Bridges may be classified by several factors: span, travel, form, and material. Five basic forms are arch, beam, cable-stayed, suspension, and truss. Of course, each form may serve several uses, including road vehicles, railroads, and pedestrians. Here are some examples in Maine. Bridge Forms The brief discussion of the basic forms below only begins to…
The township [also known as T7 R11 NWP] is home to First and Second Little Lyford Ponds, an Appalachian Mountain Club lodge on the site of an historic logging camp, and an extensive section of the Appalachian Trail. The ponds and lodge are east of Greenville following…
Prior to the mid-1970’s, blue mussel harvests in commercial fishing were relatively low. Since then harvests appear to follow cycles, with higher yields in the late 1980’s, the mid-1990’s and the mid-2000’s. Higher total values followed a similar trend. “Whole pounds” in the table below refers to mussels in the shell, as does “price/lb.” Mussel…
In the decade from 1964 through 1974, harvests were relatively high and total value was low. Since then harvests had been lower and prices moderate until 2001 when values doubled and remained high through 2011. Bloodworms, often used as fish bait in commercial fisheries, are one of several marine worms found in Maine. YEAR…
Benedicta is located in southern Aroostook County. It was established as a plantation on February 1, 1873 with a population of about 400. Just over one-hundred years later, in 1987, it surrendered its plantation status and became an unorganized township administered by the State. By 1970 it had reached a historic low of…
[T8 R10 NWP] is located immediately east of Greenville, accessible from that town’s East Road, then the K1 Road which travels through the township to Gulf Hagas. The K1 road is private and travelers must stop at the North Maine Woods Hedgehog checkpoint on the way to Little Lyford Ponds and Katahdin Iron Works. See…
Maine’s oldest educational institution, Berwick Academy, was established here in 1791 when the town was part of Berwick. See photos. South Berwick is the birthplace of Sarah Orne Jewett, who attended Berwick Academy for four years — her only formal education. The town is accessible to the coastal communities of York and Kittery via Maine Routes 91 and 236.
The trail to West Peak on Baldpate Mountain begins at the parking lot in Grafton Notch State Park. Located in Grafton Township on Route 26 in Oxford County, this part of the Appalachian Trail resumes at a small kiosk. The hiker moves through the woods for a short distance, then crosses the road to pick…
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.
are the largest of rodents. They have flat, scaly tails, and large front teeth. Beavers use their teeth to cut down and dismember small trees to use in construction projects: their homes (lodges) and dams to surround their lodges with water. Access to the lodges is underwater, so most bothersome animals cannot get in. They…
The Blaine House is the official residence of Maine’s governors since 1919 and a National Historic Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located on the corner of State and Capitol streets in Augusta, it was built in the Federalist style in 1833, just a year after the State House, across the street,…
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…
(1752-1804) was a wealthy and influential Philadelphia banker and a financier during the Revolutionary War, a United States Senator, and an owner of great tracts of land in Maine, once totaling two million acres. He was also the founder of the country’s first Bank in 1781. In 1786 he secured the Bingham Purchase, in two…
Publications A Volunteer Poilu (1916) Full Speed Ahead (1919) Firelight Fairy Book (1919) Starlight Wonder Book (1921) The Living Age (Editor, 1921) Book of Gallant Vagabonds (1925) The Sons of Kai (1926)The Outermost House (1928) Herbs and the Earth (1935) American Memory (1937) Five Bears and Miranda (1939) The Tree that Ran Away (1941) Chimney…
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.
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.
on the Sebasticook River, lies between Pittsfield and Clinton, is home to Pride Manufacturing, a wood products company. Burnham Junction marks the intersection of the Maine Central with the northern terminus of the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad. See photos.
in Penobscot County, incorporated in 1832. The township was first settled in 1824, probably by Tristam Hurd who donated the name “Hurd Ridge” to the area. Saponac Lake, in the south, is from the Indian word for “the big opening.” Lumbering and agriculture have been the main occupations, with little manufacturing.
in Hancock County was settled in 1762. Jed Prouty’s Tavern and Inn, no longer operating, was a stop for the Bangor to Castine stage route. The paper mill (once St. Regis, then Champion, then Verso) dominates the north end of town and is across the Penobscot River from Fort Knox. Northeast Historic Film, a moving image archives, research and education center is located here. See photos.
in Oxford County, incorporated in 1793. Buckfield village, within a few hundred yards has the public library, two veterans memorials, Masonic Temple, Odd Fellows Building, Post Office, and a general store. A short distance away is the Community Church, the Community Center and Town Offices, and the Fire Department. See photos.