Autumn in Maine

Woodland Scene off the Fourth of July Road in Brighton (2016)

Autumn is the season for Maine to show off its varied natural features from the coast to the north woods. Blazing colors from Nature’s palette rival those of the master artist. Captions show the image ID and original size in megapixels: e.g., ID 02100206 1.6 MP. Click to enlarge the images. Morse Mountain Conservation Area…

Kibby Township

Access from Route 27 (2017)

In western most Maine and Franklin County, the Township (also known as T1 R6 WBKP) has no village and virtually no population. Its major economic resource is Kibby Ridge on Kibby Mountain. Logging the forested township is also an economic asset. Maine Route 27 in Chain of Ponds Township provides access to the network of…

T3 R8 WELS

Most of this township  is part of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.  The exception is a portion in its northwest corner around Katahdin Lake, now part of Baxter State Park. The balance of the township is crossed with many miles of unimproved (dirt) roads. The National Monument here is accessible east of Stacyville…

Mayfield Township

Incorporated as a town in 1892, it deorganized in 1937. This township is just north of Brighton Plantation, with Mayfield Corner being the intersection of Routes 16 and 151 and the site of a village in the 19th century. It has private frontage on Otter Pond, Mayfield Pond and Kingsbury Pond. According to a report…

Vienna

Castle Island Area in Vienna at Long Pond from the Castle Island Road (2012)

Year Population 1970 205 1980 454 1990 417 2000 527 2010 570 Geographic Data N. Latitude 44:33:17 W. Longitude 70:00:08 Maine House District 76 Maine Senate District 17 Congress District 1 Area sq. mi. (total)25.4 Area sq. mi. (land) 24.2 Population/sq.mi. (land) 23.6 County: Kennebec Total=land+water; Land=land only Castle Island Area in Vienna at Long…

Surry

Patten Bay near Union River Bay from Route 172 in Surry (2003)

Surry is just southwest of Ellsworth on Maine Route 172 where it crosses Route 176. Once an active fishing, farming and lumbering community, it is now primarily residential with modest tourism and fishing supplementing the local economy. The town’s Newbury Neck extends over six miles from the mainland, a virtual island surrounded by Morgan Bay and Union River Bay.

Porter

Ossipee River in Porter from Routes 25 and 160 (2014)

The main village, Kezar Falls, shares its name with the other half of the community located across the Ossipee River in Parsonsfield, York County. Built in 1876, the two-span 152-foot covered bridge above crosses the Ossipee River. The town, which borders New Hampshire, is served by Maine Routes 160 and 25 (also known as the Ossipee Trail).

New Portland

Bridge over the Carrabassett River in New Portland (2017)

North New Portland hosts Morton’s Country Store, the Community Church, and Chase Memorial Hall. This village lies at the junction of routes 146 and 16, with Gilman Stream, and its Dam, flowing through it. See photos. The Carrabassett River, with its spectacular rocky bed, passes through East New Portland Village and under an arch bridge.

Lovell

Fall Mountain View in North Lovell on Route 5 (2004)

The town is named for John Lovell (or Lovewell), the hero of the Battle of Lovewell’s Pond in 1725, in which he was killed but the remaining Abenaki people abandoned the area. See photos. One of the lodges at Kezar Lake was owned by stage and screen star Rudy Vallee. Center Lovell, in the shadow of Sabattus Mountain, is the primary village, located on the shore of Middle Bay.

Lisbon

Lisbon Falls, on the Androscoggin River, is the largest village; Lisbon Village, on the Sabattus River, is the next largest. See photos. A mill town harnessing the power of these rivers through most of the 20 century, Lisbon’s economy has turned more toward services and light industry as the mills have closed. Stephen King attended high school here.

Kingfield

Now a “four season” recreation center, located half way between the North Pole and the Equator, it is the gateway to Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Area in Carrabassett Valley. See video & photo. Named for Maine’s first governor, the town hosts the Stanly Museum (of Stanley Steamer fame).

Hartford

Lake Anasagunticook on Main Street (Route 140) in northern Hartford is surrounded by seasonal and year-round houses. See photos. Church Street, an extension of Staples Hill Road in Canton, is a rural road with farms, the old school and community church, with access to the southern shore of the Lake. The area was first settled by Edmund Irish in 1788. The J&) Irish Museum is on Route 140.

Chapman

Fall Foliage at Dudley Brook on the West Chapman Road (2014)

a town in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1915 from Chapman Plantation, was settled in the late 1860s. It cooperates with Castle Hill and Mapleton with a common town manager and comprehensive plan. The Haystack Historical Society serves this rural area.

Casco

Songo Lock in Casco (2003)

settled by Europeans in 1771, in Cumberland County, incorporated in 1841, is on the north shore of Sebago Lake. The Songo Lock, built about 1830, linked Long Pond and Brandy Pond with Sebago Lake, allowing boat passage from Harrison to Portland. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author and Bowdoin College graduate was its most prominent resident.

Carthage

in Franklin County incorporated in 1826 has a small but growing population. It has has many pleasant views of the western mountains and several historic buildings. The village of Berry Mills, on the Webb River, has a sawmill, as it did in the 1880s. See photos.

Byron

in Oxford County incorporated in 1833, the village is located on the Swift River nears Coos [CO-oss] Canyon, legendary source of gold and other minerals. This sparsely populated town is served by Maine Route 17 connecting it with the Rumford-Mexico area to the south. See photos.

Buxton

Saco River with old bridge abutments in Buxton (2003)

was settled by men who were survivors of King Philip’s War having been granted allotments of land in what was then Narragansett, Number One. The first permanent settlers arrived in 1750. Named for Buxton in Norfolk, England, it incorporated in 1762. The Buxton Powder House, one of only three War of 1812 powder houses to survive in Maine, was erected on a vote of local citizens. See photos.