Weld, Maine
Encyclopedia
Weld is a town
in Franklin County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 402 at the 2000 census. Set beside Webb Lake
and almost surrounded by mountains, Weld is noted for its scenic beauty. It is home to Mount Blue State Park
and Camp Kawanhee for Boys
.
. The town was part of an extensive tract purchased about 1790 from the state of Massachusetts
by Jonathan Phillips of Boston. Phillips was an investor whose agent, Jacob Abbott of Wilton, New Hampshire
, resold parcels of the land to settlers. Together with Benjamin Weld of Boston, Abbott and his brother-in-law Thomas Russell Jr. in 1815 bought what remained of the Phillips tract.
Incorporated on February 8, 1816, the town was named for its proprietor, Benjamin Weld, a member of the Weld family
. Inauspiciously, 1816 was the Year Without a Summer
, when unusually cold weather threatened northeastern
communities with famine
.
A longtime resident of Weld was Pomp Russell, an African-American man born in Charlestown, Massachusetts
, in 1765. Russell served at the Battle of Bunker Hill
as a young boy, and was later caught spying behind British lines. Russell was lined up to be shot when he managed to escape. Following the Revolutionary War Russell moved to New Hampshire
, and then to Weld, the home of the Russell family, into which he had been adopted at age five, when Thomas Russell paid £5 for him. Pomp Russell was raised as a member of the Russell family, was awarded his freedom at age 21, and ultimately settled on land at Weld given him by Abel and Joseph Russell, sons of Thomas. Pomp Russell married Margaret Southwick of Charlestown, and he was a farmer.
Weld is located on a fairly level area of gravelly loam
almost surrounded by mountains, some of which are beyond the town's limits. Farmers cultivated corn
, potato
es, wheat
and oat
s. Weld was noted for numerous and prolific apple
orchard
s. Streams provided water power for mills, which included 5 sawmill
s, 3 box mills, a gristmill
and a carding
machine. It also produced fork and shovel handles, butter tubs, harness
and tinware. Other industries were a starch
factory, blacksmith
and tannery
. By 1870, the population was 1,130.
, the town has a total area of 63 square miles (163.2 km²), of which, 59.6 square miles (154.4 km²) of it is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) of it (5.38%) is water. Weld is situated beside Webb Lake, which is drained by the Webb River
, a tributary of the Androscoggin River
.
The town is crossed by state routes 142 and 156. It borders the town of Phillips
and Unincorporated Township No. 6 to the north, Avon
and Temple
to the east, and Carthage
and Perkins Plantation to the south.
Weld is home to Spruce Mountain and Hurricane Mountain, and considered home to several summits outside the town's boundaries, including Tumbledown Mountain
and Mount Blue.
of 2000, there were 402 people, 176 households, and 132 families residing in the town. The population density
was 6.7 people per square mile (2.6/km²). There were 691 housing units at an average density of 11.6 per square mile (4.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.01% White, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population.
There were 176 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples
living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.60.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 2.0% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 112.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,250, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $27,708 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $17,796. About 14.1% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 13.0% 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 Franklin County
Franklin County, Maine
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 30,768. Its county seat is Farmington.Franklin County was established on 9 May 1838.-Geography:...
, 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 402 at the 2000 census. Set beside Webb Lake
Webb Lake (Maine)
Webb Lake is a lake in the town of Weld in Franklin County, Maine. The latitude and longitude coordinates for this lake are 44.6981, -70.4487 and the altitude is 676 feet .Lake Webb is home to Camp Kawanhee for Boys....
and almost surrounded by mountains, Weld is noted for its scenic beauty. It is home to Mount Blue State Park
Mount Blue State Park
Mount Blue State Park is a popular recreation, camping, and swimming area run by the state of Maine located in Franklin County. Its facilities are situated on the shores of Webb Lake in Weld, near mountains Mount Blue, Little Jackson, and Tumbledown Mountain...
and Camp Kawanhee for Boys
Camp Kawanhee for Boys
Camp Kawanhee for Boys, or simply Camp Kawanhee, is an ACA-accredited summer camp for boys in Weld, Maine, on Webb Lake, in the United States. The camp is a nonprofit organization that is run under the supervision of a board of directors; however, it is run directly during the summers by Executive...
.
History
Originally called No. 5 (or Webb's Pond Plantation), it was first settled in 1800 by Nathaniel Kittredge and his family from Chester, New HampshireChester, New Hampshire
Chester is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,768 at the 2010 census. It is home to Chester College .-History:Incorporated in 1722, Chester once included Candia, set off in 1763...
