Castine, Maine
Encyclopedia
Castine is a town
in Hancock County
, Maine
, United States
and was once the capital of Acadia
(1657–1667). The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine
and marine related industries. Approximately 850 students are enrolled. During the French colonial period, Castine was the southern tip of Acadia
and briefly served as the capital of the region. During much of the 17th century, Castine was the most southern settlement of Acadia. (Bristol, Maine
was the most northern New England
settlement.) The town is named after Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
.
Abenaki Indians
, Castine is one of the oldest towns in New England
, predating the Plymouth Colony
by seven years. Situated on Penobscot Bay
, it is near the site of Fort Pentagouet, which many consider to be the oldest permanent settlement in New England. Few places in New England have had a more tumultuous history than Castine—which proclaims itself the "battle line of four nations."
Its commanding position at the mouth of the Penobscot River
, a lucrative source of furs and timber
, as well as a major transportation route into the interior, made the peninsula occupied by the present-day town of Castine of particular interest to Europe
an powers in the 17th-century. Majabagaduce (as the Indian name would be corrupted) changed hands numerous times with shifting imperial politics. At one time or another, it was occupied by the French
, Dutch
and England
's Plymouth Colony
.
The Castine peninsula appears on a 1612 chart submitted to King Henry IV of France
by Samuel de Champlain
, who called it the Pentagoët Peninsula. As part of Henry's program to defend Acadia
, Castine was founded in the winter of 1613, when Claude de Saint-Etienne de la Tour
established a small trading post
to conduct business with the Tarrantine Indians (now called the Penobscots).
After the trading post was established at Castine, a raid by English captain Samuel Argall
at Mount Desert Island
in 1613 signaled the start of a long-running dispute over the boundary between French Acadia to the north and the English colonies to the south. There is evidence that de La Tour immediately challenged the English action by re-establishing his trading post in the wake of Argall's raid. Captain John Smith
charted the area in 1614 and referred to French traders in the vicinity. In 1625, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
erected a fort named Fort Pentagouet. English colonists from the Plymouth Colony
seized it in 1628, and made it an administrative outpost of their colony. Colonial Governor William Bradford personally traveled there to claim it.
In 1635, it was retaken by the French and again incorporated into Acadia; Governor Isaac de Razilly
sent Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
de Charnisay to retake the village. In 1638, d'Aulnay built a more substantial fort named Fort St. Pierre. Emmanuel Le Borgne
with 100 men raided the settlement in 1653. Major General Robert Sedgwick
led 100 New England volunteers and 200 of Oliver Cromwell
's soldiers on an expedition against Acadia in 1654. Before taking its capital Port Royal
, Sedgwick captured and plundered the French settlement at Pentagouet. The English occupied Acadia for the next 16 years.
In 1667, after the Treaty of Breda brought peace, French authorities dispatched the Baron Jean-Vincent de St. Castin
to take command of Pentagouet. The baron married an Abenaki woman, the daughter of the sachem
Modockawando. She adopted the French name Mathilde and bore him 10 children. Castine soon became a force in colonial trade and diplomacy.
In 1674, Pentagouet and other Acadian ports were captured by the Dutch privateer Jurriaen Aernoutsz
, beginning the Dutch Occupation of Acadia
. The Dutch turned the fort's cannon on its own walls and destroyed most of it after the second siege
. Castin himself retook it in 1676 and renamed the town Bagaduce, a shortened version of Majabagaduce. Castin's settlement was plundered by English Governor Sir Edmund Andros
in 1688. In response, Castin led an Abenaki war party to raid the English settlement at Pemaquid (present-day Bristol, Maine
) in August 1689. In 1692 the village was again seized by the English, when Major Benjamin Church destroyed the fort and looted the settlement. With the return of Baron Castin and his sons to France
, the settlement became sparsely occupied.
During Queen Anne's War
, in response to the French Raid on Deerfield in February 1704, New England Colonel Benjamin Church raided Castin's settlement (then known as Penobscot) before moving on to raid other Acadian villages at present-day St. Stephen, New Brunswick
, Grand Pré
, Pisiguit
(present-day Windsor, Nova Scotia
), and Chignecto
. St. Castin's daughter was taken in the raid.
