Historical U.S. Census Totals for Hancock County, Maine

This article shows U.S. Census totals for Hancock County, Maine, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.

There are two types of incorporated municipalities in Maine, towns and cities. The tables below differentiate between towns and cities.

Most areas of 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...

are entirely divided into incorporated municipalities, with no unincorporated territory. In the three northern New England states, however, some unincorporated territory does exist, generally in areas that are very sparsely populated. Maine contains significantly more unincorporated territory than the other states, with the bulk of it in interior and northern counties, including Hancock County.

Some unincorporated territory in Maine is organized into a third type of town-level municipality unique to Maine, called a plantation (considered to be “organized”, but not incorporated), while some is entirely unorganized. Hancock County does not currently contain any plantations, but it has included plantations in the past. All of the unincorporated territory that currently exists within the county is unorganized. Due to the large extent of unincorporated territory in Hancock County, separate sections with detailed historical census totals for such areas follow the main tables below. For any census, adding up the totals for each town-level municipality, including any plantations and unorganized entities, should yield the county total.

For more information on the New England municipal system, see New England town

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...

Corporate changes since 1900

1905 – New town of Southwest Harbor formed from Tremont

1913 – Isle Au Haut left Hancock County and switched to Knox County

1918 – Eden changed its name to Bar Harbor

1976 – Osborn Plantation incorporated as a town

1979 – Long Island Plantation incorporated as a town and changed its name to Frenchboro

1981 – Great Pond Plantation incorporated as a town

2004 – Verona changed its name to Verona Island

1900

County Total: 37,241

Eden 4,379
Ellsworth (city) 4,297
Bucksport 2,339
Deer Isle 2,047
Tremont 2,010
Blue Hill 1,828
Stonington 1,648
Mount Desert 1,600
Orland 1,251
Gouldsboro 1,259
Franklin 1,201
Brooksville 1,171
Penobscot 1,156
Sullivan 1,034
Brooklin 936
Castine 925
Sedgwick 902
Hancock 900
Surry 900
Swans Island 758
Lamoine 594
Winter Harbor 571
Trenton 459
Cranberry Isles 374
Amherst 364
Dedham 327
Eastbrook 248
Verona 234
Mariaville 218
Waltham 192
Isle Au Haut 182
Aurora 152
Otis 152
Sorrento 117

Unincorporated territory reported 516 residents. This consisted of 359 residents in organized plantations, and 157 residents in unorganized territory.

1910

County Total: 35,575

Eden 4,441
Ellsworth (city) 3,549
Bucksport 2,216
Stonington 2,038
Deer Isle 1,946
Mount Desert 1,569
Blue Hill 1,462
Gouldsboro 1,349
Orland 1,224
Brooksville 1,176
Franklin 1,161
Sullivan 1,132
Tremont 1,116
Penobscot 985
Brooklin 936
Castine 933
Sedgwick 909
Southwest Harbor 888
Hancock 843
Swans Island 749
Surry 734
Winter Harbor 590
Lamoine 482
Cranberry Isles 399
Trenton 354
Dedham 353
Amherst 275
Verona 229
Eastbrook 213
Waltham 182
Mariaville 171
Isle Au Haut 160
Sorrento 147
Otis 115
Aurora 114

Unincorporated territory reported 435 residents. This consisted of 323 residents in organized plantations, and 112 residents in unorganized territory.

1920

County Total: 30,361

Bar Harbor 3,622
Ellsworth (city) 3,058
Bucksport 1,906
Deer Isle 1,718
Blue Hill 1,564
Mount Desert 1,497
Stonington 1,353
Gouldsboro 1,282
Tremont 1,029
Brooksville 1,019
Franklin 925
Sullivan 916
Orland 910
Penobscot 870
Brooklin 856
Sedgwick 830
Southwest Harbor 824
Hancock 770
Castine 743
Surry 658
Swans Island 566
Winter Harbor 503
Cranberry Isles 410
Lamoine 327
Trenton 314
Dedham 286
Verona 233
Eastbrook 204
Amherst 198
Waltham 154
Sorrento 140
Mariaville 131
Otis 122
Aurora 95

Unincorporated territory reported 328 residents. This consisted of 254 residents in organized plantations, and 74 residents in unorganized territory.

