Southwest Harbor, Maine

Southwest Harbor, Maine
—  Town  —
Seal
Southwest Harbor, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 44°16′42″N 68°19′19″W / 44.27833°N 68.32194°W / 44.27833; -68.32194
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Hancock
Settled	1761
Incorporated (town)	February 21, 1905
Area
– Total	22.6 sq mi (58.7 km2)
– Land	13.5 sq mi (35.0 km2)
– Water	9.1 sq mi (23.7 km2)
Elevation	118 ft (36 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	1,966
– Density	145.6/sq mi (56.2/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	04656, 04679
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-72865
GNIS feature ID	0582740

Southwest Harbor is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. Located on Mount Desert Island, the population was 1,966 at the 2000 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.6 square miles (58.7 km²), of which, 13.5 square miles (35.0 km²) of it is land and 9.1 square miles (23.7 km²) of it (40.35%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,966 people, 899 households, and 534 families residing in the town. The population density was 145.6 people per square mile (56.2/km²). There were 1,288 housing units at an average density of 95.4 per square mile (36.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.37% White, 0.31% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 899 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,555, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $29,792 versus $24,044 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,509. About 8.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Southwest Harbor has one school, Pemetic Elementary School. The school educates students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The building originally housed Pemetic High School, which served Southwest Harbor and the neighboring town of Tremont. Today, high school students in Southwest Harbor and Tremont attend Mount Desert Island High School in the town of Mount Desert.

Business and industry

Hinckley Yachts maintains its headquarters, design, construction, and repair facilities in Southwest Harbor.

Notable people

• Myrna Fahey, actress

Popular culture

• Location filming for the 1999 television mini-series Storm of the Century took place in Southwest Harbor.^[2]
• The video for the song Rebellion (Lies) by Arcade Fire was filmed here.

References

1. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ Storm of the Century Locations Internet Movie Database, Retrieved June 28, 2008

External links

• Official government website
• Chamber of Commerce website

Coordinates: 44°16′47″N 68°19′30″W / 44.27972°N 68.325°W / 44.27972; -68.325