, which secured English title to North America
, the unoccupied lands along the Maine coast were opened to settlement by Massachusetts
colonists. By the late 1760s, farmer
s, artisan
s, and small traders were beginning to take title to properties in and around "Major Baggadoose." Though the fur trade was long dead, the region's abundant fisheries
and timber attracted not only entrepreneurs, but also the attention of the British government, which was always on the lookout for store to supply its growing navy. Bagaduce was especially valuable for supplying timber
suitable for masts
on British warship
s.
on one of the highest points of the peninsula. Alarmed by this incursion, the Massachusetts legislature
dispatched what became known as the Penobscot Expedition
. The military expedition consisted of a fleet of 19 armed vessels and 24 transports, carrying 344 guns, under Dudley Saltonstall
, and a land force of about 1,200 men, under Gen. Solomon Lovell, seconded by Gen. Peleg Wadsworth
. Col. Paul Revere
was given charge of the ordnance.
Although badly outnumbered, British soldiers of the 74th Regiment of Foot
(Argyle Highlanders), managed to repel American attacks for nearly three weeks. In mid-August, British reinforcements appeared at the head of the bay. The Americans eventually abandoned the fight and retreated up the Penobscot River, destroying their entire fleet along the way to keep it out of British hands. The failed Penobscot Expedition
, which cost the revolutionaries eight million dollars, proved to be the greatest American naval
defeat until Pearl Harbor
in 1941. The 74th Regiment held Majabagaduce until the end of the war, when it was ceded to the Americans as part of the peace settlement. Saltonstall and Revere were later court-martial
ed, charged with cowardice and insubordination; the boards found Saltonsall guilty, but acquitted Revere.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, many American Loyalists in the area migrated eastward to the Canadian
Maritimes
, some towing their houses behind their boats. Subsequently known as United Empire Loyalists
, they crossed the newly established international boundary line
of the St. Croix River
and established St. Andrews, one of the oldest towns in New Brunswick
. In addition, many soldiers of the 74th chose to be disbanded in St. Andrews (last muster May 24, 1784), and took up land grants there along with the Loyalists, rather than return to Britain.
, and Brooksville
. On February 10, 1796, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed an act which separated Penobscot into the towns of Castine and Penobscot. Castine held its first town meeting on April 4, 1796.
, from his base in Halifax, Nova Scotia
, in August and September 1814, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
sent a naval force and 500 British troops in another "Penobscot Expedition". In 26 days, they suceeded in taking possession of Hampden, Bangor
, and Machias, destroying or capturing 17 American ships. They won the Battle of Hampden
(losing two killed while the Americans lost one killed) and occupied the village of Castine for the rest of the war. The Treaty of Ghent
returned this territory to the United States. The British left in April 1815, at which time they took 10,750 pounds obtained from tariff duties at Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used in the establishment of Dalhousie University
, in Halifax
, Nova Scotia
.
and coastal trading
. By the 1820s, it had become a major entrepot
for American fishing fleets on their way to the Grand Banks
. It also prospered from the lumber
industry, in which eastern Maine dominated the rest of the country before the Civil War
. During this period of growth and prosperity, many of the handsome Federal and Greek Revival style mansions that still grace the village's streets were constructed.
But Castine declined after the Civil War. Its fleet, which once sailed the globe, now carried coal
, firewood
, and lime
to coastal ports, competing with railroads and steamships. Ambitious young people sought their fortunes elsewhere. The Hancock County seat moved to Ellsworth
in 1838.
By the 1870s, however, Castine's quaint old architecture and cool summer air attracted "rusticators" -- well-to-do urban families seeking rest and recreation. Its charms also drew cultural luminaries, including Harriet Beecher Stowe
and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
, whose writings romanticized its past. By the 1890s, wealthy families from Boston, Hartford
and Chicago were buying up old farms and sea captains' houses. Hotels and inns opened as Castine became a flourishing summer colony. Since 1867, it had been site of the Eastern State Normal School.