1930

County Total: 30,721

Bar Harbor 4,486
Ellsworth (city) 3,557
Bucksport 2,135
Mount Desert 2,022
Blue Hill 1,439
Stonington 1,418
Deer Isle 1,266
Gouldsboro 1,115
Tremont 954
Orland 891
Southwest Harbor 888
Sullivan 873
Franklin 820
Brooksville 810
Brooklin 782
Hancock 760
Castine 726
Penobscot 708
Sedgwick 699
Swans Island 576
Winter Harbor 517
Surry 488
Lamoine 354
Cranberry Isles 349
Trenton 338
Dedham 279
Verona 228
Eastbrook 199
Amherst 163
Mariaville 155
Sorrento 143
Waltham 135
Otis 88
Aurora 86

Unincorporated territory reported 274 residents. This consisted of 224 residents in organized plantations, and 50 residents in unorganized territory.

1940

County Total: 32,422

Bar Harbor 4,378
Ellsworth (city) 3,911
Bucksport 2,927
Mount Desert 2,047
Stonington 1,493
Blue Hill 1,343
Deer Isle 1,303
Southwest Harbor 1,260
Tremont 1,118
Gouldsboro 1,068
Orland 1,015
Brooksville 805
Sullivan 801
Hancock 761
Franklin 742
Sedgwick 718
Penobscot 680
Castine 662
Brooklin 656
Winter Harbor 518
Surry 497
Lamoine 454
Swans Island 452
Trenton 403
Verona 391
Cranberry Isles 334
Dedham 293
Eastbrook 188
Sorrento 188
Waltham 157
Amherst 146
Otis 134
Mariaville 132
Aurora 81

Unincorporated territory reported 366 residents. This consisted of 235 residents in organized plantations, and 131 residents in unorganized territory.

1950

County Total: 32,105

Ellsworth (city) 3,936
Bar Harbor 3,864
Bucksport 3,120
Mount Desert 1,776
Stonington 1,660
Southwest Harbor 1,534
Blue Hill 1,308
Deer Isle 1,234
Gouldsboro 1,168
Orland 1,155
Tremont 1,115
Castine 793
Sullivan 762
Hancock 755
Brooksville 751
Franklin 709
Penobscot 699
Sedgwick 614
Winter Harbor 568
Brooklin 546
Swans Island 468
Surry 448
Lamoine 443
Dedham 374
Verona 374
Trenton 358
Cranberry Isles 228
Sorrento 201
Eastbrook 199
Waltham 154
Mariaville 153
Amherst 151
Otis 109
Aurora 91

Unincorporated territory reported 287 residents. This consisted of 183 residents in organized plantations, and 104 residents in unorganized territory.

1960

County Total: 32,293

Ellsworth (city) 4,444
Bar Harbor 3,807
Bucksport 3,466
Mount Desert 1,663
Southwest Harbor 1,480
Stonington 1,408
Blue Hill 1,270
Orland 1,195
Deer Isle 1,129
Gouldsboro 1,100
Tremont 1,044
Castine 824
Hancock 806
Winter Harbor 756
Sullivan 709
Penobscot 706
Franklin 627
Brooksville 603
Sedgwick 574
Surry 547
Brooklin 525
Lamoine 484
Dedham 438
Verona 435
Swans Island 402
Trenton 375
Sorrento 196
Cranberry Isles 181
Amherst 168
Eastbrook 167
Waltham 153
Mariaville 144
Otis 100
Aurora 75

Unincorporated territory reported 292 residents. This consisted of 151 residents in organized plantations, and 141 residents in unorganized territory.

