Milo, Maine

Milo, Maine
—  Town  —
Bird's-eye view c. 1910
Milo, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 45°15′1″N 68°58′59″W / 45.25028°N 68.98306°W / 45.25028; -68.98306Coordinates: 45°15′1″N 68°58′59″W / 45.25028°N 68.98306°W / 45.25028; -68.98306
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Piscataquis
Incorporated	1823
Area
– Total	33.6 sq mi (86.9 km2)
– Land	32.8 sq mi (85.0 km2)
– Water	0.7 sq mi (1.9 km2)
Elevation	322 ft (98 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	2,383
– Density	72.6/sq mi (28.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	04463
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-46020
GNIS feature ID	0582597
Website	www.milo.trcmaine.org

Milo is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2000 census. The town is center for the Schoodic, Seboois and Sebec lakes region. Milo includes the village of Derby.

History

The community was first known as Township Number 3 in the seventh range north of the Waldo Patent. It was settled by Benjamin Sargent and his son, Theophilus, from Methuen, Massachusetts on May 2, 1802. On January 21, 1823 it was incorporated as Milo, named after Milo of Croton, a famous athlete from Ancient Greece.^[1] It would become a trade center, with Trafton's Falls providing water power for early industry. In 1823, Winborn A. Swett built a dam at the 14-foot (4.3 m) river drop and erected the first sawmill. Thomas White soon added a carding and fulling mill. The Joseph Cushing & Company built a woolen textile mill in 1842, but it burned six years later.^[2]

The Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad arrived in 1868-1869,^[3] and Milo developed into a small mill town. It produced numerous lumber goods, and in 1879 the Boston Excelsior Company built a factory to manufacture excelsior. The American Thread Company built a factory with a narrow gauge industrial railway in 1901-1902, moving its equipment from Willimantic, Connecticut.^[4] Milo Junction, now called Derby, was once the second largest railroad car shop and repair facility in New England. Built to service the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, the facility developed into a company town with a 40-room hotel and stores. There were 72 identical employee houses arranged in four rows along First and Second Streets. These uniformly-colored structures were sold by the railroad in 1959.^[5]

2008 Fire

On September 14, 2008, a fire destroyed several buildings in downtown Milo, including a flower shop, an arcade, and a True Value hardware store. Because of the age, composition, and vicinity of these buildings, the fire easily spread and devastated much of Main Street. Fire departments from Milo and from several surrounding towns were called in to extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported. Arson was determined to be the cause.^[6]

In January 2009, Christopher M. Miliano was arrested and indicted on two counts of arson, one count of theft, one count of burglary, and one count of aggravated assault; prosecutors claimed that Miliano set fire to a pub he had burgled, resulting in the blaze.^[7] In July 2009, Miliano entered a guilty plea for his offense, and was sentenced by the Piscatiquis County Superior Court to twenty years in prison, with all but eight years suspended.^[8]

Photo Gallery

• 

  West Main Street c. 1905

• 

  Milo House in 1910

• 

  Milo Jct. (Derby) in 1908

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.5 square miles (86.9 km²), of which, 32.8 square miles (85.0 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (2.18%) is water. The town is located at the confluence of the Sebec River with the Piscataquis River.

Demographics

See also: Milo (CDP), Maine

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 2,383 people, 1,021 households, and 659 families residing in the town. The population density was 72.6 people per square mile (28.0/km²). There were 1,215 housing units at an average density of 37.0 per square mile (14.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.36% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.

There were 1,021 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,432, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $27,393 versus $19,952 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,732. About 12.8% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

• Penquis Valley High School

Sites of interest

• Milo Historical Society & Museum

References

1. ^ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 210. http://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA9&dq=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA210#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Milo, Boston: Russell, http://history.rays-place.com/me/milo-me.htm 
3. ^ Angier, Jerry and Cleaves, Herb (1986). Bangor and Aroostook: The Maine Railroad. Flying Yankee Enterprises. p. 1. ISBN 0-9615574-2-7. 
4. ^ Angier, Jerry (2004). Bangor and Aroostook RR in Color. Morning Sun Books. p. 51. ISBN 1-58248-134-2. 
5. ^ Melvin, George F. (2010). Bangor and Aroostook in Color, Volume Two. Morning Sun Books. p. 29. ISBN 1-58248-285-3. 
6. ^ Fire devastates downtown Milo, Bangor Daily News, 15 September 2008
7. ^ Milo man indicted on arson charges, Bangor Daily News, 29 January 2009
8. ^ Man Sentenced For Arson In Milo, WCSH-TV, 14 July 2009
9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Town of Milo, Maine
• Milo Free Public Library
• Three Rivers Community of Maine
• Milo Webcam