But in the 1930s, Castine reached its economic nadir. The Great Depression
and the automobile had killed off the hotel trade, the steamship lines that had linked coastal towns and islands, and the local fishing industry. Its fortunes did not revive until the 1960s, with the rediscovery of the town's charms by a new generation of summer people.
By the 1980s, many of the old hotels previously in disuse had reopened. The harbor, almost entirely empty in the 1950s, filled with luxury yacht
s. Castine was discovered by wealthy retirees willing to brave the rigors of winter in Maine, prompting some cynics to dub the town: "New Canaan
-by-the-Sea."
Castine has a number of historic sites and parks (including the ruins of British earthworks at Fort George), a deep water harbor (with tie-ups for small boats beyond the current of the Penobscot and Bagaduce rivers), a non-exclusive club offering golf, tennis and yachting facilities, restaurants, and four churches (Episcopal
, Roman Catholic, Congregational and Unitarian Universalist). In addition, the town has a public library, an historical society, and the Wilson Museum
, a institution featuring exhibits of anthropological, natural and local artifacts. Castine's streets are lined with Cape
and other antique style houses, and shaded by large elm
s which are replaced with disease-resistant
strains when they succumb. Opened in 1814, the Castine Post Office is the oldest in continuous operation in the United States.
, the town has a total area of 20 square miles (51.8 km²), of which 7.8 square miles (20.2 km²) is land and 12.2 square miles (31.6 km²) (60.98%) is water. Castine is drained by the Bagaduce River
estuary
.
The town is crossed by state routes 166 and 166A. Situated on a peninsula in Penobscot Bay
, Castine is bordered by the town of Penobscot
to the northeast, Brooksville
across the Bagaduce River to the southeast, and near Islesboro
to the southwest.
of 2000, there were 1,343 people, 372 households, and 222 families residing in the town. The population density
was 172.2 people per square mile (66.5/km²). There were 649 housing units at an average density of 83.2 per square mile (32.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.10% White, 0.67% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.22% from other races
, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population.
There were 372 households out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples
living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.69.
In the town the population was spread out with 10.3% under the age of 18, 41.9% from 18 to 24, 15.0% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 186.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 196.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $46,250, and the median income for a family was $65,500. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $30,893 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $20,078. About 3.2% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in Hancock County
Hancock County, Maine
Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 54,418. Its county seat is Ellsworth. It was incorporated on June 25, 1789...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was once the capital of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
(1657–1667). The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
and marine related industries. Approximately 850 students are enrolled. During the French colonial period, Castine was the southern tip of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and briefly served as the capital of the region. During much of the 17th century, Castine was the most southern settlement of Acadia. (Bristol, Maine
Bristol, Maine
Bristol is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,644 at the 2000 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S. National...
was the most northern New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
settlement.) The town is named after Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin was a French military officer serving in Acadia and an Abenaki chief. He is the father of two prominent sons who were also military leaders in Acadia, Bernard-Anselme and Joseph...
.
Contested territory
Called Majabigwaduce by TarrantineTarrantine
The Tarrantines were a tribe of Native Americans inhabiting northern New England, particularly coastal Maine. The name Tarrantine is the word the Massachusett tribe used to refer to the Abenaki people....
Abenaki Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, Castine is one of the oldest towns in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, predating the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
by seven years. Situated on Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
, it is near the site of Fort Pentagouet, which many consider to be the oldest permanent settlement in New England. Few places in New England have had a more tumultuous history than Castine—which proclaims itself the "battle line of four nations."
Its commanding position at the mouth of the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
, a lucrative source of furs and timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, as well as a major transportation route into the interior, made the peninsula occupied by the present-day town of Castine of particular interest to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an powers in the 17th-century. Majabagaduce (as the Indian name would be corrupted) changed hands numerous times with shifting imperial politics. At one time or another, it was occupied by the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
.
