Otisfield, Maine
Encyclopedia
Otisfield is a town in Oxford County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 1,560 at the 2000 census. Otisfield is a summer recreation area and home to Seeds of Peace
Camp and Camp Arcadia
.
on June 15, 1771 to James Otis
, Nathaniel Gorham
and other descendants of Captain John Gorham and certain members of his company who had fought in the 1690 Battle of Quebec
. It replaced a 1736 grant which was ruled invalid when the line between New Hampshire
and Massachusetts
was redrawn to satisfy claims by the heirs of John Mason. Many early settlers were veterans of the Revolutionary War
, with the greater number coming from Groton, Massachusetts
. First called Otis Field Plantation, it was incorporated on February 19, 1798 as Otisfield. It then included nearly all of Harrison
, set off in 1805, and a large part of Naples
, set off in 1834. The town was part of Cumberland County
until 1978, when it joined Oxford County
.
The surface of the town is uneven with gravelly but productive soil. Farming became the principal occupation, with corn
, potato
es and hay
the chief crops. Mills
were erected at various water power sites, with the first sawmill
built 1812. Other industries included gristmill
s, blacksmith
shops, a tannery
, a pants
factory and shoe
shop, a cider
mill and cannery for apple
s, a barrel
factory, a shingle
mill and a woolen
carding
mill. Today, Otisfield is largely a recreational area, with camps and summer cottages lining the shores of Pleasant Lake, Thompson Lake, Saturday Pond and Moose Pond.
, the town has a total area of 44.3 square miles (114.7 km²), of which 40 square miles (103.6 km²) is land and 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²), or 9.78%, is water. Otisfield is drained by the Crooked River.
The town is crossed by state routes 117 and 121. It borders the towns of Norway to the north, Oxford to the northeast, Poland
to the east, Casco
and Naples
to the south, and Harrison
to the west.
of 2000, there were 1,560 people, 595 households, and 452 families residing in the town. The population density
was 39.0 people per square mile (15.1/km²). There were 1,011 housing units at an average density of 25.3 per square mile (9.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.21% White, 0.26% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 0.90% from two or more races.
There were 595 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples
living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,304, and the median income for a family was $46,652. Males had a median income of $32,167 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $19,142. About 6.7% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.
Otisfield is known throughout the state of Maine for being the home of Seeds of Peace
International Camp. Seeds of Peace has been located in Otisfield since its founding in 1993. It is placed on Pleasant Lake and located on the former Camp Powhatan. Over 4,000 teenagers from all over the world have come to Seeds of Peace to discuss conflict resolution issues.
Oxford County, Maine
Oxford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine with a population of 57,833 as of the 2010 U.S. census. Its county seat is Paris.Part of Oxford County is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, metropolitan New England City and Town Area while a different part of Oxford County is...
, 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 1,560 at the 2000 census. Otisfield is a summer recreation area and home to Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
Camp and Camp Arcadia
Camp Arcadia
Camp Arcadia is an all-girl sleepaway camp emphasizing basic wilderness skills, located on Pleasant Lake in Otisfield, Maine. However, official camp stationary and addresses imply the geographical location to be Casco, ME, even though it is, in fact, Otisfield...
.
History
It was granted by the Massachusetts General CourtMassachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
on June 15, 1771 to James Otis
James Otis, Jr.
James Otis, Jr. was a lawyer in colonial Massachusetts, a member of the Massachusetts provincial assembly, and an early advocate of the political views that led to the American Revolution. The phrase "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny" is usually attributed to him...
, Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham
Nathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation...
and other descendants of Captain John Gorham and certain members of his company who had fought in the 1690 Battle of Quebec
Battle of Quebec (1690)
The Battle of Quebec was fought in October 1690 between the colonies of New France and Massachusetts Bay, then ruled by the kingdoms of France and England, respectively. It was the first time Quebec's defences were tested....
. It replaced a 1736 grant which was ruled invalid when the line between New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
was redrawn to satisfy claims by the heirs of John Mason. Many early settlers were veterans of the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, with the greater number coming from Groton, Massachusetts
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
. First called Otis Field Plantation, it was incorporated on February 19, 1798 as Otisfield. It then included nearly all of Harrison
Harrison, Maine
Harrison is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,315 at the 2000 census. A historic resort area, Harrison straddles Long Lake and Crystal Lake...
, set off in 1805, and a large part of Naples
Naples, Maine
Naples is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The population was 3,274 at the 2000 census, and it is home to part of Sebago Lake State Park. Naples is a resort area.-History:The area...
, set off in 1834. The town was part of Cumberland County
Cumberland County, Maine
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, 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...
until 1978, when it joined Oxford County
Oxford County, Maine
Oxford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine with a population of 57,833 as of the 2010 U.S. census. Its county seat is Paris.Part of Oxford County is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, metropolitan New England City and Town Area while a different part of Oxford County is...
.
The surface of the town is uneven with gravelly but productive soil. Farming became the principal occupation, with 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...
, 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 and 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...
the chief crops. Mills
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
were erected at various water power sites, with the first 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....
built 1812. Other industries included 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 :...
s, blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shops, 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...
, a pants
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
factory and shoe
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
shop, a cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
mill and cannery for apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, a barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
factory, a shingle
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
mill and a woolen
Woolen
Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...
carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
mill. Today, Otisfield is largely a recreational area, with camps and summer cottages lining the shores of Pleasant Lake, Thompson Lake, Saturday Pond and Moose Pond.
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 44.3 square miles (114.7 km²), of which 40 square miles (103.6 km²) is land and 4.3 square miles (11.1 km²), or 9.78%, is water. Otisfield is drained by the Crooked River.
The town is crossed by state routes 117 and 121. It borders the towns of Norway to the north, Oxford to the northeast, Poland
Poland, Maine
Poland is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,866 at the 2000 census. Home to Range Ponds State Park, Poland is a historic resort area...
to the east, Casco
Casco, Maine
Farmers found the surface of the town uneven, its hard and rocky soil "tolerably productive." Outlets of ponds, however, provided Casco with good sites for water powered mills. The town had four sawmills, four gristmills, a shook mill, a barrel stave mill, four shingle factories, a carriage factory...
and Naples
Naples, Maine
Naples is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The population was 3,274 at the 2000 census, and it is home to part of Sebago Lake State Park. Naples is a resort area.-History:The area...
to the south, and Harrison
Harrison, Maine
Harrison is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,315 at the 2000 census. A historic resort area, Harrison straddles Long Lake and Crystal Lake...
to the west.
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 1,560 people, 595 households, and 452 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 39.0 people per square mile (15.1/km²). There were 1,011 housing units at an average density of 25.3 per square mile (9.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.21% White, 0.26% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 0.90% from two or more races.
There were 595 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% 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, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $43,304, and the median income for a family was $46,652. Males had a median income of $32,167 versus $26,250 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 $19,142. About 6.7% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.
Seeds of Peace
Otisfield is known throughout the state of Maine for being the home of Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
International Camp. Seeds of Peace has been located in Otisfield since its founding in 1993. It is placed on Pleasant Lake and located on the former Camp Powhatan. Over 4,000 teenagers from all over the world have come to Seeds of Peace to discuss conflict resolution issues.