Passadumkeag

Passadumkeag River from the Railroad Bridge (2012)

The current village of Passadumkeag includes a small residential area east of U.S. Route 2. A community center (in a Quonset building), fire station, historical society, town office, post office, and the Passadumkeag Baptist are all on or near Pleasant Street in this small village.

Oxbow

Panoramic View North from Oxbow Road (2008)

Virtually all of the plantation’s population is located along the Oxbow Road, leading West from Maine Route 11. See photos. Aroostook River through the area make shapes similar to oxbows, the harness that keeps oxen attached to their loads. The western end of the Oxbow Road is marked by the “Oxbow Checkpoint,” an entry point to the North Maine Woods, most of which is privately owned.

Northfield

Location Map for Northfield

This sparsely populated, but growing community, is blessed with water resources including Bog Lake, Fulton Lake, the lower portion of Long Lake, and the winding upper reaches of the Machias River. See map. The main village lies on Maine Route 192 about ten miles north of Machias. A small settlement, Smith Landing, lies on the Machias River in the south of the town. Blueberries are the main crop produced in the old fields and harvested much the same way as in early times. Timber harvesting continues both privately by individuals and commercially by paper companies.

Margaretta

Map: 1785 Survey of Machias Bay

On May 9, 1775, Captain James Moore sailed the British warship, the Margaretta, into Machias harbor with news of the battles of Lexington and Concord. The vessel had traveled to Maine to insure that a load of lumber was delivered for the British army’s barracks in Boston. In response the people of Machias erected a…

Long Island

Town of Long Island Community Center (2018)

is a town in Cumberland County incorporated in 1992, the first new town in Maine since 1925, from an island in Casco Bay once a part of Portland. See map. It has several beaches, harbors, a fresh water marsh, and a 125 acre conservation area. In addition to the post office, there is one year-round store, and a store and a gift shop open seasonally. A “guest house” is also open all year. The village is at the southwestern end with the town office, community center, library, and a K-5 school.

Legislature, House of Representatives

Maine House Chambers (2006)

  The Maine House of Representatives, on of the two houses of the Maine Legislature, contains 151 voting members elected from as many House Districts. House members are assigned to Joint Standing Committees, as are members of the Senate, to hear and recommend proposed legislation.   Both House and Senate districts are reapportioned every ten…

Greenleaf, Moses

Moses Greenleaf Map of the District of Maine…1815

(1777-1834) was a geographer and one who believed that Maine’s economic and civil success would be best supported by a clear understanding of its geographic, economic, and demographic resources. He became know as “Maine’s First Mapmaker.” [Click each map to see more detailed images from the Osher Map Library.] Born in 1777 in Newburyport, Massachusetts,…

Glenburn

Model Village of Glenburn on the Sparkle Pond Road in Glenburn (2014)

The town is becoming a major suburb of the Bangor area with population expanding nearly four-fold in the 40 years 1970-2010, and growing 16 percent 2000-2010. Glenburn’s school contains the public library. See photos. In Penobscot County, it was incorporated in 1822 under the name of Dutton, changed to Glenburn in 1837. Dutton held a major interest in the original township, became a Judge of Probate and a founder of Bangor Theological Seminary.

Garfield

North Maine Woods Checkpoint on American Realty Road in Garfield Plantation (2015)

has had population loss from 1970 through 2010. Realty Road runs east-west across the northern portion beginning at the Ashland town line. A hunting camp and lodge, and a section of Maine Public Reserved Land, are here. See map. Aroostook County’s Machias River flows through the plantation to join the Aroostook River in Ashland.

Millinocket

This 1912 building was the Great Northern Paper Co. administration building. Later mill owners used it for offices until just before the mill

The Great Northern Paper Mill and the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad have been keys to the economic life of Millinocket for many years. See photos. The declining employment in the paper industry contributed to the steady loss of population over the past forty years – 42%. Millinocket is the gateway to Baxter State Park and its famed Mount Katahdin.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes in Maine, Maine Geological Survey

in Maine have been relatively mild since the reported “big one” on November 18, 1755, which was felt widely across New England and did great damage in Massachusetts. On April 20, 2002 people in Maine felt their houses shaking at 6:50 a.m. when a quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale struck, the strongest in…

Dixfield

Webb River entering the Androscoggin in Dixfield Village (2013)

Dr. Elijah Dix bought the town (and Dixmont); his granddaughter was social reformer Dorothy Dix. See video and photos. Inventor Leonard Norcross was a resident in the early 19th century. The town town in Oxford County incorporated in 1803.

Crystal

in Aroostook County, organized as a plantation 1878 and incorporated 1901. Its Thousand Acre Bog is considered one of Maine’s “Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance.” See map. A pedestrian trail from Patten to Sherman winds through the bog.

Columbia

Location Map For Columbia

in Washington County, incorporated 1796, is home to the “Great Heath” and the Pleasant River as it winds itself toward Columbia Falls. Natural resources drove the economy: logging, saw mills, fishing, boat building, bean farming and blueberries. See map and photos. U.S. Route 1 cuts the southeast corner of this small but growing community, bucking the trend of population loss in much of Washington County.

Castine

In 1629 the British authorized a trading post at what was then Pentagoet. The post was destroyed by the French in 1631 and in 1634. Two forts are among the many historic sites. Maine Maritime Academy, and its training ship are located in the town.

Canoe Trips

Canoe trips can range from several days in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway or on the Androscoggin, Kennebec, or Penobscot Rivers, to pleasant day trips often close to home. Here are few samples of accessible canoeing in Maine. (Click the film strips.) Also visit our partners in Maine Rivers and Ridge for more canoe trips and…

Camden

The village, at the foot of Mt. Battie, is at Camden Harbor on Penobscot Bay and U.S. Route 1. In 1880 the first summer cottages were built and and a flood of seasonal and semi-permanent residents began. The Opera House hosts many cultural events, including the Camden Conference and the Camden Film Festival. Edna St. Vincent Millay graduated from high school here. See video and photos.

Bowerbank

Skidder with baloon tires and chains at logging operation on Plum Creek land in Bowerbank (2010)

Bowerbank village has substantial frontage on Sebec Lake. The Montreal, Maine, and Atlantic Railway tracks span the northern portion of the township, eventually arriving at Brownville Junction. The large Maine landowner Plum Creek has substantial ownership in Bowerbank. Harvesting the forests with modern machinery is a spectacular sight. See video and map.

Baxter, James Phinney

James Phinney Baxter, courtesy Maine State Museum

(1831-1921) moved to Portland from Massachusetts with his family when he was nine years old. He had a varied education in academies around Portland and Lynn, Massachusetts, including classical and legal training. Baxter, in partnership with William G. Davis, established dry goods and wholesale businesses which prospered and led to their founding the Portland Packaging…