The Castine peninsula appears on a 1612 chart submitted to King Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
by Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
, who called it the Pentagoët Peninsula. As part of Henry's program to defend Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
, Castine was founded in the winter of 1613, when Claude de Saint-Etienne de la Tour
Claude de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Claude de Saint-Étienne de la Tour was born in the province of Champagne, France and came to Acadia in 1610 after suffering heavy losses as a ship's captain....
established a small trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
to conduct business with the Tarrantine Indians (now called the Penobscots).
After the trading post was established at Castine, a raid by English captain Samuel Argall
Samuel Argall
Sir Samuel Argall was an English adventurer and naval officer.As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the new English colony of Virginia, based at Jamestown, and made numerous voyages to the New World...
at Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island , in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it is actually second...
in 1613 signaled the start of a long-running dispute over the boundary between French Acadia to the north and the English colonies to the south. There is evidence that de La Tour immediately challenged the English action by re-establishing his trading post in the wake of Argall's raid. Captain John Smith
John Smith of Jamestown
Captain John Smith Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania and friend Mózes Székely...
charted the area in 1614 and referred to French traders in the vicinity. In 1625, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour
Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour, the French King's appointed Governor of Acadia from 1631–1642 and again from 1653–1657, was born in France in 1593 and died at Cap de Sable in 1666...
erected a fort named Fort Pentagouet. English colonists from the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
seized it in 1628, and made it an administrative outpost of their colony. Colonial Governor William Bradford personally traveled there to claim it.
In 1635, it was retaken by the French and again incorporated into Acadia; Governor Isaac de Razilly
Isaac de Razilly
Isaac de Razilly was a member of the French nobility appointed a knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem at the age of 18. He was born at the Château d'Oiseaumelle in the Province of Touraine, France. A member of the French navy, he served for many years during which he played an important...
sent Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
Charles de Menou d'Aulnay
Charles de Menou d'Aulnay was a pioneer of European settlement in North America and Governor of Acadia .-Biography:D'Aulnay was a member of the French nobility who was at various times a sea captain, a lieutenant in the French navy to his cousin Isaac de Razilly, and Governor of Acadia...
de Charnisay to retake the village. In 1638, d'Aulnay built a more substantial fort named Fort St. Pierre. Emmanuel Le Borgne
Emmanuel Le Borgne
Emmanuel Le Borgne was the governor of Acadia 1657–67 and was the claimant to the estate of Charles de Menou d'Aulnay who had governed Acadia at a previous time....
with 100 men raided the settlement in 1653. Major General Robert Sedgwick
Robert Sedgwick
Major General Robert Sedgwick was an English colonist, born 1611 in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, and baptised on May 6, 1613.-Biography:...
led 100 New England volunteers and 200 of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's soldiers on an expedition against Acadia in 1654. Before taking its capital Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
, Sedgwick captured and plundered the French settlement at Pentagouet. The English occupied Acadia for the next 16 years.
In 1667, after the Treaty of Breda brought peace, French authorities dispatched the Baron Jean-Vincent de St. Castin
Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin was a French military officer serving in Acadia and an Abenaki chief. He is the father of two prominent sons who were also military leaders in Acadia, Bernard-Anselme and Joseph...
to take command of Pentagouet. The baron married an Abenaki woman, the daughter of the sachem
Sachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
Modockawando. She adopted the French name Mathilde and bore him 10 children. Castine soon became a force in colonial trade and diplomacy.
Jurriaen Aernoutsz
Jurriaen Aernoutsz was a Dutch colonial navy captain, who briefly captured a section of the French colony of Acadia in 1674 AD, establishing the brief Dutch Occupation of Acadia....
, beginning the Dutch Occupation of Acadia
Dutch Occupation of Acadia
The Dutch Occupation of Acadia began when the Dutch naval captain Jurriaen Aernoutsz seized several settlements of Acadia, a part of the French colonial empire in northeastern North America, in 1674. Areas briefly occupied included coastal towns along the shores of Maine and New Brunswick, two...
