Skowhegan, Maine
Encyclopedia
Skowhegan is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of 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...

. As of 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...

, the town population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 was 8,824. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuous state fair
State fair
A state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....

 in the United States. The Skowhegan School of Art
The Skowhegan School of Art
The Skowhegan School of Art is a nine week summer artists' residency located in Madison, Maine and founded there in 1947.The school invites applicants to submit artworks as slides, which are then judged by a jury of school governors and artists. During the summer work period, artists are given...

 is an internationally known residency program for visual artists, though it is technically located in neighboring East Madison.

History

The Skowhegan Falls (which have since been replaced by the Weston Dam) descended 28 feet over a half mile on the Kennebec River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...

. This was once territory of the Norridgewock
Norridgewock
The Norridgewock were a band of the Abenaki Native Americans/First Nations, an Eastern Algonquian tribe of the United States and Canada. The tribe occupied an area in Maine to the west and northwest of the Penawapskewi tribe, which was located on the western bank of the Penobscot River...

 tribe of Abenaki Indians
Indigenous 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...

, whose village was located in Madison until 1724, when it was sacked during Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...

. From spring until fall the tribe fished here, where abundant salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 and other species could be caught by wading. Consequently, they named the area Skowhegan, meaning "watching place [for fish]."

The land was settled in 1773 as a part of Canaan
Canaan, Maine
Canaan is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,017 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

. Colonel 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 passed through the village in 1775 on their way 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...

. It would be set off from Canaan and incorporated on February 5, 1823 under the name Milburn. The first officials of the town were as follows: Moderator, Joseph Patten; Town Clerk, Samuel Weston; Selectmen, Benjamin Eaton, Joseph Merrill, Samuel Weston, and Josiah Parlin. However, inhabitants preferred the old name of Skowhegan, as it would be renamed in 1836. In 1861, the town annexed Bloomfield across the river. Skowhegan became county seat in 1871.

Farms produced 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...

, 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, 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 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....

. In 1818, the Skowhegan Fair was organized, with the first fair held in 1819. The Somerset and Kennebec Railroad (later part 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...

) reached the town in 1856. Skowhegan Falls provided water power for industry, and Skowhegan developed into a 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:...

. Numerous mills were built on Skowhegan Island, which separates the river into north and south channels
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...

. In the 19th-century, the town had a 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...

 mill, 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....

, two 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, two flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...

 mills, a wood pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...

 mill, 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 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...

 mill, an oil cloth factory, two axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

 factories, a scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...

 factory, two harness and saddlery factories, a 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...

 factory and a foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...

. In 1986, the S. D. Warren Company, a division of Scott Paper Company
Scott Paper Company
The Scott Paper Company is a USA-based corporation which manufactures mostly paper based consumer products.Scott Paper was founded in 1879 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott, and is often credited as being the first to market toilet paper sold on a roll...

, opened a plant in Skowhegan. In 1997, the S. D. Warren mill was sold to Sappi Fine Paper
Sappi
Sappi Limited is a global pulp and paper company group.Sappi is a producer of coated fine paper and chemical cellulose. The company conducts its business through three business units: Sappi Fine Paper, Sappi Forest Products and Sappi Trading....

. The New Balance Athletic Shoe Company
New Balance
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. , best known as simply New Balance, is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company...

 operates a factory in the community.

Among the town's features is the Swinging Bridge, a suspension footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...

 first constructed in 1883 to connect Skowhegan Island with the south side of the Kennebec River. Another landmark is the Beaux-Arts style Municipal Building and Opera House, designed by noted Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

 architect John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens was an American architect who worked in two related styles — the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style, which dominated national domestic architecture for the first half of the 20th century...

, and built in 1907-1909. On the north side of the municipal parking lot stands a 62 feet (18.9 m) sculpture depicting an Abenaki Indian, carved by Bernard Langlais. In 2003, Skowhegan was a major filming location for an HBO movie based on the 2001 book, Empire Falls
Empire Falls
Empire Falls is a two-part mini-series that aired on HBO in 2005. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name which was written by Richard Russo. It was nominated for and won multiple awards, including various Emmys and Golden Globes...

, by Richard Russo
Richard Russo
Richard Russo is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher.-Early life and education:Russo was born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville...

. Skowhegan is the home of the annual KNEADING Conference established in 2007 where topics including local wheat production, milling, baking and wood fired oven building are highlighted. Skowhegan is one of nine designated Main Street Maine communities utilizing a strategic four point approach to downtown revitalization, a program endorsed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...

.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 60.6 square miles (156.9 km²), of which, 59.0 square miles (152.8 km²) of it is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) of it (2.64%) is water. Skowhegan is drained by the Wesserunsett Stream and 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...

