Monmouth, Maine

Monmouth, Maine
—  Town  —
Cumston Hall
Monmouth, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 44°14′21″N 70°0′43″W / 44.23917°N 70.01194°W / 44.23917; -70.01194
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Kennebec
Incorporated	1792
Area
– Total	39.0 sq mi (101.1 km2)
– Land	34.1 sq mi (88.3 km2)
– Water	4.9 sq mi (12.7 km2)
Elevation	262 ft (80 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	3,785
– Density	111.0/sq mi (42.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	04259 (Monmouth), 04265 (N. Monmouth)
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-46405
GNIS feature ID	0582601

Monmouth is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,785 at the 2000 census. It is a popular summer resort area, with many lakeside cottages.

History

Part of the Plymouth Patent, it was first settled as Freetown in 1776-1777 by families from Brunswick. It would also be called Bloomingborough and Wales before being incorporated by the Massachusetts General Court on January 20, 1792 as Monmouth, after Monmouth, New Jersey. The name was suggested by landowner General Henry Dearborn, who had fought in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778.^[1]

Monmouth was considered one of the best agricultural towns in the state, producing hay, apples and potatoes, in addition to beef cattle and dairy products.^[2] It also had excellent sites for watermills. By 1859, when the population was 1,925, it had two factories for making boot-webbing and binding, a shovel and hoe factory, a tannery, a machine shops, some mechanic shops, some wood turning shops, a sleigh and carriage factory, some boot and shoe shops, a carpet factory, and a sash, blind and door factory. In 1849, the Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroad (later part of the Maine Central Railroad) opened to the town.^[1]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.0 square miles (101.1 km²), of which 34.1 square miles (88.3 km²) is land and 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²) (12.61%) is water. Monmouth is drained by Jud Stream, Jock Stream, Mud Mills Stream and Wilson Stream, Monmouth has access to Lakes Cobbosseecontee, Annabessacook, and Cochnewagen.

The town is crossed by U.S. Route 202 and state routes 126, 132 and 135.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 3,785 people, 1,435 households, and 1,077 families residing in the town. The population density was 111.0 people per square mile (42.8/km²). There were 1,801 housing units at an average density of 52.8 per square mile (20.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White, 0.20% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.03% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.

There were 1,435 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,906, and the median income for a family was $47,616. Males had a median income of $32,034 versus $22,885 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,551. About 9.6% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

Divisions

• North Monmouth
• South Monmouth
• East Monmouth
• Monmouth Center

Points of interest

• Cumston Hall, location of the Theater at Monmouth. Cumston Hall was donated in 1900.
• Highmoor Farm, which in 1909 was the first of many farms acquired by the University of Maine for agricultural research
• Monmouth Fairgrounds, site of the Monmouth Fair
• Woolworth Property, residence of descendants of Franklin Winfield Woolworth, founder of the F. W. Woolworth Company
• East Monmouth, formerly a separate town neighboring Monmouth called Fruittown. They merged and it became the eastern side of town.

Notable people

• John Chandler, congressman, senator, soldier.
• Henry Dearborn, Revolutionary War era general.
• James R. Flynn, songwriter.
• Benjamin White Norris, congressman.
• Samuel Thurston, pioneer, lawyer, politician.
• Oliver Otis Howard, Civil War General, attended Monmouth Academy.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. pp. 212–215. http://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA9&dq=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA212#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
2. ^ George J. Varney, History of Monmouth, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts 1886
3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Town of Monmouth, Maine
• Cumston Public Library
• Monmouth Museum
• Theatre at Monmouth
• Monmouth Community Players
• Monmouth Fair
• Maine.gov -- Monmouth, Maine

Coordinates: 44°14′19″N 70°02′08″W / 44.23861°N 70.03556°W / 44.23861; -70.03556