. The Dutch turned the fort's cannon on its own walls and destroyed most of it after the second siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
. Castin himself retook it in 1676 and renamed the town Bagaduce, a shortened version of Majabagaduce. Castin's settlement was plundered by English Governor Sir Edmund Andros
Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an English colonial administrator in North America. Andros was known most notably for his governorship of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. He also governed at various times the provinces of New York, East and West Jersey, Virginia, and...
in 1688. In response, Castin led an Abenaki war party to raid the English settlement at Pemaquid (present-day Bristol, Maine
Bristol, Maine
Bristol is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,644 at the 2000 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S. National...
) in August 1689. In 1692 the village was again seized by the English, when Major Benjamin Church destroyed the fort and looted the settlement. With the return of Baron Castin and his sons to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the settlement became sparsely occupied.
During Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, in response to the French Raid on Deerfield in February 1704, New England Colonel Benjamin Church raided Castin's settlement (then known as Penobscot) before moving on to raid other Acadian villages at present-day St. Stephen, New Brunswick
St. Stephen, New Brunswick
St. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at .-Climate:...
, Grand Pré
Raid on Grand Pre
The Raid on Grand Pré was the major action of a raiding expedition conducted by New England militia Colonel Benjamin Church against French Acadia in June 1704, during Queen Anne's War...
, Pisiguit
Pisiguit
In the Minas Basin of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia, the settlement of Grand-Pré grew eastward towards the Pisiquid River. This settlement became known as Pisiguit or . Pisiguit came from the Mi'kmaq term Pesaquid, meaning "Junction of Waters". It became so large that it was viewed as...
(present-day Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
), and Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
. St. Castin's daughter was taken in the raid.
British colony
At the end of the French and Indian WarFrench and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, which secured English title to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, the unoccupied lands along the Maine coast were opened to settlement by Massachusetts
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in North America. It was chartered on October 7, 1691 by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England and Scotland...
colonists. By the late 1760s, farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
s, and small traders were beginning to take title to properties in and around "Major Baggadoose." Though the fur trade was long dead, the region's abundant fisheries
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
and timber attracted not only entrepreneurs, but also the attention of the British government, which was always on the lookout for store to supply its growing navy. Bagaduce was especially valuable for supplying timber
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
suitable for masts
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
on British warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s.
American Revolution
In early July of 1779, nearly three years after the American Patriots had declared independence from Britain, a British naval and military force under the command of General Francis McLean sailed into Castine's commodious harbor, landed troops, and took control of the village. They began erecting Fort GeorgeFort George (Castine, Maine)
Fort George was an earthworks fort built by the British during the American Revolutionary War to provide safety for British ships and loyalists in the area. The roughly 3-acre remains of the fort are located on the Bagaduce Peninsula in the town of Castine, Maine.The British dug a defensive canal...
on one of the highest points of the peninsula. Alarmed by this incursion, the Massachusetts legislature
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
dispatched what became known as the Penobscot Expedition
Penobscot Expedition
The Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor...
. The military expedition consisted of a fleet of 19 armed vessels and 24 transports, carrying 344 guns, under Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall was an American naval commander during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known as the commander of the naval forces of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster, with all ships lost...
, and a land force of about 1,200 men, under Gen. Solomon Lovell, seconded by Gen. Peleg Wadsworth
Peleg Wadsworth
Peleg Wadsworth was an American officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Wadsworth was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to Peleg and Susanna ...
. Col. Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
was given charge of the ordnance.
74th Regiment of (Highland) Foot
The 74th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment raised to fight in the American Revolution. In December 1777, John Campbell of Barbreck received letters of service from King George III to raise a regiment of infantry in the county of Argyll for service in the regular army...
(Argyle Highlanders), managed to repel American attacks for nearly three weeks. In mid-August, British reinforcements appeared at the head of the bay. The Americans eventually abandoned the fight and retreated up the Penobscot River, destroying their entire fleet along the way to keep it out of British hands. The failed Penobscot Expedition
Penobscot Expedition
The Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor...
, which cost the revolutionaries eight million dollars, proved to be the greatest American naval
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
defeat until Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in 1941. The 74th Regiment held Majabagaduce until the end of the war, when it was ceded to the Americans as part of the peace settlement. Saltonstall and Revere were later court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed, charged with cowardice and insubordination; the boards found Saltonsall guilty, but acquitted Revere.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, many American Loyalists in the area migrated eastward to the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Maritimes
Maritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
, some towing their houses behind their boats. Subsequently known as United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
, they crossed the newly established international boundary line
Canada-United States border
The Canada–United States border, officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest border in the world. The terrestrial boundary is 8,891 kilometers long, including 2,475 kilometres shared with Alaska...
of the St. Croix River
St. Croix River (Maine-New Brunswick)
The St. Croix River is a river in northeastern North America, in length, that forms part of the Canada – United States border between Maine and New Brunswick . The river rises in the Chiputneticook Lakes and flows south and southeast, between Calais and St. Stephen...
and established St. Andrews, one of the oldest towns in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. In addition, many soldiers of the 74th chose to be disbanded in St. Andrews (last muster May 24, 1784), and took up land grants there along with the Loyalists, rather than return to Britain.
Incorporation
In 1762, the Provincial General Court granted the land designated as Township Number Three, commonly known as Majorbigwaduce or Majabigwaduce, to a group of proprietors. After some disputes concerning the proprietors' claims to the land, the General Court of Massachusetts recognized Township No. 3 and incorporated it as the Town of Penobscot in 1787. Penobscot then included what are now the towns of Castine, PenobscotPenobscot, Maine
Penobscot is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The Bagaduce River runs through the town. The population was 1,344 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, and Brooksville
Brooksville, Maine
Brooksville is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 934. It contains the villages of North Brooksville, South Brooksville , West Brooksville, Brooksville Corner, and Harborside .-History:It was first settled by John Wasson, Samuel Wasson and...
. On February 10, 1796, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed an act which separated Penobscot into the towns of Castine and Penobscot. Castine held its first town meeting on April 4, 1796.
War of 1812
During the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, from his base in Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, in August and September 1814, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
John Coape Sherbrooke
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean , and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811.His active defense of the colony during the War of 1812...
sent a naval force and 500 British troops in another "Penobscot Expedition". In 26 days, they suceeded in taking possession of Hampden, Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, and Machias, destroying or capturing 17 American ships. They won the Battle of Hampden
Battle of Hampden
The Battle of Hampden, though a minor action of the War of 1812, was the last significant clash of arms in New England, in this instance, in the District of Maine . It represented the end of two centuries of violent contest over Maine by surrounding political units...
(losing two killed while the Americans lost one killed) and occupied the village of Castine for the rest of the war. The Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
returned this territory to the United States. The British left in April 1815, at which time they took 10,750 pounds obtained from tariff duties at Castine. This money, called the "Castine Fund", was used in the establishment of Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
, in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
1820-1960
With the growth of the postwar economy, the town became a prosperous place: the seat of Hancock County and a center for shipbuildingShipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
and coastal trading
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. By the 1820s, it had become a major entrepot
Entrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
for American fishing fleets on their way to the Grand Banks
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
. It also prospered from the lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
industry, in which eastern Maine dominated the rest of the country before the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. During this period of growth and prosperity, many of the handsome Federal and Greek Revival style mansions that still grace the village's streets were constructed.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, firewood
Firewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
, and lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
to coastal ports, competing with railroads and steamships. Ambitious young people sought their fortunes elsewhere. The Hancock County seat moved to Ellsworth
Ellsworth, Maine
Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2010 Census determined it had a population of 7,741. Ellsworth was Maine's fastest growing city from 2000-2010 with a growth rate of nearly 20 percent...
in 1838.
By the 1870s, however, Castine's quaint old architecture and cool summer air attracted "rusticators" -- well-to-do urban families seeking rest and recreation. Its charms also drew cultural luminaries, including Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
, whose writings romanticized its past. By the 1890s, wealthy families from Boston, Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
and Chicago were buying up old farms and sea captains' houses. Hotels and inns opened as Castine became a flourishing summer colony. Since 1867, it had been site of the Eastern State Normal School.
