Sedgwick, Maine
Encyclopedia
Sedgwick is a town in Hancock County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 1,102 at the 2000 census. The town includes the village of Sargentville.
The countryside around Sedgwick is a haven for birdwatchers
, as well as an out-of-the-way tourist stop with several bed and breakfast
locations.
in 1761 to David Marsh and 359 others. Called by its Abenaki name Naskeag, meaning "the end or extremity," its first permanent European settler was Andrew Black in 1759. In 1789, the town was incorporated as Sedgwick, named after Major Robert Sedgwick
, who in 1654 captured nearby Fort Pentagouet (now Castine
) from the French
.
In 1817, land was taken from the township to form Brooksville
, with more taken in 1849 to form Brooklin
. By 1859, the population was 1,235.
Farmer
s found the surface broken and ledgy, better suited for grazing
than cultivation
. Gristmill
s and sawmill
s were built along various streams, including the Benjamin River
. Because of the geology, for decades Sedgwick had operating many granite
quarries
, where stone was taken for major public buildings. Most of the quarries have been abandoned. Two companies mined for argentiferous galena
, a source of silver
. But with two excellent harbors, the town was chiefly occupied by fishing
, clam digging
, shipbuilding
and seafaring. Other businesses were tanning
and barrel
making.
In March 2011, Sedgwick received attention after passing an ordinance declaring food sovereignty
for the town's citizens.
, the town has a total area of 31.1 square miles (80.5 km²), of which, 27 square miles (69.9 km²) of it is land and 4.1 square miles (10.6 km²) of it (13.06%) is water. Drained by the Benjamin River
, which separates it from Brooklin
, Sedgwick overlooks Penobscot Bay
. The Deer Isle Bridge
spans the Eggemoggin Reach, connecting Sedgwick to the towns of Deer Isle
and Stonington
.
The town is crossed by state routes 15
, 172, 175 and 176.
of 2000, there were 1,102 people, 470 households, and 307 families residing in the town. The population density
was 40.8 people per square mile (15.7/km²). There were 671 housing units at an average density of 24.8 per square mile (9.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.64% White, 0.18% African American, 0.73% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.18% from other races
, and 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.
There were 470 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples
living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,000, and the median income for a family was $40,547. Males had a median income of $26,607 versus $21,944 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $19,772. About 6.9% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
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...
. The population was 1,102 at the 2000 census. The town includes the village of Sargentville.
The countryside around Sedgwick is a haven for birdwatchers
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
, as well as an out-of-the-way tourist stop with several bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
locations.
History
It was one of six contiguous townships, each 6 miles square, granted by MassachusettsMassachusetts 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 1761 to David Marsh and 359 others. Called by its Abenaki name Naskeag, meaning "the end or extremity," its first permanent European settler was Andrew Black in 1759. In 1789, the town was incorporated as Sedgwick, named after Major 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:...
, who in 1654 captured nearby Fort Pentagouet (now Castine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . 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...
) from 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...
.
In 1817, land was taken from the township to form 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...
, with more taken in 1849 to form Brooklin
Brooklin, Maine
Brooklin is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 841 at the 2000 census. It is home to WoodenBoat Magazine Brooklin Boat Yard, and numerous boatbuilders, artists, writers, musicians and potters.-History:...
. By 1859, the population was 1,235.
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 found the surface broken and ledgy, better suited for grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
than cultivation
Tillage
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...
. Gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
s and sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s were built along various streams, including the Benjamin River
Benjamin River
The Benjamin River is a tidal river in Hancock County, Maine.From its source , the river runs about 3 miles southwest to Eggemoggin Reach.The river forms part of the border between Sedgwick and Brooklin.-References:**...
. Because of the geology, for decades Sedgwick had operating many granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, where stone was taken for major public buildings. Most of the quarries have been abandoned. Two companies mined for argentiferous galena
Galena
Galena is the natural mineral form of lead sulfide. It is the most important lead ore mineral.Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crystallizes in the cubic crystal system often showing octahedral forms...
