Waldoboro, Maine
Encyclopedia
Waldoboro is a town
in Lincoln County
, Maine
, in the United States
. The population was 4,916 at the 2000 census
. Waldoboro is a picturesque fishing
and resort
town.
purchased about 1720 by General Samuel Waldo
of Boston. First called Broad Bay, the village was settled between 1733–1740, but thereupon suffered a devastating attack by Indians
allied with New France
during King George's War
. Houses were burned and inhabitants killed or carried away as captives. Survivors fled to the nearby settlements of St. George
or Pemaquid
. But peace returned with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
.
In 1752-1753, Samuel Waldo, son of the general, visited Germany
and recruited about 1,500 immigrants, most from the Rhineland
. Many settled on the western side of Broad Bay, although in 1763-1764 the land was claimed under the Pemaquid Patent. About 300 residents moved to the Moravian settlements in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina
, but the remainder bought their properties. On June 29, 1773, the township was incorporated as Waldoborough, named for the original proprietor.
Waldoboro became county seat
of Lincoln County in 1786, but the designation would shift to Wiscasset in 1880. Farms produced hay
and potato
es. The Knox and Lincoln Railroad arrived and spurred the town's development. Industries would include an iron
foundry
, an oakum
mill, a carding
and cloth-dressing mill, a grain
mill, sawmill
s and planing mill
s, furniture
and molding
mills, a door
, sash and blind
factory, and a carriage
factory. There were also marble
and granite
yards and a pottery
. But ship building was the principal business, with eight large vessels built in 1880. Waldoboro was the launching port for the Governor Ames
in 1888, the first five masted schooner
. The Governor Ames was built in Waldoboro's Leavitt Storer Shipyard. A port of entry
, the town features an 1857 custom house
designed by Ammi B. Young
.
, the town has a total area of 78.8 square miles (204.1 km²), of which, 71.2 square miles (184.4 km²) of it is land and 7.6 square miles (19.8 km²) of it (9.68%) is water. Waldoboro is located at the head of navigation on the Medomak River
.
The town is served by U.S. Route 1
, and state routes 32, 220 and 235.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 4,916 people, 1,983 households, and 1,348 families residing in the town. The population density
was 69.1 people per square mile (26.7/km²). There were 2,360 housing units at an average density of 33.1 per square mile (12.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.62% White, 0.22% Black or African American
, 0.14% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.04% from other races
, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population.
There were 1,983 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $34,830, and the median income for a family was $41,042. Males had a median income of $30,788 versus $22,462 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $17,117. About 9.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 12.6% 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 Lincoln County
Lincoln County, Maine
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 34,457. Its county seat is Wiscasset. It was founded in 1760 and named after the English city Lincoln. At its founding, it accounted for three-fifths of the State's land, and stretched east to Nova...
, 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...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,916 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. Waldoboro is a picturesque 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....
and resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
town.
History
It was part of the Waldo PatentWaldo Patent
The Waldo Patent, a letters patent also known as the Muscongus Patent or the Lincolnshire Patent, was an area of land 36 miles square in what is now the U.S...
purchased about 1720 by General Samuel Waldo
Samuel Waldo (merchant)
Brigadier-General Samuel Waldo was a wealthy merchant, land speculator, soldier and political figure in Massachusetts.He was born in Boston, the son of Jonathan Waldo and Hannah Mason. In 1722, he married Lucy Wainwright...
of Boston. First called Broad Bay, the village was settled between 1733–1740, but thereupon suffered a devastating attack by Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
allied with New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
during King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
. Houses were burned and inhabitants killed or carried away as captives. Survivors fled to the nearby settlements of St. George
Thomaston, Maine
Thomaston, Maine is a town on the coast of Maine the United States. The name may also refer to:*Thomaston , Maine, a census-designated place comprising the center of the town*South Thomaston, Maine, an adjacent town...
or Pemaquid
Bristol, Maine
Bristol is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,644 at the 2000 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S. National...
. But peace returned with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
.
In 1752-1753, Samuel Waldo, son of the general, visited Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and recruited about 1,500 immigrants, most from the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
. Many settled on the western side of Broad Bay, although in 1763-1764 the land was claimed under the Pemaquid Patent. About 300 residents moved to the Moravian settlements in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina
Forsyth County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 306,067 people, 123,851 households, and 81,741 families residing in the county. The population density was 747 people per square mile . There were 133,093 housing units at an average density of 325 per square mile...