. Loomis Hill, elevation 870 feet (265 meters) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

, is the highest point in town.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 8,824 people, 3,716 households, and 2,363 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 149.6 people per square mile (57.8/km²). There were 4,165 housing units at an average density of 70.6 per square mile (27.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.56% White, 0.25% 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...

, 0.43% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.12% 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 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.73% of the population.

There were 3,716 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% 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, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,390, and the median income for a family was $35,880. Males had a median income of $27,982 versus $21,011 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 $15,543. About 13.0% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Skowhegan has a Council-Manager form of government, with a Town Manager and a Board of Selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...

. There are 5 selectmen, each serving 3-year terms. Joy Mase is the current Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and Newell Graf is the current Vice Chairman. Betty Austin, Donald Lowe, and Steven Spaulding serve as the other three Selectmen. Graf and Lowe's terms expire in 2012, Mase and Austin's terms expire in 2013, and Spaulding's term expire in 2014.

The Board of Selectmen holds a public 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....

 on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 5:30 pm in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at which all citizens are welcome to attend.

The Selectman manages the Town of Skowhegan with the help of a Town Manager, a position currently held by John Doucette.

Skowhegan has a total of 13 departments:
  • Town Manager's Office
  • Town Clerk and Treasurer's Office
  • Finance & Human Resources
  • Assessor's Office
  • Code Enforcement
  • Solid Waste & Recycling
  • Pollution Control
  • Town Planner
  • Economic & Community Development Office
  • Fire Department
  • Police Department
  • Highway Department
  • Parks & Recreation

  • Notable people

    • Abner Coburn
      Abner Coburn
      Abner Coburn was the 30th Governor of Maine from 1863 to 1864 and a prominent individual in Skowhegan, Maine until his death....

      , 30th governor of Maine
    • Louise Helen Coburn
      Louise Helen Coburn
      Louise Helen Coburn was one of the five founders of Sigma Kappa sorority, a pioneer for women's education at Colby College, where she served as the first female trustee, and an accomplished scientist and writer known for writing the two volumes of "Skowhegan on the Kennebec."She was the niece of...

      , founded the Sigma Kappa
      Sigma Kappa
      Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...

       sorority
    • Stephen Coburn
      Stephen Coburn
      Stephen Coburn was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine.He was brother to Maine Governor Abner Coburn and the father of Louise Helen Coburn, the founder of Sigma Kappa Sorority and a prominent Maine writer.Coburn was born in Bloomfield, now known as Skowhegan...

      , congressman
    • Forrest Goodwin
      Forrest Goodwin
      Forrest Goodwin was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Skowhegan, Maine and attended the common schools, graduated from Skowhegan High School and Bloomfield Academy. He also graduated from Colby College and Boston University Law School...

      , congressman
    • Samuel W. Gould
      Samuel W. Gould
      Samuel Wadsworth Gould was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Porter on January 1, 1852. He moved with his parents to Hiram, and attended the public schools and North Parsonsfield Seminary. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1877. Gould studied law, was admitted...

      , congressman
    • David Kidder
      David Kidder
      David Kidder was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine.He was born on December 8, 1787 in Dresden, Lincoln County, Maine. He pursued classical studies with private tutors, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in...

      , congressman
    • Peter Mills, state senator
    • Clyde Smith
      Clyde Smith
      Clyde Harold Smith was a United States Representative from Maine.Born on a farm near Harmony, Maine, he moved with his parents to Hartland, Maine in 1891. He attended the rural schools and Hartland Academy, and taught school...

      , congressman
    • Margaret Chase Smith
      Margaret Chase Smith
      Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in Maine history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either. She was also the first woman to have her name...

      , senator

    See also

    • First Baptist Church, Former (Skowhegan, Maine)
      First Baptist Church, Former (Skowhegan, Maine)
      First Baptist Church, Former is a historic church on the west side of Main St., S of ME 104 in Skowhegan, Maine.It was built in 1842 and added to the National Register in 1991....

    • Maine School Administrative District 54
      Maine School Administrative District 54
      Maine School Administrative District 54 is an operating school district within Somerset County, Maine, covering the towns of Skowhegan, Canaan, Mercer, Smithfield, Cornville, and Norridgewock....

    • Skowhegan Fire Station
      Skowhegan Fire Station
      Skowhegan Fire Station, is located in Skowhegan, Maine. The fire station was built in 1904 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 20, 1983....

    • U.S. Route 201A
      U.S. Route 201A
      U.S. Route 201 Alternate, signed as U.S. Route 201A, is a long alternate route of U.S. Route 201. The route, itself a former alignment of its parent, connects to US-201 in the towns of Skowhegan and Solon, running a loop to the west of its parent...

    • WFMX
      WFMX
      WMKS, "105.7 NOW" is a Rhythmic-leaning top 40 outlet serving the Piedmont Triad region. The station is a part of Clear Channel's cluster in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem market and is licensed to Clemmons, North Carolina.-History as WFMX:...

      - Skowhegan radio station

    External links

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