St. George

In a park near the town office, St. George and the dragon reenact their famous battle. See photos. The Fort St. George’s memorial is nearby.St. George was the site of granite quarries and was the birthplace of the Granite Cutters Union in 1877, the first in the state’s history. The town may be better known by some by its villages of Port Clyde, at the southern tip of its long peninsular, and Tenants Harbor.

St. John

Location Map for St. John

With the St. John River as its northern boundary, the town is located nearly at the end of Maine Route 161, a dead end road that travels west from Fort Kent to serve the small communities along the River. The Plantation has several modest sized lakes, including Wallagrass Lakes (Lakes 1 and 2) in the southeast, Wheelock Lake in the northeast, and Hunnewell Lake in the west. It hosts two lots of Maine Public Reserved Lands totaling 1,167 acres.

Stacyville

Mount Katahdin and Hunt Mountain from Swift Brook Road in Stacyville (2017)

Its main village is Sherman Station on the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad line and Maine Route 11 just across the town line from the Town of Sherman. Stacyville Village is in the southwest of the township; Siberia village is in the center on the Grindstone Road. That portion of Route 11 in Sherman Station Village serves as the “Main Street” for the town, with community buildings and businesses.

Standish

Daniel Marrett House (one of several historic buildings) in Standish, on East Ossippee Trail (2018)

Named in honor of Captain Miles Standish, the military leader of the Plymouth Colony, the town has a very long shoreline on Sebago Lake in its southwest corner, including its Lower Bay. See photos. In the 19th century, the Oxford-Cumberland Canal allowed passage of boats from Harrison to Portland. Steep Falls was a thriving village historically, with its excellent water power on the Saco River and the railroad station in its midst. Both a recreational area and suburb of Portland, the town is served by six Maine highway routes.

Starks

The New Vineyard Mountains from Route 43 (2003)

A farming town, Starks once boasted a canning factory to which farmers would bring corn, squash, pumpkins, and other produce each fall. See photos. The “corn shop,” as it was known, closed in 1964. The now abandoned Grange Hall was the site of many community dances and socials at least through the 1950’s. The winding Sandy River, the site of several ferry crossings, constitutes the town’s eastern boundary. A small chapel is located near an old cemetery on the River Road.

State Budget by Department

Maine State Budget by Department 2010-2011

The nearly $8 billion State budget for the fiscal year 2010-2011 allocated over 46% of its funds for Human Services, and 17% for education, accounting for 63% of the total budget.  That amounted to about $3.7 billion for health and human services. It also includes $1.4 billion in the form of General Purpose Aid to…

State Budget by Department 2014-2015

Major State Agencies accounted for 98.7 percent of the total State budget. The $8 billion budget for the major agencies in fiscal year 2014-2015 allocated 47% of its funds for Human Services, 21% for education, and 9% for Transportation. Health & Human Services $3,769,766,585 Transportation Department $678,279,421 Administration & Finance $373,112,863 Labor Department $312,440,538 Defense,…

State Employees

State Employees as Percent of Population and Non-Farm Employment

As a result of budget constraints, Maine had fewer state employees in 2010 than it had thirty years ago in 1980. The number funded from state income and sales taxes (the General Fund) represents less than .5% (one-half of one percent) of the state’s population. The number of people employed by all funds (General, Highway,…

State Government Budget

State Expenditures by Fund 1997-2011

Maine state government has, in some ways, not expanded as much as many people think. From 2007 through 2011 the average increase in expenditures from state funds was 1.3% per year. Including federal funds, the increase was 2.7% per year, driven by the red “hump” in the chart above. Over the past three decades, the…

Stetson

Road to Stetson Shores Campground (2014)

Just 20 miles northwest of Bangor and adjacent to Newport, the town is a growing, but still rural community. Settled in 1800, it was soon organized as a plantation for election purposes. The post office opened in 1829. In the 1880’s Stetson was home to three sawmills, a grist mill, Stetson Cheese Factory, and a carriage factory.

Stetson, Charles

Charles Stetson (1801-1863) a U.S. Representative, was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire on November 2, 1801. He moved with his parents to Hampden in 1802, attended Hampden Academy and was graduated from Yale College in 1823. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and began his practice in Hampden in 1826. He was…

Steuben

Veterans

This Washington County fishing and summer residential community projects two peninsulas (Dyer Neck and Petit Manan Point) divided by Dyer Bay into coastal waters. See photos. A small section of Penobscot Indian Territory is located at Dyer Harbor on Dyer Neck. The main village lies at the head of Gouldsboro Bay on U.S. Route 1.

Stockholm

Named for the Swedish capital, the village lies on the Little Madawaska River, just off Maine Route 161 and just north of New Sweden, also part of the Colony. The village, essentially off the main highways, is not “on-the-way” to anywhere. This small community, with a continued significant reliance on agriculture and a declining population, still supports three churches: Catholic, Baptist, and Lutheran.

Stockton Springs

Penobscot Bay from the small museum at Fort Point (2007)

The town lies at the junction of U.S. Routes 1 (east to Bucksport) and 1A (north to Bangor). See photos. Fort Point is a peninsular, just north of Sears Island, that extends almost to the center of Penobscot Bay at its northerly reaches. British Governor Pownall built Fort Pownall there in 1759. Fort Point State Park marks the southern end of Fort Point Cove. Sandy Point Beach is at the northern reach of the cove.

Stoneham

Log cottages at Camp Susan Curtis at Trout Lake in North Lovell (2004)

Though named for the Massachusetts town of the same name, the stony landscape also reflects its title. An excellent mountain climbing region, it is located near the New Hampshire Border in the White Mountain National Forest. East Stoneham is the principal village. The town is home to Camp Susan L. Curtis, named for the daughter of the former Governor. The closest Maine Route is number 11 where, at North Lovell, one may venture into Stoneham’s secondary roads.

Stonington

The Village at the Harbor (2003)

ts name implies the great granite quarries, four of which were developed after 1870 and supplied material for many buildings in New York City and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Fishing and, increasingly, summer residences provide the mainstay of the local economy. Stonington consistently lands more lobsters than any other port in the State.

Stow

Cold River in Stow (2014)

Stow borders New Hampshire, which may be reached by Maine Route 113 north from Fryeburg. It was once the home of the Pequawket Indians, who traveled the Pequawket Trail to Biddeford Pool during the summers to fish and gather shellfish. The Cold River enters the state in Stow and flows south through most of this narrow north-south shaped town.

Stratton

Stratton is a village in the town of Eustis. It is the main village with a small commercial area and civic facilities, including the town office, fire department, library, and post office. The Oramendal Blanchard House, home to the local sawmill owner in the late 19th century, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Strong

Canoe on the Shore of the Sandy River in Strong (2013)

The main village is located about eleven miles north of Farmington on a big bend in the Sandy River at the junction of Maine Routes 4, 145, 149 and 234. Maine’s Republican Party was founded here on August 7, 1854 by a coalition of anti-slavery Democrats, other Democrats, and Whigs.