1970

County Total: 34,590

Ellsworth (city) 4,603
Bucksport 3,756
Bar Harbor 3,716
Mount Desert 1,659
Southwest Harbor 1,657
Blue Hill 1,367
Gouldsboro 1,310
Orland 1,307
Stonington 1,291
Deer Isle 1,211
Castine 1,080
Hancock 1,070
Winter Harbor 1,028
Tremont 1,003
Sullivan 824
Penobscot 786
Franklin 708
Brooksville 673
Surry 623
Lamoine 615
Brooklin 598
Sedgwick 578
Dedham 522
Verona 437
Trenton 392
Swans Island 323
Sorrento 199
Eastbrook 188
Cranberry Isles 186
Waltham 167
Amherst 148
Otis 123
Mariaville 108
Aurora 72

Unincorporated territory reported 262 residents. This consisted of 132 residents in organized plantations, and 130 residents in unorganized territory.

1980

County Total: 41,781

Ellsworth (city) 5,179
Bucksport 4,345
Bar Harbor 4,124
Mount Desert 2,063
Southwest Harbor 1,855
Orland 1,645
Blue Hill 1,644
Gouldsboro 1,574
Deer Isle 1,492
Hancock 1,409
Castine 1,304
Stonington 1,273
Tremont 1,222
Winter Harbor 1,120
Penobscot 1,104
Franklin 979
Sullivan 967
Lamoine 953
Surry 894
Dedham 841
Sedgwick 795
Brooksville 753
Trenton 718
Brooklin 619
Verona 559
Swans Island 337
Otis 307
Sorrento 276
Eastbrook 262
Amherst 203
Cranberry Isles 198
Waltham 186
Mariaville 168
Aurora 110
Osborn 47
Frenchboro 43

Unincorporated territory reported 213 residents. This consisted of 45 residents in organized plantations, and 168 residents in unorganized territory.

1990

County Total: 46,948

Ellsworth (city) 5,975
Bucksport 4,825
Bar Harbor 4,443
Gouldsboro 1,986
Southwest Harbor 1,952
Blue Hill 1,941
Mount Desert 1,899
Deer Isle 1,829
Orland 1,805
Hancock 1,757
Tremont 1,324
Lamoine 1,311
Stonington 1,252
Dedham 1,229
Castine 1,161
Winter Harbor 1,157
Franklin 1,141
Penobscot 1,131
Sullivan 1,118
Trenton 1,060
Surry 1,004
Sedgwick 905
Brooklin 785
Brooksville 760
Verona 515
Otis 355
Swans Island 348
Sorrento 295
Eastbrook 289
Waltham 276
Mariaville 270
Amherst 226
Cranberry Isles 189
Aurora 82
Osborn 72
Great Pond 59
Frenchboro 44

Unincorporated territory reported 178 residents, all in unorganized territory.

2000

County Total: 51,791

Ellsworth (city) 6,456
Bucksport 4,908
Bar Harbor 4,820
Blue Hill 2,390
Hancock 2,147
Orland 2,134
Mount Desert 2,109
Southwest Harbor 1,966
Gouldsboro 1,941
Deer Isle 1,876
Tremont 1,529
Lamoine 1,495
Dedham 1,422
Franklin 1,370
Trenton 1,370
Surry 1,361
Penobscot 1,344
Castine 1,343
Sullivan 1,185
Stonington 1,152
Sedgwick 1,102
Winter Harbor 988
Brooksville 911
Brooklin 841
Otis 543
Verona 533
Mariaville 414
Eastbrook 370
Swans Island 327
Waltham 306
Sorrento 290
Amherst 230
Cranberry Isles 128
Aurora 121
Osborn 69
Great Pond 47
Frenchboro 38

Unincorporated territory reported 215 residents, all in unorganized territory.

Plantations

As of 1900, Hancock County appears to have contained five plantations. Much of present-day Hancock County was originally laid out as numbered townships, and four of the plantations had simply kept their numbers when they organized as plantations. These were Plantation No. 7, Plantation No. 8, Plantation No. 21, and Plantation No. 33. The fourth plantation, Long Island, was named for the offshore island on which it was located. There is some question as to Plantation No. 7’s status; the 1900 and 1910 Census reported it as a plantation, but the author of this article has been unable to find confirmation of this in any other source.
Plantation No. 8 surrendered its organization in 1913. According to the 1920 census reports, Plantation No. 7 also surrendered its organization some time between 1910 and 1920. The three other plantations have all since incorporated as towns. Their dispositions are as follows:

Plantation No. 21: changed its name to Osborn in 1923; incorporated as a town in 1976

Long Island: changed name to Frenchboro and incorporated as a town in 1979

Plantation No. 33: apparently changed its name to Great Pond some time between 1970 and 1980 (shown as Great Pond Plantation in the 1980 Census); incorporated as a town in 1981

With Great Pond’s incorporation as a town, there are no longer any active plantations in Hancock County.

