On March 4, 1808 Freeman was organized as a town. In 1823 is set off land to form North Salem (now Salem Township. Ten years later it set off more land to New Portland. By 1838, during the Great Depression, it surrendered its organization and reverted to become an unorganized township in in Franklin County.…
Maine contains an estimated 17.5 million acres of forest land in 2015. The acreage of forest land has been quite stable since 1960, covering more than 89 percent of the State’s total land area. The number of live trees greater than 1 inch in diameter is approaching 24.4 billion trees. Total timberland estimates reveal the…
Mushrooms and Fungi Mushrooms are fungi (plural of fungus), but not all fungi are mushrooms. There are about 99,000 fungi species, including yeasts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms. Some mushrooms a poisonous! Do not eat wild mushrooms unless you are certain they are safe. None of the mushrooms noted or referenced here have been vetted for…
Berries Strawberries Strawberries are a high value crop in Maine agriculture with net profit potential of $6,000 or more per acre. The number of farms raising strawberries and the acreage dedicated to them increased substantially in recent years, with more demand for locally grown fresh fruit. Strawberries are the most widely grown small fruit crop…
As I turned out the light in my office, a small wink of another light flickered back at me. This firefly is a Maine native. Strangely, these “flies” are actually flying beetles. They use their lighting abilities in summer to attract mates by mixing certain chemicals in their bodies. Fireflies in some other states have…
South Freeport is on the broad Harraseeket River leading to Casco Bay. Once a shipbuilding center, it now hosts the town’s public wharf, a marina, a boatyard, and the Harraseeket Yacht Club. Winslow Park on the Bay provides recreation and camping opportunities.
The average weight of a male red fox is about 12 lbs; females are slightly smaller. They become sexually mature at 10 to 11 months. They breed annually from December through March. The average litter, born during March and early April, contains 5 pups. Both parents take part in raising the pups. Family groups stay…
Forest City Township in eastern Washington County was created as a plantation on February 15, 1887 from a portion of the town of Eaton. Eaton no longer exists as a town since its remaining portion was annexed to Danforth. Eaton village in Danforth sits at the southeastern shore of the four-mile long Crooked Brook Flowage…
This unorganized township northeast of Greenville is probably best known for the village of Kokadjo and First Roach Pond. The village is at the north end of the pond, which is wholly contained within the township. Kokadjo is short for Kok (kettle) Wadjo (mountain) pegwasebem (lake); together “Kettle Mountain Lake.”* …
This forested, rural unorganized township in Hancock County has few residents and no major village. Fletchers Landing is a small village on Graham Lake, a large water body north of Ellsworth.
This species of the commercial fishery has a post-1950 history familiar to many others: moderate or low production, then a spike with several years of substantial landings, then a crash followed by a forced closure to rebuild the stock. It appears that once the good landings created a wide market, the price per pound moved…
The boom and bust cycle of winter flounder landings by commercial fishermen has “busted” after a peak in 1982. With the scarcity, price per pound had been climbing until the fishery was closed in 2007. No landings have been recorded since then. According to NOAA’s FishWatch program, Heavy fishing pressure and habitat destruction caused winter…
The Maine Folklife Center collected interviews (recorded on paper and audio and moving image media) from the 1960’s until early in the 21st Century. Founded by University of Maine professor Edward “Sandy” Ives and located at the university, the Center had its support severely limited in recent years. The collection and access to it was…
(1834-1931) made her mark in history by being the first botanic artist in the “Garden of Maine.” The “Posey-Woman,” as she was called by the French Canadians in upper Maine, was determined to collect, classify, and draw all the plants of Maine. Her self-appointed life task resulted in over 4000 sheets of dried plants and…
(1808-1876) a U.S. Representative was born in Hardwick, Caledonia County, Vermont, March 17, 1808. He attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the bar and began his practice in Calais. Elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1857), Fuller was chairman of the…
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.
William Frye (1830-1911) a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator, grandfather of Wallace Humphrey White, Jr., was born in Lewiston on September 2, 1830. He attended the public schools in Lewiston and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1850; studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Rockland in 1853. He returned to…
The Island once had been governed by a semi-autonomous village corporation. It is primarily a summer vacation home destination. See photos. The Frye Island Ferry operates between the end of Raymond Neck, in the town of Raymond, to the ferry dock on the island. Vehicles, supplies, and people make the trip in about fifteen minutes every half hour.
Settled in 1750, its boat building heritage began soon after and became best known for its specialty – the Friendship Sloop. See photos. The town, whose islands extend far out into Muscongus Bay, hosts the Friendship Sloop Races each summer, organized by the Friendship Sloop Society. The harbor, with its wharfs, moorings, and public landing, is a central economic and social focal point for the community.
in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1869 under the name Dickeyville. The name was change to Frenchville in 1871 in recognition of the French-Acadian population of the town. Its northern border is with Canada along a great bend in the St. John River. A potato farming community, it has lost population over the past three decades. The Frenchville Historical Society’s “Caboose” is part of a railroad station full scale exhibit.