. The town was part of an extensive tract purchased about 1790 from the state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
by Jonathan Phillips of Boston. Phillips was an investor whose agent, Jacob Abbott of Wilton, New Hampshire
Wilton, New Hampshire
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 3,743 people, 1,410 households, and 1,023 families living in the town. The population density was 145.3 people per square mile . There were 1,451 housing units at an average density of 56.3 per square mile...
, resold parcels of the land to settlers. Together with Benjamin Weld of Boston, Abbott and his brother-in-law Thomas Russell Jr. in 1815 bought what remained of the Phillips tract.
Incorporated on February 8, 1816, the town was named for its proprietor, Benjamin Weld, a member of the Weld family
Weld family
The Weld family is an extended family of Boston Brahmins most remembered for the philanthropy of its members. The Welds have many connections to Harvard University, the Golden Age of Sail, the Far East , the history of Massachusetts, and American history in general.William Weld, former Governor of...
. Inauspiciously, 1816 was the Year Without a Summer
Year Without a Summer
The Year Without a Summer was 1816, in which severe summer climate abnormalities caused average global temperatures to decrease by about 0.4–0.7 °C , resulting in major food shortages across the Northern Hemisphere...
, when unusually cold weather threatened northeastern
Atlantic Northeast
The Atlantic Northeast, or Arcadia, is a region of North America, comprising New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. Definitions of the region vary; it may extend to upstate New York and/or all of Atlantic Canada....
communities with famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
.
A longtime resident of Weld was Pomp Russell, an African-American man born in Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, in 1765. Russell served at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
as a young boy, and was later caught spying behind British lines. Russell was lined up to be shot when he managed to escape. Following the Revolutionary War Russell moved to New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, and then to Weld, the home of the Russell family, into which he had been adopted at age five, when Thomas Russell paid £5 for him. Pomp Russell was raised as a member of the Russell family, was awarded his freedom at age 21, and ultimately settled on land at Weld given him by Abel and Joseph Russell, sons of Thomas. Pomp Russell married Margaret Southwick of Charlestown, and he was a farmer.
Weld is located on a fairly level area of gravelly loam
Loam
Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay in relatively even concentration . Loam soils generally contain more nutrients and humus than sandy soils, have better infiltration and drainage than silty soils, and are easier to till than clay soils...
almost surrounded by mountains, some of which are beyond the town's limits. Farmers cultivated corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, 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, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and oat
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s. Weld was noted for numerous and prolific 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...
orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s. Streams provided water power for mills, which included 5 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, 3 box mills, a 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 :...
and 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...
machine. It also produced fork and shovel handles, butter tubs, harness
Horse harness
A horse harness is a type of horse tack that allows a horse or other equine to pull various horse-drawn vehicles such as a carriage, wagon or sleigh. Harnesses may also be used to hitch animals to other loads such as a plow or canal boat....
and tinware. Other industries were a starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
factory, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
and 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...
. By 1870, the population was 1,130.
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 63 square miles (163.2 km²), of which, 59.6 square miles (154.4 km²) of it is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) of it (5.38%) is water. Weld is situated beside Webb Lake, which is drained by the Webb River
Webb River
The Webb River is a river in western Maine. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows to the Kennebec River and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean....
, a tributary of the Androscoggin River
Androscoggin River
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin is in area...
.
The town is crossed by state routes 142 and 156. It borders the town of Phillips
Phillips, Maine
Phillips is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, a heritage railroad.-History:...
and Unincorporated Township No. 6 to the north, Avon
Avon, Maine
Avon is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 461 at the 2010 census. Avon is home to Mount Blue, part of Mount Blue State Park.-History:...
and Temple
Temple, Maine
Temple is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The town was named after Temple, New Hampshire. It is located at the end of Maine State Route 43 , and is said to be one of only two towns in Maine to be situated at the end of a public highway...
to the east, and Carthage
Carthage, Maine
Carthage is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 520 at the 2000 census.-History:First known as Plantation No. 4, Abbott's Purchase, it was part of a large tract of land bought in 1815 by Jacob Abbott of Wilton, New Hampshire from Jonathan Phillips of Boston, who had...
and Perkins Plantation to the south.
Weld is home to Spruce Mountain and Hurricane Mountain, and considered home to several summits outside the town's boundaries, including Tumbledown Mountain
Tumbledown Mountain
Tumbledown Mountain is a mountain in Franklin County, Maine.The mountain is a popular hiking spot in western Maine, with trailheads located on Byron Road in unincorporated Township 6, north of Weld. It is distinguished by an alpine pond just below the summit...
and Mount Blue.
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 402 people, 176 households, and 132 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 6.7 people per square mile (2.6/km²). There were 691 housing units at an average density of 11.6 per square mile (4.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.01% White, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population.
There were 176 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% 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, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.60.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 2.0% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 112.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $37,250, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $27,708 versus $21,875 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 $17,796. About 14.1% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.