But in the 1930s, Castine reached its economic nadir. The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the automobile had killed off the hotel trade, the steamship lines that had linked coastal towns and islands, and the local fishing industry. Its fortunes did not revive until the 1960s, with the rediscovery of the town's charms by a new generation of summer people.
1980s-2000s
A key element in the town's revival has been the expansion of the Maine Maritime Academy. Established in 1941 to train merchant seamen, by the 1980s the Academy offered a range of courses in engineering, management, transportation, and nautical and ocean science. Its campus, once the home of the Eastern State Normal School, features a library (available to the public) and extensive athletic facilities.By the 1980s, many of the old hotels previously in disuse had reopened. The harbor, almost entirely empty in the 1950s, filled with luxury yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s. Castine was discovered by wealthy retirees willing to brave the rigors of winter in Maine, prompting some cynics to dub the town: "New Canaan
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
-by-the-Sea."
Castine has a number of historic sites and parks (including the ruins of British earthworks at Fort George), a deep water harbor (with tie-ups for small boats beyond the current of the Penobscot and Bagaduce rivers), a non-exclusive club offering golf, tennis and yachting facilities, restaurants, and four churches (Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, Roman Catholic, Congregational and Unitarian Universalist). In addition, the town has a public library, an historical society, and the Wilson Museum
Wilson Museum
The Wilson Museum is a museum in Castine, Maine, USA. It was founded using the collection of Dr John Howard Wilson, a geologist.Wilson lived in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Nantucket during his youth. He arrived at Castine in 1891 with his mother, Cassine Cartwright Wilson...
, a institution featuring exhibits of anthropological, natural and local artifacts. Castine's streets are lined with Cape
Cape Cod (house)
A Cape Cod cottage is a style of house originating in New England in the 17th century. It is traditionally characterized by a low, broad frame building, generally a story and a half high, with a steep, pitched roof with end gables, a large central chimney and very little ornamentation...
and other antique style houses, and shaded by large elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
s which are replaced with disease-resistant
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease is a disease caused by a member of the sac fungi category, affecting elm trees which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease has been accidentally introduced into America and Europe, where it has devastated native...
strains when they succumb. Opened in 1814, the Castine Post Office is the oldest in continuous operation in the United States.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 20 square miles (51.8 km²), of which 7.8 square miles (20.2 km²) is land and 12.2 square miles (31.6 km²) (60.98%) is water. Castine is drained by the Bagaduce River
Bagaduce River
The Bagaduce River is a tidal river in the Hancock County, Maine that empties into Penobscot Bay near the town of Castine. From the confluence of Black Brook and the outflow of Walker Pond , the river runs about north, northwest, and southwest, forming the border between Brooksville on its left...
estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
.
The town is crossed by state routes 166 and 166A. Situated on a peninsula in Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
, Castine is bordered by the town of Penobscot
Penobscot, Maine
Penobscot is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The Bagaduce River runs through the town. The population was 1,344 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
to the northeast, Brooksville
Brooksville, Maine
Brooksville is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 934. It contains the villages of North Brooksville, South Brooksville , West Brooksville, Brooksville Corner, and Harborside .-History:It was first settled by John Wasson, Samuel Wasson and...
across the Bagaduce River to the southeast, and near Islesboro
Islesboro, Maine
Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 603 at the 2000 census. It is a well-known summer colony accessible by ferry from Lincolnville Beach 3 miles to the west, or by air taxi service...
to the southwest.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,343 people, 372 households, and 222 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 172.2 people per square mile (66.5/km²). There were 649 housing units at an average density of 83.2 per square mile (32.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.10% White, 0.67% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.22% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population.
There were 372 households out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.69.
In the town the population was spread out with 10.3% under the age of 18, 41.9% from 18 to 24, 15.0% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 186.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 196.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $46,250, and the median income for a family was $65,500. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $30,893 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $20,078. About 3.2% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
Notable people
- Philip BoothPhilip BoothPhilip Edmund Booth was an American poet and educator; he has been called "Maine's clearest poetic voice."-Life:...
