Jonesport, Maine
Encyclopedia
Jonesport is a town in Washington County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 1,408 at the 2000 census. Jonesport is a fishing
, lobstering
town.
Settled before the Revolution
, this was part of a grant of 48160 acres (194.9 km²) made by the Massachusetts General Court
in 1789 to John C. Jones and others. It was incorporated on March 4, 1809 as Jonesborough
. On February 3, 1832, a portion of Jonesborough was set off and incorporated as Jones' Port. Then a portion of Jonesport was set off and incorporated on April 7, 1925 as the island town of Beals
, accessible by bridge across the Moosabec Reach.
Located on a peninsula
6 miles (9.7 km) out in the Gulf of Maine
, the town's principal industries are fishing
, boat building
, harvesting blueberries
and tourist services. Jonesport includes many uninhabited islands which provide nesting areas for eider
, cormorant
s, seagulls, razorbill
s, guillemot
s, loon
s, black scoter
s, grebe
s and eagle
s. There are two nature preserves: Western Brothers Island and the Great Wass Archipelago (which includes Great Wass Island
), the latter shared with the town of Beals.
In 1866, a group of Christian restorationists sailed from Jonesport to Ottoman
-occupied Israel
in the hope of preparing the land for the Jews to return, thereby hastening the coming of the Christian Messiah
. The Maine Friendship House, a small, wooden clapboard
New England
style house built by one of those families, still stands in modern Tel Aviv
.
, the town has a total area of 100.7 square miles (260.8 km²), of which 28.5 square miles (73.8 km²) is land and 72.2 square miles (187 km²) (71.68%) is water. Drained by the Indian River
, Jonesport is situated on a peninsula at Chandler Bay
and beside Englishman Bay
, part of the Gulf of Maine
and Atlantic Ocean
.
The town is crossed by Maine State Route 187. It is bordered by the towns of Addison
to the west, Jonesboro
to the north, and Beals
to the south.
of 2000, there were 1,408 people, 597 households, and 397 families residing in the town. The population density
was 49.4 people per square mile (19.1/km²). There were 877 housing units at an average density of 30.8 per square mile (11.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.80% White, 0.28% African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.14% from other races
, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 597 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $23,224, and the median income for a family was $30,474. Males had a median income of $22,917 versus $15,917 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $14,135. About 14.7% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under age 18 and 22.6% of those age 65 or over.
Washington County, Maine
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 32,856. Its county seat is Machias.Sometimes referred to as "Sunrise County" because it is the easternmost county in the United States, and it is often where the rising sun first shines on the 48...
, 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 1,408 at the 2000 census. Jonesport is a fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, lobstering
Lobster fishing
Lobster fishing, sometimes called lobstering, is the commercial or recreational harvesting of marine lobsters, spiny lobsters or crayfish.-Lobster tools and technology:...
town.
History
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, this was part of a grant of 48160 acres (194.9 km²) made by the Massachusetts General Court
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...
in 1789 to John C. Jones and others. It was incorporated on March 4, 1809 as Jonesborough
Jonesboro, Maine
Jonesboro is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named for John Coffin Jones, a landholder. The population was 594 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. On February 3, 1832, a portion of Jonesborough was set off and incorporated as Jones' Port. Then a portion of Jonesport was set off and incorporated on April 7, 1925 as the island town of Beals
Beals, Maine
Beals is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States, located on an island opposite Jonesport. The town was named after Manwaring Beal, an early settler...
, accessible by bridge across the Moosabec Reach.
Located on a peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
6 miles (9.7 km) out in the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
, the town's principal industries are fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, boat building
Boat building
Boat building, one of the oldest branches of engineering, is concerned with constructing the hulls of boats and, for sailboats, the masts, spars and rigging.-Parts:* Bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull...
, harvesting blueberries
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
and tourist services. Jonesport includes many uninhabited islands which provide nesting areas for eider
Eider
Eiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, despite its name, is in a different genus.The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere....
, cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
s, seagulls, razorbill
Razorbill
The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
s, guillemot
Guillemot
Guillemots is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family . In British use, the term comprises two genera: Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called "murres" and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots"...
s, loon
Loon
The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...
s, black scoter
Black Scoter
The Black or American Scoter is a large sea duck, 43 to 49 centimeters in length. Together with the Common Scoter M. nigra, it forms the subgenus Oidemia; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, the Black Scoter then being referred to as M. nigra americana...
s, grebe
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...
s and eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s. There are two nature preserves: Western Brothers Island and the Great Wass Archipelago (which includes Great Wass Island
Great Wass Island
Great Wass Island lies in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the State of Maine, United States. On the mainland is Jonesport in Washington County. The island is 5 mi long, 1.5 mi wide and it is the biggest island in the Great Wass Archipelago, which contains over 43 islands extending...
), the latter shared with the town of Beals.
In 1866, a group of Christian restorationists sailed from Jonesport to Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-occupied Israel
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in the hope of preparing the land for the Jews to return, thereby hastening the coming of the Christian Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. The Maine Friendship House, a small, wooden clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
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...
style house built by one of those families, still stands in modern Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
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 100.7 square miles (260.8 km²), of which 28.5 square miles (73.8 km²) is land and 72.2 square miles (187 km²) (71.68%) is water. Drained by the Indian River
Indian River (Maine)
The Indian River is a river in Washington County, Maine. From its source in Columbia Falls, the river runs about south to its estuary at the village of Indian River in the town of Addison. The tidal portion of the Indian River extends another south and then west to Wohoa Bay, an arm of Western...
, Jonesport is situated on a peninsula at Chandler Bay
Chandler Bay
Chandler Bay is a bay in Jonesport, Maine.It is separated from Englishman Bay to the northeast by Roque Island and Great Spruce Island.The bay extends roughly 6 mi. and is 2.5 mi. at its widest....
and beside Englishman Bay
Englishman Bay
Englishman Bay is a bay in Washington County, Maine.The bay is located between the towns of Roque Bluffs and Jonesport.It is separated from Chandler Bay to the southwest by Roque Island and Great Spruce Island....
, part of the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
and Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
The town is crossed by Maine State Route 187. It is bordered by the towns of Addison
Addison, Maine
Addison is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after English author Joseph Addison. The population was 1,209 according to the 2000 census.-Geography:...
to the west, Jonesboro
Jonesboro, Maine
Jonesboro is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named for John Coffin Jones, a landholder. The population was 594 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
to the north, and Beals
Beals, Maine
Beals is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States, located on an island opposite Jonesport. The town was named after Manwaring Beal, an early settler...
to the south.
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 1,408 people, 597 households, and 397 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 49.4 people per square mile (19.1/km²). There were 877 housing units at an average density of 30.8 per square mile (11.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.80% White, 0.28% African American, 0.71% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.14% 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 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 597 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $23,224, and the median income for a family was $30,474. Males had a median income of $22,917 versus $15,917 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 $14,135. About 14.7% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under age 18 and 22.6% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
Notable people
- Marv PeasleyMarv PeasleyMarvin Warren Peasley was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in 2 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1910. Born in Jonesport, Maine, Peasley pitched 10 innings and compiled a record of 0-1 with an earned run average of 8.10. Peaseley died in 1948 at age 59 in San Francisco,...
, pitcher for the Detroit TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... - Dana SawyerDana SawyerDana Sawyer was born in Jonesport, Maine in 1951. Currently he is a full-time professor of religion and philosophy at the Maine College of Art and an adjunct professor of Asian religions at the Bangor Theological Seminary...
, professor of religion and philosophy