Monmouth, Maine
Encyclopedia
Monmouth is a town
in Kennebec County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 3,785 at the 2000 census. It is a popular summer resort area, with many lakeside cottages.
. It would also be called Bloomingborough and Wales before being incorporated by the Massachusetts General Court
on January 20, 1792 as Monmouth, after Monmouth
, New Jersey
. The name was suggested by landowner General Henry Dearborn
, who had fought in the Battle of Monmouth
on June 28, 1778.
Monmouth was considered one of the best agricultural
towns in the state, producing hay
, apple
s and potato
es, in addition to beef cattle
and dairy products. It also had excellent sites for watermill
s. By 1859, when the population was 1,925, it had two factories for making boot-webbing and binding, a shovel
and hoe
factory, a tannery
, a machine shops, some mechanic shops, some wood turning shops, a sleigh and carriage
factory, some boot
and shoe
shops, a carpet
factory, and a sash, blind
and door
factory. In 1849, the Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroad
(later part of the Maine Central Railroad
) opened to the town.
, the town has a total area of 39.0 square miles (101.1 km²), of which 34.1 square miles (88.3 km²) is land and 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) (12.61%) is water. Monmouth is drained by Jud Stream, Jock Stream, Mud Mills Stream and Wilson Stream, Monmouth has access to Lakes Cobbosseecontee, Annabessacook, and Cochnewagen.
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 202 and state routes 126, 132 and 135.
of 2000, there were 3,785 people, 1,435 households, and 1,077 families residing in the town. The population density
was 111.0 people per square mile (42.8/km²). There were 1,801 housing units at an average density of 52.8 per square mile (20.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White, 0.20% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.03% from other races
, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 1,435 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,906, and the median income for a family was $47,616. Males had a median income of $32,034 versus $22,885 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $17,551. About 9.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 17.0% 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 Kennebec County
Kennebec County, Maine
Kennebec County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 122,151. Its county seat is Augusta. The center of population of Maine is located in Kennebec County, in the city of Augusta....
, 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 3,785 at the 2000 census. It is a popular summer resort area, with many lakeside cottages.
History
Part of the Plymouth Patent, it was first settled as Freetown in 1776-1777 by families from BrunswickBrunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
. It would also be called Bloomingborough and Wales before being incorporated 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...
on January 20, 1792 as Monmouth, after Monmouth
Monmouth Battlefield State Park
Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a 2,928-acre New Jersey state park located on the border of Manalapan and Freehold Township. This park preserves the historical battlefield on which the American Revolutionary War's Battle of Monmouth was waged....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The name was suggested by landowner General Henry Dearborn
Henry Dearborn
Henry Dearborn was an American physician, a statesman and a veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, where he attended public schools...
, who had fought in the Battle of Monmouth
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28, 1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court...
on June 28, 1778.
Monmouth was considered one of the best agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
towns in the state, producing 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...
, apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s and potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, in addition to beef cattle
Beef cattle
Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production . The meat of cattle is known as beef. When raised in a feedlot cattle are known as feeder cattle. Many such feeder cattle are born in cow-calf operations specifically designed to produce beef calves...
and dairy products. It also had excellent sites for watermill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
s. By 1859, when the population was 1,925, it had two factories for making boot-webbing and binding, a shovel
Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
and hoe
Hoe
Hoe may refer to:* Hoe , a hand tool used in gardening* Hoe , a Korean dish of raw fish* Plymouth Hoe, a public space in Plymouth, England* Hoe, Norfolk, a village in Norfolk, England* USS Hoe , a World War II US submarine...
factory, a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, a machine shops, some mechanic shops, some wood turning shops, a sleigh and carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
factory, some 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....
and shoe
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...
shops, a carpet
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
factory, and a sash, blind
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....
factory. In 1849, the Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroad
Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad
The Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad is a historic U.S. railroad which operated in Maine.The Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad Co. received a charter on March 28, 1847 and by January 1850 had built a line between Waterville, Maine and Danville, Maine . At Waterville, the A&K connected with the...
(later part of the Maine Central Railroad
Maine Central Railroad
The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
) opened to the town.
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 39.0 square miles (101.1 km²), of which 34.1 square miles (88.3 km²) is land and 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) (12.61%) is water. Monmouth is drained by Jud Stream, Jock Stream, Mud Mills Stream and Wilson Stream, Monmouth has access to Lakes Cobbosseecontee, Annabessacook, and Cochnewagen.
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 202 and state routes 126, 132 and 135.
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 3,785 people, 1,435 households, and 1,077 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 111.0 people per square mile (42.8/km²). There were 1,801 housing units at an average density of 52.8 per square mile (20.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White, 0.20% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.03% 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 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 1,435 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% 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, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,906, and the median income for a family was $47,616. Males had a median income of $32,034 versus $22,885 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 $17,551. About 9.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.
Divisions
- North Monmouth
- South Monmouth
- East Monmouth
- Monmouth Center
Points of interest
- Cumston HallCumston HallCumston Hall is a historic library in downtown Monmouth, Maine. It was completed in 1900 and is named in honor of Dr. Charles M. Cumston, a former teacher at the English High School in Boston, who gave the Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne Style building to Monmouth equipped with a library and...
, location of the Theater at Monmouth. Cumston Hall was donated in 1900. - Highmoor Farm, which in 1909 was the first of many farms acquired by the University of Maine for agricultural research
- Monmouth Fairgrounds, site of the Monmouth Fair
- Woolworth Property, residence of descendants of Franklin Winfield Woolworth, founder of the F. W. Woolworth CompanyF. W. Woolworth CompanyThe F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
- East Monmouth, formerly a separate town neighboring Monmouth called Fruittown. They merged and it became the eastern side of town.
Notable people
- John ChandlerJohn ChandlerJohn Chandler was an American politician and soldier of Maine. The political career of Chandler, a Democratic-Republican, was interspersed with his involvement in the state militia during both the American Revolutionary War and War of 1812.Chandler was born in Epping, New Hampshire, the brother of...
, congressman, senator, soldier. - Henry DearbornHenry DearbornHenry Dearborn was an American physician, a statesman and a veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Born to Simon Dearborn and Sarah Marston in North Hampton, New Hampshire, he spent much of his youth in Epping, where he attended public schools...
, Revolutionary War era general. - James R. FlynnJames R. Flynn (songwriter)Jim Flynn is an American country music songwriter.- Early life :James was born in Lewiston, Maine to Lawrence and Katherine Flynn. He is the fourth of five sons. He grew up in Monmouth, Maine and Lewiston Maine, where he was a member of a high school choral group. In 1956, Flynn joined the...
, songwriter. - Benjamin White NorrisBenjamin White NorrisBenjamin White Norris was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.-Early life and education:Born in Monmouth, Maine, Norris prepared for college at Monmouth Academy, and was graduated from Waterville College , Maine, in 1843. He taught one term in Kents Hill Seminary.He engaged in the grocery business...
, congressman. - Samuel Thurston, pioneer, lawyer, politician.
- Oliver Otis Howard, Civil War General, attended Monmouth Academy.