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Maine ( ) is a state in the region of the , and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of and to the northeast and northwest, and shares a maritime border with . Maine is the largest state in New England by total area, almost as large as the combined area of the remaining five states. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural. Maine's capital is Augusta, and its most populous city is Portland, with a total population of 68,408, as of the 2020 census.

The territory of Maine has been inhabited by Indigenous populations for about 12,000 years, after the glaciers retreated during the last ice age. At the time of European arrival, several Algonquian-speaking nations governed the area and these nations are now known as the Wabanaki Confederacy. The first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, founded by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived , established by the in 1607. A number of English settlements were established along the coast of Maine in the 1620s, although the rugged climate and conflict with the local Indigenous people caused many to fail. As Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maine's territory during the American Revolution. During the War of 1812, the largely undefended eastern region of Maine was occupied by British forces with the goal of annexing it to Canada via the Colony of New Ireland, but returned to the United States following failed British offensives on the northern border, mid-Atlantic and south which produced a peace treaty that restored the pre-war boundaries. Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820 when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state. On March 15, 1820, under the Missouri Compromise, Maine was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state.

Today, Maine is known for its jagged, rocky and bay-shore coastlines, mountains, heavily interior, and its cuisine, particularly wild lowbush blueberries and such as and . Coastal and Down East Maine have emerged as important centers for the , especially in the vicinity of Portland, which has also brought to the city and its metropolitan area.


History
The earliest known inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including the , , , Androscoggin, and Kennebec. During the later King Philip's War, many of these peoples would merge in one form or another to become the Wabanaki Confederacy, aiding the of and the of New York. Afterwards, many of these people were driven from their natural territories, but most of Maine's tribes continued, unchanged, until the American Revolution. Before this point, however, most of these people were considered separate nations. Many had adapted to living in permanent, -inspired settlements, while those along the coast tended to move from summer villages to winter villages on a yearly cycle. They would usually winter inland and head to the coasts by summer.

European contact with what is now called Maine may have started around 1000 CE when Vikings are believed to have interacted with the native in present-day Hancock County, most likely through trade. If confirmed, this would make Maine the site of the earliest European discovery in the entire US. About 200 years earlier, from the settlements in and , the Norse first identified America and attempted to settle areas such as , but failed to establish a permanent settlement. Archeological evidence suggests that Vikings in Greenland returned to North America for several after the initial discovery to trade and collect timber, with the most relevant evidence being the , an 11th-century Norwegian coin found at a Native American dig site in 1954.

The first European confirmed settlement in modern-day Maine was in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, led by French explorer Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. His party included Samuel de Champlain, noted as an explorer. The French named the entire area , including the portion that later became the state of Maine. (It is possible that they named the region Maine after the French province; however, the origin of the name is uncertain.) The established the first English settlement in Maine at the in 1607, the same year as the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. The Popham colonists returned to Britain after 14 months. MPBN, "Rolling Back the Frontier" , The Story of Maine; accessed January 3, 2011

The French established two missions: one on in 1609, and the other on Mount Desert Island in 1613. The same year, Claude de La Tour established Castine. In 1625, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour erected to protect Castine. The coastal areas of eastern Maine first became the Province of Maine in a 1622 land patent. The part of western Maine north of the was more sparsely settled and was known in the 17th century as the Territory of Sagadahock. A second settlement was attempted in 1623 by English explorer and naval Captain Christopher Levett at a place called York, where he had been granted by King Charles I of England. It also failed.

The 1622 patent of the Province of Maine was split at the into the Province of New Hampshire to the south and New Somersetshire to the north. A disputed 1630 patent split off the area around present-day Saco as . Justifying its actions with a 1652 geographic survey that showed an overlapping patent, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had seized New Somersetshire and Lygonia by force by 1658. The Territory of Sagadahock between the and St. Croix River notionally became Cornwall County, Province of New York under a 1664 grant from Charles II of England to his brother James, at the time the Duke of York. Some of this land was claimed by as part of . All of the English settlements in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Province of New York became part of the Dominion of New England in 1686. All of present-day Maine was unified as York County, Massachusetts under a 1691 royal patent for the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

