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.
in potato country north of Houlton, it is split by U.S. Route 1 and borders Canada on its east. See photos. It is home to Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum. Watson Settlement Bridge, built in 1911, is the oldest surviving Howe Truss system in a Maine covered bridge. The Littleton Esker is west of U.S. Route 1 just north of the Littleton-Houtlon town line.
In the 19th century, it was a magnet for summer visitors to Parmachene Lake, a hunting and fishing resort. See photos. The southern end of Aziscohos Lake offers campsites and fishing in the area known as Wilsons Mills. The Aziscohos Dam spills water into the Magalloway River. A 93-foot Covered Bridge, built in 1901 has been closed to traffic since 1985.
Lewiston Falls, on the Androscoggin River between downtown Lewiston and neighboring Auburn, its “twin” city, was a fishing source for Native Americans. Recently, a park has been developed at the site of the falls, known as Great Falls, and one of the old mills, now a housing complex, that once thrived on its power. The great demand for manufacturing labor in the 19th century drew large numbers of French speaking people from Canada and northern Maine. From 1970 to 2000 the city’s population was again in decline. In 2010 it grew by about 1,000. This time another ethnic group, Somali refugees, were instrumental in the recent growth.
While not as important to the local economy as it was in the 19th Century, farming still thrives in some areas of the community. Amid the farms of rural Leeds, the DeCoster mill, on a railroad line in North Leeds, dominates the landscape. The east shore of Androscoggin Lake brings several miles of shore frontage to the community in the northeast corner, including Stinchfield Beach. The Androscoggin River forms the western boundary separating Leeds from Turner.
in York County serves as the gateway to Maine from points south with its old and more modern bridges spanning the Piscataqua River. See video & photos. The federal government established the Navy Yard in 1806. The 74-gun ship Washington was the first vessel built there in 1815. The town’s long history is partially illustrated by the substantial list of historic sites.
Settled in 1783, Industry’s main villages are Allens Mills, at the southern end of Clearwater Pond, and West Mills. The mills produced wood and leather products, tools and flour. See photos. Goodridge Corner school, the “little red schoolhouse,” is the home of the town’s historical society.
Att the junction of the Piscataquis River with the Penobscot, and Seboeis Stream with the Piscataquis, it once had a thriving paper mill, The Advance Bag and Paper Company. See photos. The old mill remains empty. Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife supervises the Old Pond Farm Wildlife Management Area featuring eagles, osprey, deer, moose, and water birds.
Just 10 miles northwest of Biddeford-Saco, the town was the summer home of Kate Douglas Wiggin, author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm among others. See photos. Her house is now the library. Wildfires of 1947 wiped out many historic homes, so only about 20% of all houses are older 50 years. The village with most commercial development is Hollis Center, with restaurants, gasoline stations, a food market and other service businesses. Poland Spring bottling plant was the only substantial industrial use in Hollis as of 2004.
Historically a collection of small villages, some on islands, the closest to a town center is the town office and the recycling center on the Mountain Road. See photos. Its population doubles in summer as seasonal residents return. Several easy hiking trails and nature preserves are at hand. A historic park is at Harpswell Center.
The Piscataquis River flows through the main village with neighboring Sangerville, formed with some land from Guilford, on the southern shore. The town was long a center for textile production. The late 20th century was marked by fires, floods, and economic instability, but the early 21st century opened with efforts at renewal with a river festival and downtown revtlalization.
a town in Oxford County, incorporated in 1777 on the site of an Indian settlement known as Pequawket. See photos. Daniel Webster was a teacher at Fryeburg Academy in 1802. Native American Molly Ockett was born about 1740 into the Pigwacket tribe. The Battle of Lovewell’s Pond was one long day in 1725, during which the leader of the white volunteers, Captain Lovewell, was slain along with the Indian leader Pangus.
Named for the German city, and bombed by the British in 1814, Frankfort was once a shipbuilding community on the Penobscot River. Granite cutting and shipping was an important industry up to the early 20th century. Mount Waldo supplied the product and Marsh Bay, in the Penobscot River, provided the means of shipping it.
named for General Henry Knox, is located in the town of Prospect in Fort Knox State Park on the banks of the Penobscot River across from Bucksport. The British controlled this area of the Maine coast during the War of 1812 and during the tensions surrounding the Aroostook War in 1838, the area felt threatened…
in York County, settled in the 1630s, on the east side of the Piscataqua River dividing Maine from New Hampshire, is a growing residential community serving Kittery and Portsmouth. See photos. Its population expanded by almost 12% in the 1990-2000 decade. Eliot was home to Maine’s first Quaker Meetinghouse built in 1776.
in Washington County, incorporated 1826. Benjamin Foster built a house here in 1765 and served in the Revolutionary War. Washington Academy, a private boarding school serving grades 9-12, was established in 1792 and is one of the oldest academies in Maine. See photos.
formed in 1895, a small but fast growing community, it contains two public lots and a four-season trail system. It is adjacent to Rangeley, and near the Rangeley Lakes and the Saddleback ski areas.
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.
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.
Since the demise of textile and shoe manufacturing, Brunswick has become a service center for the region and a residential community for commuters to the greater Portland area. With Bowdoin College, Maine State Music Theater, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, Pejepscot Historical Society, and many historic buildings, it is a powerful cultural magnet. AMTRAK service to Boston resumed in 2012. The town has a 66 mile ocean shoreline and 12 miles along the Androscoggin River.