Fairfield, Maine
Encyclopedia
Fairfield is a town
in Somerset County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 6,735 at the 2010 census. The town includes Fairfield Center, Fairfield village and Hinckley. It is home to the Good Will-Hinckley School, Lawrence High School and Kennebec Valley Community College
.
residing at Taconnet village, once located downriver at the confluence of the Sebasticook River
with the Kennebec River
in what is today Winslow
. But in 1692 during King William's War
, the village was burned, so the Canibas tribe abandoned the area. The French and Indian Wars
finally ended in 1763, leaving the region open for English
colonization. Fairfield Plantation, named for its fair aspect, was first settled 1774.
Benedict Arnold
and his troops rested and re-provisioned here in 1775 during their march up the Kennebec River
to the ill-fated Battle of Quebec
. Following the Revolutionary War
, Fairfield Plantation developed as a trade
and agricultural town, with farms producing hay
, grain
and potato
es. It was noted for the number and quality of its cattle
. On June 18, 1788, it was incorporated as Fairfield. By 1790, the community had 492 inhabitants. In 1837, it produced 11,531 bushel
s of wheat
and a large quantity of wool
.
Falls
on the Kennebec drop 34 feet at Fairfield, providing water power for industry. The mill town
had eight sawmill
s, three planing mill
s, a gristmill
, a canned
corn
factory, plaster
mill, three carriage
factories, a sled
factory, two door
, sash and blind
factories, a cabinet and box factory, coffin
factory, a clothing factory, a marble
works and a tannery
. The largest factories were the textile
plants—Kendall's Mills in the southeastern extremity of the town, and Somerset Mills located about two miles above.
The main line of the Maine Central Railroad passes through Fairfield on the way from Portland to Waterville to Bangor, and the Skowhegan branch of the Maine Central Railroad
(originally the Somerset and Kennebec Railroad) ran along the Kennebec River from Waterville
to Skowhegan
, with stations in Shawmut and Hinckley (today, this line terminates at the SAPPI paper mill just north of Hinckley). The Somerset Railroad (Maine)
traversed western Fairfield on a route that once ran north from Oakland to Norridgewock, Madison, Bingham, and Moosehead Lake (and now terminates in North Anson).
In 1889, Reverend George W. Hinckley founded the Hinckley School. In 1899-1900, The Gerald Hotel was built downtown. Designed by noted Maine architect
William Robinson Miller, it was commissioned by Amos F. Gerald, builder of the first electric trolley system in Maine. The hotel was topped with a statue of Mercury
, the Roman
god of speed, and remained in operation from 1900 until 1937. Miller also designed the town's Lawrence Public Library, dedicated on July 25, 1901, and the Lawrence High School. Today, Fairfield makes wood and paper
products, and is largely a bedroom community for Waterville.
The town has 3 post office
s because it contains 3 different unincorporated townships under municipal jurisdiction of the town of Fairfield:
The third post office serves the incorporated urban Fairfield (CDP)
, an early name for which was Kendall's Mills. For approximately 75 years, the urban district was under a village corporation government. Thus, the town would hold New England
style town meeting
s that covered business for the greater town, followed by a village corporation meeting to deal with urban needs, including police service, fire department
service and town engineer
service (public works
). The non-urban, unincorporated areas—Shawmut, Fairfield Center and Hinckley—were not assessed taxes for urban services they did not receive. This arrangement ended in 1929.
, the town has a total area of 54.6 square miles (141.5 km²), of which, 53.8 square miles (139.3 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) of it (1.56%) is water. Fairfield is drained by the Kennebec River
.
of 2000, there were 6,573 people, 2,586 households, and 1,773 families residing in the town. The population density
was 122.3 people per square mile (47.2/km²). There were 2,801 housing units at an average density of 52.1 per square mile (20.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.92% White, 0.35% Black or African American
, 0.33% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races
, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.30% of the population.
There were 2,586 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples
living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,462, and the median income for a family was $43,533. Males had a median income of $31,227 versus $22,930 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $16,335. About 6.3% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in Somerset County
Somerset County, Maine
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 52,228. Its county seat is Skowhegan.-History:...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 6,735 at the 2010 census. The town includes Fairfield Center, Fairfield village and Hinckley. It is home to the Good Will-Hinckley School, Lawrence High School and Kennebec Valley Community College
Kennebec Valley Community College
Kennebec Valley Community College, one of the seven colleges in the Maine Community College System, is a community college located on a sixty-four acre campus in Fairfield, Maine.-Overview:...
.
History
The area was territory of the Canibas tribe of Abenaki IndiansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
residing at Taconnet village, once located downriver at the confluence of the Sebasticook River
Sebasticook River
The Sebasticook River is a river in the central part of Maine, in the United States. It flows from Great Moose Lake, about north of Winslow, Maine, to the Kennebec River in Winslow.According to the Sebasticook River Watershed Association:...
with the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
in what is today Winslow
Winslow, Maine
Winslow is a town and census-designated place in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, along the Kennebec River. The population was 7,743 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. But in 1692 during King William's War
King William's War
The first of the French and Indian Wars, King William's War was the name used in the English colonies in America to refer to the North American theater of the Nine Years' War...
