Parkhurst, Frederick H.

Frederic Parkhurst

(1864-1921) born in Unity on November 5, 1864, attended local schools, and after receiving his degree from Columbia Law School in 1887, he was admitted to the Maine bar. Parkhurst joined his father in a leather goods business of which he later became president. He served on the Bangor Common Council and in the Maine…

Parkman

Manhanock Pond in Parkman on the Harlow Pond Road (2018)

Located just south of Guilford on Maine Route 150, the town contains Harlow Pond and major access to Manhanock Pond, which it shares with Sangerville. Since 1970 the town’s population has almost doubled; the census numbers do not reflect the non-resident population.

Parks, Gorham

(1794-1877) a U.S. Representative, was born in Westfield, Massachusetts on May 27, 1794. He attended the common schools and was graduated from Harvard University in 1813. Parks studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1819; he moved to Bangor in 1823 and continued the practice of law there. Elected as a Jacksonian to the…

Parlin Pond Township

Parlin Pond (2004)

The township is just south of Jackman on U.S. Route 201. It is the only improved road, except for about two miles of Hardscrabble Road on its town line with Johnson Mountain Township to the south. Parlin Pond, the water body, is a two-mile long pond along U.S. Route 201 in the southern portion of…

Parmachenee Township

Location Map for Parmachenee Township

This township is on the New Hampshire border in northwestern Maine. The name, according to Brian McCauley, is “Abenaki for ‘across the usual path.’ Legend says it was the name of an Indian Chief’s daughter.” The Magalloway River runs southward through it and through the 900+ acre Parmachenee Lake, which extends south into Lynchtown Township.…

Parris, Albion K.

Albion K. Parris (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1788-1857) was born in Hebron, Maine (at that time a part of Massachusetts) on January 19, 1788. He was a cousin of Virgil Delphini Parris also a U.S. U.S. Representative. Albion Parris, a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a Senator from Maine, graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1806; studied law; and was…

Parris, Virgil

Virgil D. Parris, courtesy Maine State Archives

Virgil Delphini Parris (1807-1874), cousin of Albion Keith Parris, was a U.S. Representative; born in Buckfield, February 18, 1807. He attended the common schools, Hebron Academy, and Colby College and was graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1827. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1830, and began his practice…

Parsonsfield

Porter-Parsonsfield Covered Bridge over the Ossipee River (2014)

Kezar Falls, a village on the Ossipee River named for George Kezar, is the largest in the area at the junction of Maine Routes 25 and 160. The community is split between Parsonsfield and Porter across the river, and is governed and taxed separately by the two towns. An early 20th century sanatorium, Maple Crest, was “located among the beautiful Limerick hills, the wild and picturesque outlines of which may be seen in every direction from the building. The view is in itself enough to stimulate the interest and mental activity so important to the cure of all diseases.

Partridge, Donald

(1891-1946), a U.S. Representative, was born in Norway on June 7, 1891, attended the common and high schools and was graduated from Bates College in 1914. He was principal of the high school at Canton 1914-1917, then was elected clerk of the supreme judicial court for Oxford County in 1918 and served from 1919 to…

Passadumkeag

Passadumkeag River from the Railroad Bridge (2012)

The current village of Passadumkeag includes a small residential area east of U.S. Route 2. A community center (in a Quonset building), fire station, historical society, town office, post office, and the Passadumkeag Baptist are all on or near Pleasant Street in this small village.

Patten

The Village from Route 11 Looking North (2006)

has continued its focus on lumbering since early settlement, including its informative Lumberman’s Museum on the Shin Pond Road. The Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church anchors the southern end of the main street. See photos. The small community has witnessed a dwindling population over the past several decades with the loss of jobs in farming, lumbering, and the paper industry. Patten is the northern gateway from Interstate 95 to Baxter State Park.

Payne, Frederick G.

Frederick G. Payne (courtesy of Maine State Museum)

Frederick G. Payne (1904-1978) a Senator from Maine; born in Lewiston on July 24, 1904. He attended the public schools of Lewiston and the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance in Boston. During early school days he worked as a newsboy, usher and doorman in a theater, and as a reporter for a weekly newspaper.…

Peaks Island

An Informal Stone Art Site along Seashore Avenue on Peaks Island

The Island is a City of Portland neighborhood in Casco Bay, accessible by ferry from the terminal on Portland’s waterfront.  The brief trip carries freight, vehicles, bicycles and tourists. Little Diamond Island and Great Diamond Island are just to the west. While the population is about 900, the number of people on this 720-acre island…

Pembroke

"The Square Pembroke, Me." (postcard c. 1905)

The town was noted for its shipbuilding, which began in 1825. By 1860 Pembroke had seven shipyards, though only two survived by the late 19th century. Pembroke’s Leighton Neck extends into Cobscook Bay and is bounded by the broad expanses of the Dennys River and the Pennamaquan River. Reversing Falls State Park is nearby. Beginning in Charlotte’s Pennaquam Lake and extending through Pembroke along the Pennaquam River is the Pennaquam Wildlife Management Area.

Penobscot

Penobscot River entering Penobscot Bay (2003)

The community takes its name from the Penobscot River, which forms its western boundary. See photos. In the late 19th century the town hosted a mining company, four wood-related mills, a meal and flour mill, and several manufacturers of clothing, barrels, carriages, harnesses and other items. Reached from Orland off U.S. Route 1, the town is served by Maine Routes 15, 175 and 199. Northern Bay, a major spur of the Bagaduce River, splits the southern end of the town.

Penobscot County

Map of Maine Counties and Baxter Park

is the thirdlargest in population of the sixteen counties, located in east central Maine, bisected by the Penobscot River and, the newer avenue of transportation, Interstate 95. Formed on April 1, 1816 from the northern part of what was then Hancock County, it later gave up territory to form Piscataquis and Aroostook counties. As with…

Perham

Panoramic View from the north side of Mouse Island Road (2015)

The northern portion is dominated by a section of Maine Public Reserved Land, some of which encompasses the Salmon Brook Lake. A 1,055-acre Ecological Reserve surrounds the lake and wetlands. The 59-mile multi-use Bangor and Aroostook Trail is a located in Perham, Caribou, and other area towns. The trail, formerly a Bangor and Aroostook Railroad corridor, passes along the western side of Salmon Brook Lake Bog in Perham. Located west of Caribou on Maine Route 228. Perham is an agricultural community.

Perham, Sidney

Sidney Perham, governor

(1819-1907) a U.S. Representative, was born in Woodstock on March 27, 1819 where he attended the common schools and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He later became a resident of nearby Paris. A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1854, he served as speaker. A supporter of alcohol prohibition, in 1857 he spoke in…

Perkins, Frances

Frances Perkins Center on Main Street in Damariscotta (2014)

While she was born in Boston, Frances Perkins considered her family’s “Brick House” in Newcastle to be her home. As the National Park Service observed in its National Landmark Nomination document: The Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, is nationally significant as the ancestral home and lifelong summer residence of Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor…