Hanover, Maine
Encyclopedia
Hanover is a town in Oxford County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 251 at the 2000 census. The town is a popular vacation and recreation area.
, Massachusetts
. Phineas Howard from Temple
, New Hampshire
purchased from Massachusetts
in 1792 the unoccupied land in the township, including Howard's Pond. The community became known as Howard's Gore. Combined with a portion of Bethel
separated by the Androscoggin River
, it then became Hanover, named by its German
settlers for the House of Hanover
. It was incorporated on February 14, 1843.
Endowed with fine loam
soil, farming became an early business. Indeed, Hanover was known for having some of the best intervale farms in the state. A variety of crops were grown, the chief being hay
. The outlet of Howard's Pond provided water power for industry. At Hanover Village, 12 mills were established. They produced flour
, woolen
s, furniture
, short and long lumber
, sash, blinds
and door
s, dowel
s and rake
s. Other goods included leather
, boot
s and shoes
. By the early 1950s, however, the last mills had declined and closed. More recently, Hanover has become site for both year-round homes and vacation properties.
, the town has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19.4 km²), of which, 7 square miles (18.1 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (6.13%) is water. Hanover is bounded by the Androscoggin River
on the south and lies just southwest of Rumford on U.S. Route 2
and Maine State Route 5
.
of 2000, there were 251 people, 106 households, and 76 families residing in the town. The population density
was 35.7 people per square mile (13.8/km²). There were 207 housing units at an average density of 29.4 per square mile (11.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.60% White and 0.40% Native American.
There were 106 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% were married couples
living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 107.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,000, and the median income for a family was $50,938. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $24,167 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $21,458. About 5.5% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.4% of those sixty five or over.
Oxford County, Maine
Oxford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine with a population of 57,833 as of the 2010 U.S. census. Its county seat is Paris.Part of Oxford County is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, metropolitan New England City and Town Area while a different part of Oxford County is...
, 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...
. The population was 251 at the 2000 census. The town is a popular vacation and recreation area.
History
The area was first settled in 1774 by Nathaniel Segar from NewtonNewton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Phineas Howard from Temple
Temple, New Hampshire
Temple is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,366 at the 2010 census.- History :Incorporated in 1768, Temple takes its name from colonial governor John Wentworth's lieutenant governor, John Temple.- Geography :...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
purchased from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1792 the unoccupied land in the township, including Howard's Pond. The community became known as Howard's Gore. Combined with a portion of Bethel
Bethel, Maine
Bethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,411 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel...
separated by the Androscoggin River
Androscoggin River
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin is in area...
, it then became Hanover, named by its German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
settlers for the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. It was incorporated on February 14, 1843.
Endowed with fine loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
soil, farming became an early business. Indeed, Hanover was known for having some of the best intervale farms in the state. A variety of crops were grown, the chief being hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
. The outlet of Howard's Pond provided water power for industry. At Hanover Village, 12 mills were established. They produced flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, woolen
Woolen
Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...
s, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, short and long 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....
, sash, blinds
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
and door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
s, dowel
Dowel
A dowel is a solid cylindrical rod, usually made of wood, plastic or metal. In its original manufactured form, dowel is called dowel rod.Dowel rod is employed in numerous, diverse applications. It is used to form axles in toys, as detents on gymnastics grips, as knitting needles, as structural...
s and rake
Rake (tool)
A rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
s. Other goods included leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
s and shoes
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
. By the early 1950s, however, the last mills had declined and closed. More recently, Hanover has become site for both year-round homes and vacation properties.
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 7.5 square miles (19.4 km²), of which, 7 square miles (18.1 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (6.13%) is water. Hanover is bounded by the Androscoggin River
Androscoggin River
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin is in area...
on the south and lies just southwest of Rumford on U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2
U.S. Route 2 is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada...
and Maine State Route 5
Maine State Route 5
State Route 5 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from the an intersection with Route 9 in Old Orchard Beach, to an intersection with Route 120 in Andover. Route 5 is long....
.
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 251 people, 106 households, and 76 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 35.7 people per square mile (13.8/km²). There were 207 housing units at an average density of 29.4 per square mile (11.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.60% White and 0.40% Native American.
There were 106 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 107.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,000, and the median income for a family was $50,938. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $24,167 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 $21,458. About 5.5% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.4% of those sixty five or over.