settled originally as early as 1623, but Indian raids precluded a permanent presence. Reportedly named for Dr. Peter Bowdoin, an early proprietor, it occupies the western shore of Merrymeeting Bay. The Cathance River runs through it and into the Bay. A fast growing community, Bowdoinham has attracted commuters and retirees to its still rural open spaces. See photos.
According to the Oxford English Reference Dictionary “magic” may mean “an inexplicable or remarkable influence producing surprising results.” For hikers of the Appalachian Trail it means relief from the weary, but rewarding, trek for many miles for many days. Sometimes it comes in the form of drinks planted in a cold stream on the trail.…
The Golden Road, privately owned and mostly unpaved, extends from Millinocket west over 100 miles to the Quebec border at township T5 R20 WELS, a four hour trip. It was established in the 1970’s as a transportation conduit for raw wood to feed the hungry Great Northern Paper Company mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket.…
Stratton is a village in the town of Eustis. It is the main village with a small commercial area and civic facilities, including the town office, fire department, library, and post office. The Oramendal Blanchard House, home to the local sawmill owner in the late 19th century, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
West Forks lies north of the Dead River and west of the Kennebec just above where the two rivers combine at The Forks. See photos. The heavily forested area with a small and dwindling population is bisected by U.S. Route 201 on its way north to Jackman, then to the Province of Quebec.
Three sections of Maine Public Reserved Lands totaling 1,204 acres are located on the west side of U.S. Route 201.
The main village (see photos) lies on the shore of Keoka Lake, and State Routes 35, 37 and 118 provide easy access to lakesides, and to the larger communities to the south. The Artemis Ward House commemorates the birthplace of Charles Farrar Browne, the 19th century humorist. North Waterford, at the junction of Routes 35 and 118, is home to the town’s fairgrounds. The general store there provides gas and basic groceries.
In addition to Alamoosook Lake, the town hosts Craig, Heart and Toddy ponds, and the State’s Craig Brook Fish Hatchery. See video and photos. Located just east of Bucksport, Orland is a growing community, whose old village center is located on the Orland River, where the old village school and the general store are located. H.O.M.E., a crafters’ cooperative was established by Sister Lucy Poulin in 1970.
is home to Unity College, a small liberal arts institution in a rural setting where the Common Ground Country Fair is held each fall. See photos. The main village is at the south end of the 2,528-acre Unity Pond, also known as Lake Winnecook.
Port Clyde is a village in St. George at the southern tip of its long peninsular. Port Clyde has long been an attraction to artists, including N. C. Wyeth, and tourists, who can take the ferry to Monhegan Island, visible in the distance. It is a base for lobster fishing and fin fishing. The village…
This is an unorganized township in Penobscot County just east of the north entrance to Baxter State Park. It is the gateway to that portion of the Park by way of the Grand Lake Road from Shin Pond along its southern boundary. The eastern portion of Grand Lake Matagamon dominates the western portion of…
Named for the Swedish capital, the village lies on the Little Madawaska River, just off Maine Route 161 and just north of New Sweden, also part of the Colony. The village, essentially off the main highways, is not “on-the-way” to anywhere. This small community, with a continued significant reliance on agriculture and a declining population, still supports three churches: Catholic, Baptist, and Lutheran.
Located just south of Greenville on Maine combined Routes 6 and 15, its main village, Shirley Mills (see photos), grew up around early 19th century clapboard and saw mills, using water from the Piscataquis River. Along the east side of the pond, the B&A Railroad North Road runs north along the river. It was created from the old rail bed.
Maine Route 11 moves up from Sanford through the villages of Emery Mills, Shapleigh, and North Shapleigh near the lake shores. See photos. Shapleigh Woods, managed by The Nature Conservancy, is a 265-acre nature preserve.
Several villages dot the towns landscape: North, East, and West Sebago; and Sebago Center; among others. See photos. The village of East Sebago hosts the town’s elementary school, veterans memorial park, and public library. Along with its substantial shoreline on the Lake, the town has a hiking trail to the summit of the 1392 foot Douglas Mountain, with a nature preserve overlooking the Lake.
The main village is located on the St. George River and is adjacent to Quantabacook Lake. See photos. The town is served by Maine Routes 3, 131 and 173 and lies about ten miles southwest of Belfast. In 1925 the first international radio broadcast was relayed from Belfast through Searsmont and on to New York City.
The main village is located at the head of the large, well protected, Jordan Bay on the shore of Sebago Lake. Adjacent Raymond Neck extends over four miles into the Lake to form the Bay. Raymond’s “welcome” sign entices fishing enthusiasts to the “Home of the Landlocked Salmon,” which inhabit the lake. Nathaniel Hawthorne spent summers at his mother’s home.
Bradbury Mountain State Park offers picnicking, a modest walk to the summit, and a historic cattle pound. See video and photos. “Pineland Center ” is a community of non-profits and local businesses. Most of the town is rural residential, with homes and a few farmhouses widely spaced along the local roads. The few commercial establishments are clustered in Pownal Center Village.
Named for Commodore Oliver H. Perry, a naval hero of the War of 1812, the town was incorporated even as the British still held Eastport only six miles away. Perry is the gateway, via Maine Route 190, to the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation located withing the town, and to the City of Eastport. Boyden Lake dominates the northwest portion of the town, while the southwest has miles of protected coves approaching Cobscook Bay.
has continued its focus on lumbering since early settlement, including its informative Lumberman’s Museum on the Shin Pond Road. The Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church anchors the southern end of the main street. See photos. The small community has witnessed a dwindling population over the past several decades with the loss of jobs in farming, lumbering, and the paper industry. Patten is the northern gateway from Interstate 95 to Baxter State Park.
Located just north of Ellsworth, the town is dominated by Floods Pond and Beech Hill Pond, with several smaller ponds and streams mixed in. See photos. The small, old cemetery and the working forest symbolize Otis’ past and present as a sparsely populated, wooded area off the major highways.