a town in Kennebec County, was incorporated as Sebasticook in 1842. Its name was changed to Benton in 1850 in honor of Missouri Democratic U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Benton Station is a location near the Maine Central Railroad tracks and the Kennebec River. The Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge manages a refuge in Benton. See photos.
a town in York County on the New Hampshire border, incorporated in 1713, named for an old English town in Dorsetshire. Settlements were made as early as 1624. In the mid-1600’s substantial lumbering began and a sawmill was built. In 1660 a group of Friends or “Quakers” sought refuge from persecution and settled here.
one of the oldest villages in western Maine, incorporated in 1796 from Sudbury Canada Plantation. Its name signifies the “House of God,” possibly inspired by its location among the Oxford Hills. The Middle Intervale Meetinghouse was built in 1816. West Bethel village is along a canoe trip route on the Androscoggin River. See photos.
Early settlers from Biddeford in England may have given the area its name. Biddeford was destroyed during Queen Anne’s War, but was resettled beginning in 1714. Lumbering was the major industry until the early 19th century; textiles dominated for 100 years from mid-century. First Irish, then French Canadians came to work in the mills. See photos.
With a long expanse on the southwest shore of Moosehead Lake, the Township stretches from the East Outlet of the Lake, the source of the Kennebec River, to the outskirts of Greenville on the combined Route 6 and 15. The Kennebec in the north moves through the long stretch of Indian Pond,…
The township (T6 R19 WELS) in Somerset County is on the border with Quebec in western Maine. It has no improved roads, but a substantial amount of unimproved roads serving forestry operations. The small Little Southwest Brook rises here and flows northward, finally entering the St. John River in T9 R18 WELS in northern Somerset…
This is not Cedar Lake (an error) This small Bigelow (Township) in Somerset County township in Somerset County encompasses the northern section of the Bigelow Preserve of Maine Public Reserved Land. With no improved roads, access is from Stratton Village along the Old Dead River Road. One is soon at campsites and a trailerable…
located on the Kennebec River, U.S. Route 201, its Main Street, carries visitors to and from Quebec City, and logging trucks bound for paper mills down the River. Until the 1970′s, the Kennebec and other rivers were clogged with logs floating to mills. A private lawsuit ended the practice, returning the resource to the public.
named for Maine politician James G. Blaine, it is a “half-township” town, forming a rectangle only half the size of the typical 6-mile by 6-mile square township. In the heart of potato country, between Bridgewater and Mars Hill on Route 1, the town’s eastern boundary is shared with Canada.
James Gillespie Blaine (1830-1893) was a major political force in Maine and the U.S. Congress. A Representative and a Senator from Maine; he was born in West Brownsville, Washington County, Pa., January 31, 1830. He was graduated from Washington College, Washington, Pa., in 1847, taught at the Western Military Institute, Blue Lick Springs, Kentucky. He…
In the northern portion, the Appalachian Trail crosses the township following Bald Mountain Stream and the Piscataquis River, passing just north of the village, which is near the river and is accessible on the Blanchard Road from Monson village. See maps and photos.
Settled in 1762, its name derives from Blue Hill just north of the town’s main settlement. Blue Hill Falls and East Blue Hill are other settlements. Jonathan Fisher House, on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the town’s major assets. Blue Hill was the original site in 1986 of Northeast Historic Film.
(1818-1887) was born in Methuen, Massachusetts on June 18, 1818. His family was poor and at age eight he went to live with a neighbor, working on his farm and receiving little education. At sixteen he was free to hire himself out as a farm laborer for six dollars a month. In 1835 Bodwell began…
includes Damariscove Island, an early fishing outpost, providing critical food (fish) to the starving Pilgrims. Harvesting the sea is still a significant occupation. Now the Boothbay region is a center of summer tourist activity, with the Boothbay Playhouse and the Railroad Museum. See photos and video.
in Lincoln County incorporated in 1889. It is a major attraction for summer visitors with shops, restaurants, art galleries, marinas, and recreational fishing opportunities. Tours to coastal islands, whale watching, and a safe, engaging harbor are some of the attractions. The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is here. See photos.
TOWN WARRANT ________________ STATE OF MAINE LINCOLN, SS: To P. B. McPhee, Constable of the Town of Boothbay Harbor, in said County of Lincoln: In the name of the State of Maine, yon are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of said Town qualified by law to vote in Town affairs, to meet…
On August 2, 1909, Mr. Edwin A. Grozier, Publisher of the Boston Post, a newspaper, forwarded to the Board of Selectmen in 700 towns* (no cities included) in New England a gold-headed ebony cane with the request that it be presented with the compliments of the Boston Post to the oldest male citizen of the…
Charles Addison Boutelle (1839-1901), a U.S. Representative, was born in Damariscotta on February 9, 1839. He attended the public schools at Brunswick and the Yarmouth. Boutelle adopted the profession of shipmaster. In the spring of 1862 he volunteered and was appointed acting master in the United States Navy. He served in the North and South…
Settled before the Revolutionary War, it is named for James Bowdoin II, a governor of Massachusetts. Typical of early towns, Bowdoin had 15 school houses in 1870; by 2010 it, one elementary school. More than tripled in population since 1970,the still rural town is becoming a commuter community with easy access to Interstate 95. See photos and video.