, the village was burned, so the Canibas tribe abandoned the area. The French and Indian Wars
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars is a name used in the United States for a series of conflicts lasting 74 years in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars...
finally ended in 1763, leaving the region open for English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
colonization. Fairfield Plantation, named for its fair aspect, was first settled 1774.
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
and his troops rested and re-provisioned here in 1775 during their march up the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
to the ill-fated Battle of Quebec
Battle of Quebec (1775)
The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775 between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of the city of Quebec, early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price...
. Following the Revolutionary War
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Fairfield Plantation developed as a trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
and agricultural town, with farms producing hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
and potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es. It was noted for the number and quality of its cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. On June 18, 1788, it was incorporated as Fairfield. By 1790, the community had 492 inhabitants. In 1837, it produced 11,531 bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and a large quantity of wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
.
Falls
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
on the Kennebec drop 34 feet at Fairfield, providing water power for industry. The mill town
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
had eight sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, three planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
s, a gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
, a canned
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
factory, plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
mill, three carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
factories, a sled
Sled
A sled, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle with a smooth underside or possessing a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners that travels by sliding across a surface. Most sleds are used on surfaces with low friction, such as snow or ice. In some cases,...
factory, two door
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
, sash and blind
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
factories, a cabinet and box factory, coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
factory, a clothing factory, a marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
works and a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
. The largest factories were the textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
plants—Kendall's Mills in the southeastern extremity of the town, and Somerset Mills located about two miles above.
The main line of the Maine Central Railroad passes through Fairfield on the way from Portland to Waterville to Bangor, and the Skowhegan branch of the Maine Central Railroad
Maine Central Railroad
The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
(originally the Somerset and Kennebec Railroad) ran along the Kennebec River from Waterville
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
to Skowhegan
Skowhegan, Maine
Skowhegan is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 8,824. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuous state fair in the United States...
, with stations in Shawmut and Hinckley (today, this line terminates at the SAPPI paper mill just north of Hinckley). The Somerset Railroad (Maine)
Somerset Railroad (Maine)
The Somerset Railroad was built to serve a large wooden Victorian era destination hotel on Moosehead Lake. The railway became part of the Maine Central Railroad in 1911; and a portion remains in intermittent operation by Pan Am Railways.-History:...
traversed western Fairfield on a route that once ran north from Oakland to Norridgewock, Madison, Bingham, and Moosehead Lake (and now terminates in North Anson).
In 1889, Reverend George W. Hinckley founded the Hinckley School. In 1899-1900, The Gerald Hotel was built downtown. Designed by noted Maine architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
William Robinson Miller, it was commissioned by Amos F. Gerald, builder of the first electric trolley system in Maine. The hotel was topped with a statue of Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
, the Roman
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
god of speed, and remained in operation from 1900 until 1937. Miller also designed the town's Lawrence Public Library, dedicated on July 25, 1901, and the Lawrence High School. Today, Fairfield makes wood and paper
Papermaking
Papermaking is the process of making paper, a substance which is used universally today for writing and packaging.In papermaking a dilute suspension of fibres in water is drained through a screen, so that a mat of randomly interwoven fibres is laid down. Water is removed from this mat of fibres by...
products, and is largely a bedroom community for Waterville.
The town has 3 post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s because it contains 3 different unincorporated townships under municipal jurisdiction of the town of Fairfield:
- Fairfield Center (no post office)
- Shawmut (post office location)
- Hinckley (post office location)
The third post office serves the incorporated urban Fairfield (CDP)
Fairfield (CDP), Maine
Fairfield is a census-designated place in the town of Fairfield in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,569 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fairfield is located at ....
, an early name for which was Kendall's Mills. For approximately 75 years, the urban district was under a village corporation government. Thus, the town would hold New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
style town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
s that covered business for the greater town, followed by a village corporation meeting to deal with urban needs, including police service, fire department
Fire department
A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...
service and town engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
service (public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
). The non-urban, unincorporated areas—Shawmut, Fairfield Center and Hinckley—were not assessed taxes for urban services they did not receive. This arrangement ended in 1929.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 54.6 square miles (141.5 km²), of which, 53.8 square miles (139.3 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) of it (1.56%) is water. Fairfield is drained by the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,573 people, 2,586 households, and 1,773 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 122.3 people per square mile (47.2/km²). There were 2,801 housing units at an average density of 52.1 per square mile (20.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.92% White, 0.35% Black or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.33% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.30% of the population.
There were 2,586 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,462, and the median income for a family was $43,533. Males had a median income of $31,227 versus $22,930 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $16,335. About 6.3% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- L. C. Bates Museum
- Cotton-Smith House, Fairfield Historical Society Museum
- Stone historical markers commemorating:
- Benedict Arnold's 1775 encampment—north end of Main Street at its merger with Route 201.
- Veterans of American conflicts in PanamaUnited States invasion of PanamaThe United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
, Grenada, Lebanon1983 Beirut barracks bombingThe Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
, Libya and the Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
-- across from Fairfield Primary School.