, but the remainder bought their properties. On June 29, 1773, the township was incorporated as Waldoborough, named for the original proprietor.
Waldoboro became county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Lincoln County in 1786, but the designation would shift to Wiscasset in 1880. Farms produced 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...
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. The Knox and Lincoln Railroad arrived and spurred the town's development. Industries would include an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, an oakum
Oakum
Oakum is a preparation of tarred fiber used in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships, as well as cast iron plumbing applications...
mill, a carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
and cloth-dressing mill, a grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
mill, 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 and planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
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...
and molding
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
mills, a 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....
, sash and blind
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
factory, and a 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. There were also marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and 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...
yards and a pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
. But ship building was the principal business, with eight large vessels built in 1880. Waldoboro was the launching port for the Governor Ames
Governor Ames
The Governor Ames was the first five-masted schooner. In the late 19th century, she was the world's largest cargo vessel.She was launched on December 1, 1888 by the Leavitt-Storer shipyard of Waldoboro, Maine, United States, and named after Oliver Ames...
in 1888, the first five masted schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
. The Governor Ames was built in Waldoboro's Leavitt Storer Shipyard. A port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
, the town features an 1857 custom house
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods....
designed by Ammi B. Young
Ammi B. Young
Ammi Burnham Young was an important 19th century American architect whose commissions transitioned from the Greek Revival to the Neo-Renaissance styles. His Second Vermont State House brought him fame and success, which eventually led him to become the first Supervising Architect of the U.S....
.
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 78.8 square miles (204.1 km²), of which, 71.2 square miles (184.4 km²) of it is land and 7.6 square miles (19.8 km²) of it (9.68%) is water. Waldoboro is located at the head of navigation on the Medomak River
Medomak River
The Medomak River is a river in Maine. From its source in Liberty, the river winds south to the head of its estuary in Waldoboro, then about south to Bremen. The river flows through Hockomock Channel into the head of Muscongus Bay.-References:**...
.
The town is served by U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 in Maine
In the U.S. state of Maine, U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south state highway serving the eastern part of the state. It parallels the Atlantic Ocean from New Hampshire north through Portland, Brunswick, and Belfast to Calais, and then the St. Croix River and the rest of the Canadian border...
, and state routes 32, 220 and 235.
Demographics
See also: Waldoboro (CDP), MaineWaldoboro (CDP), Maine
Waldoboro is a census-designated place in the town of Waldoboro in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,291 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Waldoboro is located at ....
Census
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 4,916 people, 1,983 households, and 1,348 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 69.1 people per square mile (26.7/km²). There were 2,360 housing units at an average density of 33.1 per square mile (12.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.62% White, 0.22% Black or African American
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...
, 0.14% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.04% 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 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population.
There were 1,983 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median income for a household in the town was $34,830, and the median income for a family was $41,042. Males had a median income of $30,788 versus $22,462 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 $17,117. About 9.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Benjamin Brown, congressman.
- Robert CreeleyRobert CreeleyRobert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
, poet. - Tristan DyerTristan DyerTristan Dyer is an American film director, stop-motion animator, and Iraq war veteran from Waldoboro, Maine. He served in the U.S. Army for five years and spent one year at Camp Taji, Iraq with an Air Cavalry unit...
, Filmmaker and Iraq War Veteran. - Frederick G. PayneFrederick G. PayneFrederick George Payne was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Maine. He was born in Lewiston, Maine....
, United States senator, 60th Governor of Maine. - Isaac ReedIsaac Reed (Maine)Isaac Reed was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Waldoboro on August 22, 1809. He prepared for college at Bloomfield Academy, but by preference became a merchant-ship builder. He also engaged in banking....
, congressman. - Augusta Emma StetsonAugusta Emma StetsonAugusta Emma Stetson was an American Christian Science leader, born in Waldoboro, Maine She studied at the Blish School of Oratory in Boston, and in 1884 received the degree of Doctor of Christian Science from the Massachusetts Metaphysical College...
, religious leader. - Clyde SukeforthClyde SukeforthClyde Leroy Sukeforth , nicknamed "Sukey," was a former Major League Baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager who was best known for scouting and signing the Major Leagues' first black player in the modern era, Jackie Robinson.Sukeforth was born in Washington, Maine...
, MLBMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player and agent, scouted and signed Jackie RobinsonJackie RobinsonJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
.