Eagle Lake

Eagle Lake in Eagle Lake (2018)

settled 1840’s by Acadian-French and Irish immigrants, it was named for the many eagles at the Lake by a Major Strickland during the Aroostook War. Eagle Lake spawns the Fish River, which empties into the St. John River at Fort Kent. See photos. It is the birthplace and residence of former Maine House Speaker John L. Martin.

Corinth

Inside the wood pellet mill in Corinth (2010)

in Penobscot County, incorporated in 1811. In 1886 it had three saw-mills, three shingle, one stave, two planing and two grist mills, one cheese-factory, one carriage and sleigh factory. Recently, Corinth Wood Pellets mill has taken advantage of this new form of heating fuel. Its population has had steady growth 1970-2010.

Clinton

is a town in Kennebec County, incorporated under the name Maine in 1848. The following year, the confusing address “Maine, Maine” was changed. Across the Kennebec River from Hinckley lies the Pishon Ferry area, now served by a modern bridge. A small white church overlooks the river. See photos.

Burnham

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.

Bradford

Fine House and Barn on the Storer Road [Route 155] in Bradford (2014)

Bradford is a rural community with no lakes or mountains. In the early 20th century, Bradford Corner hosted an auto garage and wagon shop and Kingsbury’s Store, which housed a post office. A blacksmith had his shop where the library now sits. See photos.

Benton

a town in Kennebec County, was incorporated as Sebasticook in 1842. Its name was changed to Benton in 1850 in honor of Missouri Democratic U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Benton Station is a location near the Maine Central Railroad tracks and the Kennebec River. The Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge manages a refuge in Benton. See photos.

Acton

Historic 1884 Lincoln One-Room School Interior (2014)

is a town in York County, incorporated on March 6, 1830; it ceded land to Shapleigh in 1831. It was part of a much larger tract of land in purchased in 1661 by Francis Small from Chief Sunday of the Newichawannock Tribe. Settled in 1776, the town’s first mill, a grist mill, was built on the Salmon Falls River in 1779 by Joseph Parsons.

Bangor

Bangor Downtown near the West Market Square Historic District (2001)

When Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820, the vast Maine timberlands were put on the block for speculation, which drew investors and fortune hunters. By the 1830s, Bangor was building 500 structures annually. Dow Air Force Base provided an economic and civic boost during the Cold War until closing in 1968. The creation of Bangor International Airport turned the potential liability into an asset.