Limestone (town), Maine

Limestone is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,361 at the 2000 census. The town is best known for being the home of the Loring Commerce Center (formerly Loring Air Force Base). Tens of thousand of fans of Vermont-based jam-band Phish poured into the site to temporarily make Limestone the most populous town in Maine during individual weekends of the summers of 1997 (The Great Went), 1998 (Lemonwheel) and 2003 (It).

The town is also home to The Maine School of Science and Mathematics, a residential charter high school specializing in math and science education.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.7 square miles (105.4 km²), of which, 40.4 square miles (104.7 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (0.74%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,361 people, 801 households, and 527 families residing in the town. The population density was 58.4 people per square mile (22.6/km²). There were 1,169 housing units at an average density of 28.9/sq mi (11.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.05% White, 5.08% Black or African American, 0.72% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.24% of the population.

There were 801 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.7% 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 2.32 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 18.0% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 112.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,313, and the median income for a family was $39,135. Males had a median income of $30,579 versus $18,400 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,502. About 7.7% of families and 20.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Limestone is home to the former Loring Air Force Base.

Notable residents

*F. Bowman Hastie III, writer, owner of canine artist Tillamook Cheddar

References

External links

* [http://www.limestonemaine.org/ Town of Limestone official website]
* [http://www.mssm.org/ The Maine School of Science and Mathematics]