, a source of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
. But with two excellent harbors, the town was chiefly occupied by 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....
, clam digging
Clam digging
Clam digging is a common means of harvesting clams from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live. It is done both recreationally and commercially...
, shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
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 seafaring. Other businesses were tanning
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...
and barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
making.
In March 2011, Sedgwick received attention after passing an ordinance declaring food sovereignty
Food sovereignty
"Food sovereignty" is a term coined by members of Via Campesina in 1996 to refer to a policy framework advocated by a number of farmers, peasants, pastoralists, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women, rural youth and environmental organizations, namely the claimed "right" of peoples to define their...
for the town's citizens.
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 31.1 square miles (80.5 km²), of which, 27 square miles (69.9 km²) of it is land and 4.1 square miles (10.6 km²) of it (13.06%) is water. Drained by the Benjamin River
Benjamin River
The Benjamin River is a tidal river in Hancock County, Maine.From its source , the river runs about 3 miles southwest to Eggemoggin Reach.The river forms part of the border between Sedgwick and Brooklin.-References:**...
, which separates it from Brooklin
Brooklin, Maine
Brooklin is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 841 at the 2000 census. It is home to WoodenBoat Magazine Brooklin Boat Yard, and numerous boatbuilders, artists, writers, musicians and potters.-History:...
, Sedgwick overlooks 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...
. The Deer Isle Bridge
Deer Isle Bridge
The Deer Isle Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning Eggemoggin Reach in the state of Maine. The bridge is the only vehicular connection from the Maine mainland to Little Deer Isle, one of the segments that make up the island. The span was completed in March 1939 with a main span of 329 meters ....
spans the Eggemoggin Reach, connecting Sedgwick to the towns of Deer Isle
Deer Isle, Maine
Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the town's many art galleries.-History:...
and Stonington
Stonington, Maine
Stonington is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, located on the southern portion of Deer Island. The population was 1,152 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Oceanville and West Stonington...
.
The town is crossed by state routes 15
Maine State Route 15
State Route 15 is a numbered state highway in Maine, United States. Route 15 runs over from Stonington in the south to Jackman in the north.-Route description:...
, 172, 175 and 176.
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 1,102 people, 470 households, and 307 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 40.8 people per square mile (15.7/km²). There were 671 housing units at an average density of 24.8 per square mile (9.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.64% White, 0.18% African American, 0.73% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.18% 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 1.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.
There were 470 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% 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, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,000, and the median income for a family was $40,547. Males had a median income of $26,607 versus $21,944 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 $19,772. About 6.9% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Leslie Anderson, painter of the local landscape, such as the Sedgwick barrens
- Doris GrumbachDoris GrumbachDoris Grumbach is an American novelist, biographer, literary critic, and essayist. She taught at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, and was literary editor of the The New Republic for several years. Since 1985, she has had a bookstore, Wayward Books.-Life:Grumbach was born in New York...
, novelist, biographer, literary critic and essayist - Thomas N. SchrothThomas N. SchrothThomas Nolan Schroth was an American journalist who specialized in coverage of inside the Beltway politics as editor of Congressional Quarterly starting in 1955 and then establishing The National Journal in 1969 after he was fired from CQ due to policy conflicts.-Early life and career:Schroth was...
(1921–2009), editor of Congressional QuarterlyCongressional QuarterlyCongressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
, founder of The National Journal - Stan WatermanStan WatermanStanton A. Waterman , is a five-time Emmy winning cinematographer and underwater film producer.Waterman graduated from Dartmouth College, where he studied with Robert Frost, in 1946 with a degree in English. He began his SCUBA diving career in the Bahamas where he owned and operated a diving...
, Emmy-winning cinematographer and underwater-film producer - James Russell WigginsJames Russell WigginsJames Russell Wiggins was managing editor of The Washington Post and United States Ambassador to the United Nations.-In Minnesota:...
, representative to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...