Bowdoin College by teaching school, graduating in 1836. After attending medical school at Dartmouth and the Medical College of Ohio, he returned to Lewiston to open his…
Gardiner
on the Kennebec River, it is named for Dr. Sylvester Gardiner, an early proprietor and developer who brought settlers too the area in 1754. See photos. Notable residents included Revolutionary War General Henry Dearborn, Dr. Gideon Stinson Palmer, author Laura E. Richards, and poet Edwin Arlington Robinson.
Gardiner, William Tudor
(1892-1953) born in Newton, Massachusetts on June 12, 1892, attended Groton School, Harvard and Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Bar in 1917 and in the same year enlisted in the First Maine Heavy Artillery. During World War I he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant and served with the army of…
Gardner, Obadiah
Gardner (1852-1938) a Senator from Maine, born near Port Huron, Michigan on September 13, 1852, moved to Union with his parents in 1864. He attended the common schools, Eastman’s Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, and Coburn Classical Institute in Waterville. He engaged in the lumber, lime, and creamery business in Rockland, and in agricultural and…
Garfield
has had population loss from 1970 through 2010. Realty Road runs east-west across the northern portion beginning at the Ashland town line. A hunting camp and lodge, and a section of Maine Public Reserved Land, are here. See map. Aroostook County’s Machias River flows through the plantation to join the Aroostook River in Ashland.