Hodgdon

[HOJ-dun] is a town in Aroostook County, incorporated on February 11, 1821 from Hodgdon Plantation, formerly the Groton Academy Grant. It annexed land from Westfield Academy Grant the following year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Hodgdon of Ware, New Hampshire acquired a partial interest in the Westfield Academy Grant in 1802 and a full interest in the Groton Academy Grant in 1805. The earliest recorded settler, Aaron Perly, appeared in 1824.

 

 

 

 

 

State legislator and early 20th century U.S. Representative Ira Greenlief Hersey was born here in 1858. By 2014, reportedly ten Amish families had settled in East Hodgdon, giving new life to this rural area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The substantial portion of the Lt. Gordon Manuel Wildlife Management Area, including the related dam and the Hodgdon Deadwater, lies in the southwestern portion of Hodgdon. The Deadwater had always been a natural flowage, but its size was increased in the 1800’s when John Hodgdon erected a water power dam at Hodgdon Mills. A total of 6,488 acres, including forest land (85 percent), fields (2 percent), and wetlands (13 percent) lies within the Management Area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hodgdon lies just south of Houlton on U.S. Route 1 where the South Branch of the Meduxnekeag River flows north to an eventual outlet in Canada. The town is primarily an agricultural community with farms growing potatoes, a long tradition in Aroostook County, along with other products, including wine.

Form of Government: Town Meeting-Select Board-Manager.

Additional resources

Chadbourne, Ava Harriet. Maine Place Names and The Peopling of its Towns.

Cone, Milo, 1847-1925. Diary of Milo Cone of Hodgdon, Maine, 1905-1919. Presque Isle, Me. University of Maine at Presque Isle. 1997.

Kane, Lisa. Lt. “Gordon Manuel, Old fields and Forests.” Maine Fish and Wildlife. Fall 2009. http://www.maine.gov/ifw/magazine/2009/fall/mefallmag09-web.pdf

Maher, Hilda. Folklore: folk hero John Stockford; legends of Pirate’s Cove; ghost, witch and devil stories; forerunners; jokes and anecdotes; tall tales; George Knox stories. Orono, Me. The Author. 1962.

Scott, Geraldine Tidd. Hodgdon, Maine, 1832-1982: Sesquicentennial Album (Including photographs and stories by Harry Williams; genealogical information on Hodgdon families 1830 to 1900). North Windham, Me. Pioneer Heritage Publications. c1982. Portland. Seavey Printers.