Cumberland County, Maine

Cumberland County, Maine
Seal
Location in the state of Maine
Maine's location in the U.S.
Founded	1760
Seat	Portland
Largest city	Portland
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,216.89 sq mi (3,152 km²) 835.51 sq mi (2,164 km²) 381.38 sq mi (988 km²), 31.34%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	281,674 336.9/sq mi (130.10/km²)
Website	www.cumberlandcounty.org

Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 281,674. Its county seat is Portland^[1], and is the most populous of the sixteen Maine counties, as well as the most affluent. Cumberland County has the deepest and second largest body of water in the state, Sebago Lake, which supplies tap water to most of the county. The county is the economic and industrial center of the state, having the resources of the Port of Portland, the Maine Mall, and having corporate headquarters of major companies such as Fairchild Semiconductor, IDEXX Laboratories, Unum, and TD Bank.

Cumberland County is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Cumberland County was founded in 1760 from a portion of Yorkshire County.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,216.89 square miles (3,151.7 km²), of which 835.51 square miles (2,164.0 km²) (or 68.66%) is land and 381.38 square miles (987.8 km²) (or 31.34%) is water.^[2]

Adjacent counties

• Androscoggin County, Maine - north
• Oxford County, Maine - northwest
• Sagadahoc County, Maine - northeast
• York County, Maine - southwest

Major highways

• Interstate 95
• Interstate 295
• U.S. Route 302
• U.S. 1
• Maine State Route 9
• Maine State Route 77

National protected area

• Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	25,530		—
1800	38,208		49.7%
1810	42,831		12.1%
1820	49,445		15.4%
1830	60,102		21.6%
1840	68,658		14.2%
1850	79,538		15.8%
1860	75,591		−5.0%
1870	82,021		8.5%
1880	86,359		5.3%
1890	90,949		5.3%
1900	100,689		10.7%
1910	112,014		11.2%
1920	124,376		11.0%
1930	134,645		8.3%
1940	146,000		8.4%
1950	169,201		15.9%
1960	182,751		8.0%
1970	192,528		5.3%
1980	215,789		12.1%
1990	243,135		12.7%
2000	265,612		9.2%
2010	281,674		6.0%
[3][4][5]

As of the census^[6] of 2000^[7] , there were 265,612 people, 107,989 households, and 67,709 families residing in the county. The population density was 318 people per square mile (123/km²). There were 122,600 housing units at an average density of 147 per square mile (57/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.74% White, 1.06% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 107,989 households out of which 30.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.10% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.30% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,048, and the median income for a family was $54,485. Males had a median income of $35,850 versus $27,935 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,949. About 5.20% of families and 7.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

19.6% were of English, 15.5% Irish, 9.6% French, 7.8% United States or American, 7.7% Italian, 6.3% French Canadian and 5.9% German ancestry according to Census 2000. Most of those claiming to be of "American" ancestry are actually of English descent, but have family that has been in the country for so long, in many cases since the early seventeenth century that they choose to identify simply as "American".^{[8][9][10][11][12]} 94.4% spoke English and 2.1% French as their first language.

Government

Cumberland county is represented by county commissioners and the daily operations are run by a county manager. The county has several responsibilities, including running a Sheriff's department, the Cumberland County Jail, and a county court system. Cumberland County also has its own treasury department, emergency management agency and also has a district attorney office. The county also has a stake in the Cumberland County Civic Center (an entertainment facility), as well as programs in local economic development and tourism.

Cumberland County is divided into three districts of equal population, each of which elects one county commissioner. The sheriff is elected countywide and runs the Cumberland County Sheriff's office and the Cumberland County Jail.

Politics

Presidential election results^[13]

Year	Democrat	Republican
2008	64.1% 105,218	34.2% 56,186
2004	58.2% 94,846	40.1% 65,384
2000	52.0% 74,203	41.0% 58,543

Voter registration

Voter registration

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of August 2011[14]
Party		Total Voters	Percentage
	Democratic	77,663	37.05%
	Unenrolled	70,538	33.65%
	Republican	53,343	25.45%
	Green Party	8,050	3.84%
Total		209,594	100%

In popular culture

The fictional town of Jerusalem's Lot, featured in the vampire novel 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, is situated in Cumberland County. King makes passing reference to other nearby towns and cities, including Portland, Falmouth, and Westbrook.

The video game Trauma Team takes place in Cumberland County in the year 2020, referencing Portland and Portland's Back Cove. Neither actual hospital housed in Portland is mentioned in-game; instead, a fictional trauma center called Resurgam First Care is fabricated for the plot (in real life, Portland's city motto is "Resurgam," Latin for "I will rise again"). Two other fictional places are mentioned that reference the county name: "Cumberland College" and "Cumberland Institute of Forensic Medicine".

Cities and towns

Baldwin Bridgton Brunswick Cape Elizabeth Casco Chebeague Island Cumberland Falmouth Freeport

Frye Island Gorham Gray Harpswell Harrison Long Island Naples New Gloucester North Yarmouth

Portland Pownal Raymond Scarborough Sebago South Portland Standish Westbrook Windham Yarmouth

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cumberland County, Maine

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
3. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/me190090.txt
4. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
5. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ "State & County "QuickFacts": Cumblerand County". U.S. Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23/23005lk.html. Retrieved 2007-05-13. 
8. ^ Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America By Dominic J. Pulera.
9. ^ Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?', Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.
10. ^ Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-6.
11. ^ Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.
12. ^ Mary C. Waters, Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), p. 36.
13. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/. Retrieved 2011-06-11. 
14. ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of August, 2011". Maine Bureau of Corporations. http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2011/20110817r-e-active.pdf. 

External links

• Cumberland County government
• Cumberland County on Maine.gov
• Bibliography of Casco Bay

Coordinates: 43°49′N 70°20′W / 43.81°N 70.33°W / 43.81; -70.33