Solon, Maine
Encyclopedia
Solon is a town in Somerset County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 940 at the 2000 census. Solon is a picturesque village containing historic architecture.
and his troops camped below Caratunk Falls on October 7, 1775 before carrying their boats around them on the way up the Kennebec River
to the Battle of Quebec
. Originally called T1 R2 EKR, the plantation would known as Spauldingtown after Thomas Spaulding, a grantee. It was settled in 1782 by William Hilton from Wiscasset, who purchased 500 acres (2 km²). On February 23, 1809 it was incorporated as Solon, named after Solon
, a statesman and poet of Ancient Greece
.
Agriculture
was the principal occupation of the inhabitants. The surface of the town is uneven, the underlying rock slate
, but the sandy and occasionally gravelly loam produced good crops of hay
and grain
. Solon village was established at Fall Brook, its water power used to operate mills
. By 1859, when the population was 1,419, there were two sawmill
s, a gristmill
, a shovel
handle factory, two fulling
and two carding
machines, and two blacksmith
s. By 1886, the town's industries included a carriage
manufacturer and a harness
maker.
Solon is the gateway to the Old Canada Road (U. S. Route 201), which from 1820 until 1860 served as the primary link between Lower Canada
and Maine. The scenic byway follows the Kennebec River valley through antique villages into pristine forests near the Canadian border.
, the town has a total area of 41 square miles (106.2 km²), of which, 39.9 square miles (103.3 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (2.63%) is water. Solon is drained by Fall Brook, Michael Stream and the Kennebec River
, where Caratunk Falls has a descent of 20 feet (6.1 m).
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 201, 201A and Maine State Route 8
. It borders the towns of Bingham and Brighton Plantation to the north, Athens
to the east, Cornville
and Madison to the south, and Embden
to the west.
of 2000, there were 940 people, 398 households, and 257 families residing in the town. The population density
was 23.6 people per square mile (9.1/km²). There were 581 housing units at an average density of 14.6 per square mile (5.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.83% White, 0.43% Black, 0.21% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 398 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples
living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 113.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,266, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $25,724 versus $16,574 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $13,777. About 12.1% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.
photographs of Solon from the Victorian era
:
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 940 at the 2000 census. Solon is a picturesque village containing historic architecture.
History
The first known inhabitants were the Abenaki Indians, whom European settlers encountered in the early 1600's. There are petroglyphs that have been said to be 5,000 years old or older, but more than likely came about after 1620. General Benedict ArnoldBenedict 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 camped below Caratunk Falls on October 7, 1775 before carrying their boats around them on the way 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 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...
. Originally called T1 R2 EKR, the plantation would known as Spauldingtown after Thomas Spaulding, a grantee. It was settled in 1782 by William Hilton from Wiscasset, who purchased 500 acres (2 km²). On February 23, 1809 it was incorporated as Solon, named after Solon
Solon
Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
, a statesman and poet of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
.
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
was the principal occupation of the inhabitants. The surface of the town is uneven, the underlying rock slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, but the sandy and occasionally gravelly loam produced good crops of 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...
and 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...
. Solon village was established at Fall Brook, its water power used to operate 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 :...
. By 1859, when the population was 1,419, there were two 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, 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 shovel
Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
handle factory, two fulling
Fulling
Fulling or tucking or walking is a step in woolen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. The worker who does the job is a fuller, tucker, or walker...
and two 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...
machines, and two 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...
s. By 1886, the town's industries included a 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,...
manufacturer and a harness
Horse harness
A horse harness is a type of horse tack that allows a horse or other equine to pull various horse-drawn vehicles such as a carriage, wagon or sleigh. Harnesses may also be used to hitch animals to other loads such as a plow or canal boat....
maker.
Solon is the gateway to the Old Canada Road (U. S. Route 201), which from 1820 until 1860 served as the primary link between Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
and Maine. The scenic byway follows the Kennebec River valley through antique villages into pristine forests near the Canadian border.
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 41 square miles (106.2 km²), of which, 39.9 square miles (103.3 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (2.63%) is water. Solon is drained by Fall Brook, Michael Stream and 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...
, where Caratunk Falls has a descent of 20 feet (6.1 m).
The town is crossed by U.S. Route 201, 201A and Maine State Route 8
Maine State Route 8
State Route 8 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from U.S. Route 201 at Memorial Circle in Augusta, to an intersection with U.S. Route 201 in Solon. Route 8 is long....
. It borders the towns of Bingham and Brighton Plantation to the north, Athens
Athens, Maine
Athens is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 847 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....
to the east, Cornville
Cornville, Maine
Cornville is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,208 at the 2000 census.-History:Settled in 1794, Cornville was incorporated on 24 February 1798 as the 116th town in Maine.-Geography:...
and Madison to the south, and Embden
Embden, Maine
Embden is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 881 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...
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 940 people, 398 households, and 257 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 23.6 people per square mile (9.1/km²). There were 581 housing units at an average density of 14.6 per square mile (5.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.83% White, 0.43% Black, 0.21% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population.
There were 398 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% 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, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 113.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,266, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $25,724 versus $16,574 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 $13,777. About 12.1% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.
Stereographic cards
StereoscopicStereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
photographs of Solon from the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
:
Sites of interest
- South Solon Meeting House (1842), with 1950s frescos by the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture
- Evergreen Wilderness Chapel & 1800's Christian Museum -- a 1800s country church replica and Christian museum