, poet, educator - Noah BrooksNoah BrooksNoah Brooks was a journalist and editor who worked for newspapers in Sacramento, San Francisco, Newark, and New York, and authored a major biography of Abraham Lincoln based on close personal observation. Born in Castine, Maine, he moved to Dixon, Illinois in 1856, where he became involved in the...
, journalist, biographer - Carl Ferdinand CoriCarl Ferdinand CoriCarl Ferdinand Cori was a Czech biochemist and pharmacologist born in Prague who, together with his wife Gerty Cori and Argentine physiologist Bernardo Houssay, received a Nobel Prize in 1947 for their discovery of how glycogen – a derivative of glucose – is broken down and...
, biochemist - Peter DavisPeter Davis (director)Peter Frank Davis, born January 2, 1937, is an American filmmaker, author and journalist.-Biography:Davis was born in Santa Monica, and grew up in Upland and Pacific Palisades, CA. His parents were the screenwriters Frank Davis and Tess Slesinger, and after his mother's death in 1945, Isabelle Fair...
, Academy Award–winning film director - Mary DewsonMary DewsonMary Williams Dewson was a feminist and political activist.She was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1874. She attended three private schools, including the prestigious Dana Hall School, before entering Wellesley College, from which she graduated as a social worker in 1897...
, activist - Germain DoucetGermain DoucetGermain Doucet, Sieur de La Verdure , in France, was a French commander in the French colony of Acadia., and the progenitor of the surnames Doucet and Doucette in North America.Doucet's career began when he entered into an association with Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, noted seaman, captain, and...
, military officer - David HallDavid Hall (recorded sound archivist)David Hall is a sound archivist and writer.-Early life:Hall's parents were Fairfax and Eleanor Raeburn Hall. He married Bernice Dobkin on June 8, 1940. Their children are Marion Hall Hunt, Jonathan Hall, Peter Dobkin Hall, and Susannah Hall.-Education:After graduating from Phillips Exeter...
, sound archivist - Elizabeth Hardwick, writer, literary critic
- Robert LowellRobert LowellRobert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress where he served from 1947 until 1948...
, poet - Mary McCarthyMary McCarthy (author)Mary Therese McCarthy was an American author, critic and political activist.- Early life :Born in Seattle, Washington, to Roy Winfield McCarthy and his wife, the former Therese Preston, McCarthy was orphaned at the age of six when both her parents died in the great flu epidemic of 1918...
, novelist - Don McLeanDon McLeanDonald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
, singer and songwriter - Bernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-CastinBernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-CastinBernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin was a French military officer serving in Acadia. He was a member of a successful privateering force at the time of Queen Anne's War, and led native and French forces in the defense of Acadia.- Biography :...
, military officer - Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-CastinJean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-CastinJean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin was a French military officer serving in Acadia and an Abenaki chief. He is the father of two prominent sons who were also military leaders in Acadia, Bernard-Anselme and Joseph...
, military officer - Joseph d'Abbadie de Saint-CastinJoseph d'Abbadie de Saint-CastinJoseph d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin was a French military officer serving in Acadia. He was also an Abenaki chief. His father was Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin and Joseph's brother was Bernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin....
, military officer - Claude de Saint-Etienne de la TourClaude de Saint-Étienne de la TourClaude de Saint-Étienne de la Tour was born in the province of Champagne, France and came to Acadia in 1610 after suffering heavy losses as a ship's captain....
, trader - Richard RosenRichard RosenRichard Rosen is an American politician and businessman. Rosen is a Republican State Senator from Maine's 31st District, representing part of Penobscot and Hancock counties, including the population centers of Bucksport and Brewer. He was first elected to the Maine State Senate in 2004 after...
, State Senator - Hezekiah WilliamsHezekiah WilliamsHezekiah Williams was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born near Woodstock, Vermont. Pursuing higher education, he graduated from Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire in 1820...
, congressman