1900

Long Island 174
No. 33 82
No. 21 58
No. 7 28
No. 8 17

1910

Long Island 197
No. 33 54
No. 21 39
No. 8 19
No. 7 14

1920

Long Island 164
No. 33 49
No. 21 41

1930

Long Island 145
No. 33 45
Osborn 34

1940

Long Island 119
No. 33 76
Osborn 40

1950

Long Island 97
Osborn 49
No. 33 37

1960

No. 33 58
Long Island 57
Osborn 36

1970

Long Island 56
No. 33 43
Osborn 33

1980

Great Pond 45

There have been no plantations in Hancock County at any time since the 1980s.

Unorganized Territory

Like all of Maine's interior and northern counties, Hancock County contains a significant amount of unorganized territory. Most of the unorganized territory in Hancock County is in areas which have historically been very sparsely populated. The coastal and southwestern areas of the county have historically been fully incorporated. Further inland to the northeast, lower-lying areas with access to lakes and rivers have generally been incorporated or organized, while more mountainous or remote areas have often never had any significant population and have remained unorganized. The northeastern part of the county is largely unorganized, as is the area along the eastern edge bordering Washington County. Along the eastern edge of the county, the unorganized territory actually comes quite close to the coast (the coastal town of Gouldsboro borders an unorganized township on its northern side). There is also an unorganized tract called Township No. 8 (also known as T8 SD) located in an otherwise fully incorporated area, bounded by Ellsworth, Hancock, Franklin, Waltham and Mariaville. This is a remnant, measuring about 15 square miles (38.8 km²), of what was once a larger survey township.

Historically, about two-thirds of the county’s land area was incorporated or organized, leaving the remaining one-third unorganized. There are at least a dozen full-sized townships in the county which have never been organized, along with the remnants of a few additional townships whose territories were partially taken to form incorporated towns. The general divider between the organized and unorganized portions of the county historically followed the northern or interior boundaries of Amherst, Great Pond, Aurora, Osborn, Eastbrook, Franklin, Sullivan and Gouldsboro. With the exception of Township No. 8, all territory to the south or west of that line was historically organized, although several municipalities did not advance beyond the plantation stage until the 1970s or later, if at all. North or to the interior of that line, all territory is, and has historically been, unorganized.

The areas of Hancock County that are entirely unorganized cover about 500 square miles (1,295 km²), with a population of about 200. This covers about 30% of the county’s land area, but includes less than 1% of its population. Two unorganized townships, T3 ND and T8 SD, have large enough populations to maintain a registrar and clerk to conduct elections for state and federal offices, although they do not have true organized municipal governments (No. 3 is in the northeastern part of the county, adjacent to the Penobscot County town of Burlington; No. 8 is described in the first paragraph of this section). A similar entity has also been formed by a group of two unorganized townships banding together: the “Unorganized Township of DTT9 & T10” (T9 SD and T10 SD are in the southeastern part of the county, east of Franklin and northeast of Sullivan; T9, the westernmost of the two, is a remnant of what was once a larger survey township).

Over the years, the U.S. Census Bureau has used different methods to compile data for unorganized territory in Maine. From 1900 to 1950, data was tabulated for each individual unorganized entity. In 1960, a single catch-all “Unorganized Territory” listing was provided for each Maine county, generally with no further breakdown. Since 1970, the Census has grouped contiguous areas in each county into one or more “unorganized territories”. As of the 2000 Census, three such areas are recognized within Hancock County:

East Hancock Unorganized Territory: the unorganized area to the north or east of Amherst, Great Pond, Aurora, Osborn, Eastbrook, Franklin, Sullivan and Gouldsboro. This covers the bulk of the historically unorganized territory in Penobscot County.

