in Aroostook County, is at the mouth of the Allagash River as it enters the St, John. Large in area, small in population, hunting and camping is an economic asset. The Allagash River flows through the town and is the tenth longest in the State. At 69 miles, it drains 1,240 square miles in northern Maine. Across the St. John lies the small Canadian town of Connors.
is a town in Washington County named for Alexander Baring (Lord Ashburton) the British envoy who, along with Daniel Webster, settled Maine’s northern boundary with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. It contains Barrows and Pleasant lakes, and has substantial frontage on Meddybemps Lake.
First settled in 1790, probably by Congregational minister Daniel Lovejoy, Albion, in Kennebec County, is the birthplace of Elijah Parish Lovejoy, son of Daniel and a fearless journalist and opponent of slavery. A plaque to Lovejoy, who was murdered for his beliefs, rests outside the town library.
Settled in 1772, known as Brookfield, Seven Mile Brook Plantation, and Titcomb Town, it is named for British Lord George Anson. In 1775, Benedict Arnold’s expedition camped at Norridgewock Falls, near the current town office.
The village straddles a bend in the Kennebec River at the junction of Maine Routes 8 and 139, and U.S. Routes 2 and 201A. See photos. The Sandy River empties into the Kennebec in the town. Benedict Arnold’s expedition passed through in 1775. Norridgewock was the home of author Rebecca “Sophie May” Clark, and U.S.Representatives Cullen Sawtelle and Stephen D. Lindsey.
The site of many mills in its history, its largest has been a paper mill at the dam where U.S. Route 201 crosses the Kennebec River from Anson. Until the end of the log drives in 1976, the river was often choked with pulp logs destined for this mill and others. The Lakewood Summer Theater, opened in 1901 in East Madison. Benedick Arnold passed through on his way to Quebec.
Recorded as Skwahegan in early reports, the name means “watching place for fish,” drawn from the falls in the Kennebec River that harbored salmon. See photos. Local Indians speared them as they attempted to scale the falls. Textile and shoe manufacturing were major employment options for local residents during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Once home to Camp Modin, a camp for Jewish boys and girls until 1992, Lake George Regional Park is split between Skowhegan and Canaan.
Winslow is on the east side of the Kennebec River, across from Waterville, on Routes U.S. 201 and Maine routes 32, 100, 100A, and 137. See photos. A reconstructed blockhouse of Fort Halifax, which incorporates many original timbers, stands on the fort’s original site.
has sufficient space to support farming as well as serving as a residential area for people working in Augusta and Waterville. See video and photos. Benedict Arnold stopped here to obtain a canoe on his way to Quebec. Site of Oak Grove Seminary in 1844, then Oak Grove Coburn school in 1970, then the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in 2001.
The Reuben Colburn House in Pittston, Maine is the site of one of the original settlements in Maine. Built in 1765, it was one of the first on the east side of the Kennebec River in an area later known locally as Colburntown. See photos. The house and carriage house is now owned by the Arnold Expedition Society. The village of East Pittston is located on the Eastern River near the town line with Whitefield. Route 194 serves the village and the Pittston Fair Grounds nearby.
is site of the 1761 Pownalborough Courthouse, the first built in Maine, visited by future President John Adams, Daniel Webster, and Benedict Arnold on his way to Quebec. The Earle R. Kelley Wildlife Management Area and the Dresden Bog are here in the area first settled in 1752.
The main village is located on the west side of the Kennebec River, just south of Gardiner on Maine Route 24, where the river splits to form Swan Island. See photos.Benedict Arnold’s expedition, having first landed at Swan Island in the river across from the town, passed by the remnants of Fort Richmond. The town has a substantial collection of grand houses, including several Greek Revival specimens. Peacock Beach State Park is near the historic Peacock Tavern on U.S. Route 201.
is the marker for dividing East Penobscot Bay from West Penobscot Bay. It includes North and South Islesboro connected by a narrow segment of land, See chart and photo. Seven Hundred Acre Island, Job Island. The 129 acres of forested Warren Island hosts a state park with a dock and moorings. Grindel Point Light Station in Gilkey Harbor on Islesboro was established in 1850.
is a town in Washington County, located primarily on Beals and Great Wass Islands, along with more than a dozen others. The Great Wass Archipelago nature preserve, in Beals and Jonesport, is managed by The Nature Conservancy.
in Hancock County, incorporated 1830, requires ferries or water taxis to access. The 200 acre cranberry marsh on Great Cranberry Island influenced Governor Bernard in 1762 to name the town as it is. Little Cranberry hosts the Islesford Historical Museum; The Baker Island and Bear Island light stations provide navigation assistance near Acadia National Park. See map.
Settled in the early 1800s, the island had a population of 19 in 1820, when fishing and some logging sustained the community. Other than for a period of pulpwood harvesting, few roads were constructed outside Lunt Harbor. See amateur film, video and photos. While many Maine islands struggle to maintain a critical mass of population, Frenchboro experienced a substantial reversal of three decades of decline when the 2010 U.S. Census confirmed sixty-one people as resident.
John Steinbeck on Deer Isle: “There is something about it that opens no door to words.” Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge links the island to the mainland. See photos. The town, in Hancock County and incorporated 1789, includes nature preserves and 77 coastal islands. .
Samuel de Champlain apparently named it in 1604 from the French for “high island.” About half the island is incorporated into Acadia National Park. Isle au Haut is both a lobstering community and a retreat for seasonal cottage owners. It has also been home to author-fisherman Linda Greenlaw.
The island town is home to two nature preserves, both managed by the Nature Conservancy. See photos. Granite quarrying was an important industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries, both on the main island and on nearby Hurricane Island, which is in the town of Vinalhaven. Now a community of summer residents and Maine residents, it is accessible by the State Ferry Service, which provides transportation, for passengers and vehicles, to and from Rockland.
[shuh-BEEG-iland] is a town in Cumberland County, incorporated on July 1, 2007 after separating from the mainland town of Cumberland. In doing so, it joined its neighbor Long Island as another new town in Casco Bay. The 2000 census recorded the population at 356; in 2010 it was 341. The town consists of…