Islesboro, Maine
Encyclopedia
Islesboro is a town
in Waldo County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 603 at the 2000 census
. It is a well-known summer colony
accessible by ferry
from Lincolnville Beach
3 miles to the west, or by air taxi
service. Home to Warren Island State Park
, Islesboro includes the villages of Dark Harbor, Pripet and North Islesboro.
called it Pitaubegwimenahanuk, meaning "the island that lies between two channels." Situated in upper Penobscot Bay
, the narrow, 14 mile island is the marker between East and West Penobscot Bay. It was part of the Waldo Patent
. First called Long Island Plantation, it was settled in 1769. It would be incorporated as Islesborough on January 28, 1789, although over time the spelling was contracted to Islesboro.
With many harbors and coves, the island was home to the largest commercial shipping
fleet in the bay during the 19th century. Following the Civil War
, however, Islesboro developed as a Gilded Age
resort community, and many large summer homes were built by the wealthy. Their large yachts cruised and raced throughout the Gulf of Maine
. The town remains a famous upper-class enclave and well-known summer colony
.
of 2000, there were 603 people, 280 households, and 176 families residing in the town. The population density
was 42.3 people per square mile (16.3/km²). There were 741 housing units at an average density of 52.0 per square mile (20.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.18% White, 0.17% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.50% from other races
, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population.
There were 280 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples
living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% 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 2.69.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $39,643, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $24,750 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $25,653. About 5.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% 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 Waldo County
Waldo County, Maine
Waldo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 38,786. Its county seat is Belfast.Waldo County was founded on 7 February 1827 from a portion of Hancock County...
, 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 603 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. It is a well-known summer colony
Summer colony
The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States and Canada, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes...
accessible by ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
from Lincolnville Beach
Lincolnville, Maine
Lincolnville is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,042 at the 2000 census. Lincolnville is the mainland terminal for state ferry service to Islesboro.-History:...
3 miles to the west, or by air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
service. Home to Warren Island State Park
Warren Island State Park
Warren Island State Park is a state park in Lincolnville, Waldo County, Maine. It was acquired by the state of Maine in 1959. It is located on . It contains nine campsites and two lean-to's....
, Islesboro includes the villages of Dark Harbor, Pripet and North Islesboro.
History
Penobscot 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...
called it Pitaubegwimenahanuk, meaning "the island that lies between two channels." Situated in upper Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
, the narrow, 14 mile island is the marker between East and West Penobscot Bay. It was part of the Waldo Patent
Waldo Patent
The Waldo Patent, a letters patent also known as the Muscongus Patent or the Lincolnshire Patent, was an area of land 36 miles square in what is now the U.S...
. First called Long Island Plantation, it was settled in 1769. It would be incorporated as Islesborough on January 28, 1789, although over time the spelling was contracted to Islesboro.
With many harbors and coves, the island was home to the largest commercial shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
fleet in the bay during the 19th century. Following the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, however, Islesboro developed as a Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
resort community, and many large summer homes were built by the wealthy. Their large yachts cruised and raced throughout the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
. The town remains a famous upper-class enclave and well-known summer colony
Summer colony
The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States and Canada, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes...
.
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 603 people, 280 households, and 176 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 42.3 people per square mile (16.3/km²). There were 741 housing units at an average density of 52.0 per square mile (20.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.18% White, 0.17% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.50% 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 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.33% of the population.
There were 280 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% 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, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% 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 2.69.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $39,643, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $24,750 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 $25,653. About 5.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- Grindle Point Light
- Islesboro Historical Society & Museum
- Sailors' Memorial Museum, located in the former keepers' house at Grindle Point Lighthouse
- Spragues Beach located near Turtle Head
- Warren Island State Park
- Islesboro Community Center
Notable people
- Kirstie AlleyKirstie AlleyKirstie Louise Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991...
, actress - Honor BlackmanHonor BlackmanHonor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
, actress - Ruth DraperRuth DraperRuth Draper was an American actress, dramatist and noted diseuse who specialized in character-driven monologues.-Early life and family:...
, dramatist - Charles Dana GibsonCharles Dana GibsonCharles Dana Gibson was an American graphic artist, best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century....
, illustrator - Isabel GilliesIsabel GilliesIsabel Gillies is an actress and author. She has played Elliot Stabler's wife, Kathy, in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999...
, actress and author - Bruce Claflin, executive chairman AMD
- J.P. Morgan, financier
- Chris O'DonnellChris O'DonnellChristopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
, actor - Kelly PrestonKelly PrestonKelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
, actress - Parker StevensonParker StevensonParker Stevenson is an American television and film actor.-Career:His first notable screen appearance was a starring role in the 1972 movie A Separate Peace...
, actor, director - John TravoltaJohn TravoltaJohn Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
, actor
.