Central Hancock Unorganized Territory: T8 SD, an unorganized tract measuring about 15 square miles (38.8 km²), bounded by Ellsworth, Hancock, Franklin, Waltham and Mariaville. This is a remnant of what was once a larger survey township. This township constitutes an Unorganized Territory in its entirety because it does not border any other land that is unorganized.

Northwest Hancock Unorganized Territory: T32 MD. This township constitutes an Unorganized Territory in its entirety because it does not border any other land that is both unorganized and within Hancock County.

The roster of Unorganized Territories in Hancock County has not changed since Unorganized Territories were first created for the 1970 Census.

The listings below provide population figures for 1) all unincorporated territory, including plantations; 2) organized plantations, for which breakouts are available in the main tables above; and 3) unorganized territory, with any available breakouts provided.

1900

All unincorporated territory 516

Organized plantations 359

Unorganized territory 157

T39 MD 75
T10 SD 19
T32 MD 12
T28 MD 10
T22 MD 3

Islands: 38 (see “Notes” section below)

1910

All unincorporated territory 435

Organized plantations 323

Unorganized territory 112

T28 MD 17
T32 MD 17
T10 SD 13
T9 SD 1

Islands: 64 (see “Notes” section below)

1920

All unincorporated territory 328

Organized plantations 254

Unorganized territory 74

T8 SD 21
T7 SD 19
T32 MD 18
T10 SD 16

1930

All unincorporated territory 274

Organized plantations 224

Unorganized territory 50

T7SD 19
T32 MD 14
T10 SD 9
T8 SD 8

1940

All unincorporated territory 366

Organized plantations 235

Unorganized territory 131

T8 SD 35
T16 MD 13
T10 SD 11
T3 ND 8
T28 MD 7
T7 SD 5
T22 MD 2
T32 MD 2
T4 ND 1
T9 ND 1
T34 MD 1

Islands: 45 (see “Notes” section below)

1950

All unincorporated territory 287

Organized plantations 183

Unorganized territory 104

T8 SD 75
T7 SD 9
T10 SD 6
T9 SD 5

Islands: 9 (see “Notes” section below)

1960

All unincorporated territory 292

Organized plantations 151

Unorganized territory 141

The 1960 Census reported all unorganized territory in Hancock County under a single catch-all listing. No breakdown is available.

1970

All unincorporated territory 262

Organized plantations 132

Unorganized territory 130

Central Hancock Unorganized Territory 110
East Hancock Unorganized Territory 20
Northwest Hancock Unorganized Territory 0

1980

All unincorporated territory 213

Organized plantations 45

Unorganized territory 168

Central Hancock Unorganized Territory 124
East Hancock Unorganized Territory 44
Northwest Hancock Unorganized Territory 0

1990

All unincorporated territory 178

Unorganized territory 178

Central Hancock Unorganized Territory 138
East Hancock Unorganized Territory 40
Northwest Hancock Unorganized Territory 0

2000

All unincorporated territory 215

Unorganized territory 215

Central Hancock Unorganized Territory 138
East Hancock Unorganized Territory 73
Northwest Hancock Unorganized Territory 4

Note: The area in and around the eastern half of Hancock County originally was laid out as a series of sequentially numbered townships designated ND (North Division), MD (Middle Division), SD (South Division) and ED (East Division). This area was originally part of Bingham's Penobscot Purchase. Most of the remaining unorganized townships in Hancock County are in the MD or SD sequences. Numbering in MD and SD is continuous, working row-by-row south to north, then west to east within each row. For example, T7 SD is near the coast; T22 MD is directly north, some distance inland; T34 is further directly north, further inland. There are also two ND townships in Hancock County, in the northeast corner of the county. Although the two ND unorganized townships have numbers that are not duplicated by any existing MD or SD unorganized townships, the ND numbering sequence is unrelated to the MD and SD numbering sequence (T3 ND and T4 ND are immediately to the north of T40 MD and T41 MD). Most of the unorganized townships in Hancock are identified only by their survey numbers and have never developed informal township names.

In 2005, the Maine state legislature officially named T8 SD, which had not previously had a generally used name, as Fletchers Landing Township.