Central Maine was formerly inhabited by the Androscoggin tribe of the , also known as Arosaguntacook. They were driven out of the area in 1690 during King William's War. They were relocated to St. Francis, Canada, which was destroyed by Rogers' Rangers in 1759, and is now . The other Abenaki tribes suffered several severe defeats, particularly during Dummer's War, with the capture of in 1724 and the defeat of the in 1725, which significantly reduced their numbers. They finally withdrew to , where they were settled at Bécancour and Sillery, and later at St. Francis, along with other refugee tribes from the south.Bruce G. Trigger (ed.): Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 15. Northeast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1978

Maine was much fought over by the French, English, and allied natives during the 17th and 18th centuries. These natives conducted raids against settlers and each other, taking captives for ransom or, in some cases, kidnapped for adoption by Native American tribes. A notable example was the early 1692 raid on York, where about 100 English settlers were killed and another estimated 80 taken hostage." York commemorates Candlemas Raid ". The Portsmouth Herald. February 1, 2001. The took captives taken during raids of in Queen Anne's War of the early 1700s to , a Catholic village near , where some were adopted and others ransomed.John Demos, The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994, pp. 186 and 224 Darren Bonaparte, "The History of Akwesasne" , The Wampum Chronicles, accessed February 1, 2010

After the British defeated the French in Acadia in the 1740s, the territory from the east fell under the nominal authority of the , and together with present-day New Brunswick formed the Nova Scotia county of Sunbury, with its court of general sessions at Campobello. American and British forces contended for Maine's territory during the American Revolution and the War of 1812, with the British occupying eastern Maine in both conflicts via the Colony of New Ireland.Woodard, Colin. The Lobster Coast . New York. Viking/Penguin, , 2004, pp. 139–140, 150–151 The territory of Maine was confirmed as part of Massachusetts when the United States was formed following the Treaty of Paris ending the revolution, although the final border with British North America was not established until the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

Maine was physically separate from the rest of Massachusetts. Longstanding disagreements over land speculation and settlements led to Maine residents and their allies in Massachusetts proper forcing an 1807 vote in the Massachusetts Assembly on permitting Maine to secede; the vote failed. Secessionist sentiment in Maine was stoked during the War of 1812 when Massachusetts pro-British merchants opposed the war and refused to defend Maine from British invaders. In 1819, Massachusetts agreed to permit secession, sanctioned by voters of the rapidly growing region the following year.


Statehood and Missouri Compromise
Formal secession from Massachusetts and admission of Maine as the 23rd state occurred on March 15, 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise, which geographically restricted the spread of and enabled the admission to statehood of the following year, keeping a balance between and free states.Woodard, Colin. "Parallel 44: Origins of the Mass Effect", The Working Waterfront, August 31, 2010. [5] Woodard, Colin. The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators and the Forgotten Frontier (2004) Penguin Books.

Maine's original state capital was Portland, Maine's largest city, until it was moved to the more central Augusta in 1832. The principal office of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court remains in Portland.

The 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, under the command of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, prevented the from being flanked at Little Round Top by the during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Four U.S. Navy ships have been named , most famously the , whose sinking by an explosion on February 15, 1898, precipitated the Spanish–American War.


Geography
To the south and east is the Gulf of Maine, and to the west is the state of . The Canadian province of is to the north and northeast, and the province of is to the northwest. Maine is the northernmost and largest state in New England, accounting for almost half of the region's entire land area. Maine is the only state to border exactly one other American state. Approximately half the area of Maine lies on each side of the 45th parallel north in .

Maine is the easternmost state in the Contiguous United States both in its extreme points and its geographic center. The town of Lubec is the easternmost organized settlement in the United States. Its Quoddy Head Lighthouse is also the closest place in the United States to Africa and Europe. Estcourt Station is Maine's northernmost point, as well as the northernmost point in New England. (For more information see extreme points of the United States)

Maine's is the largest lake wholly in New England, since is located between , New York, and . A number of other Maine lakes, such as South Twin Lake, are described by in The Maine Woods (1864). is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, which extends southerly to Springer Mountain, Georgia, and the southern terminus of the new International Appalachian Trail which, when complete, will run to Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Machias Seal Island and , off the state's Downeast coast, are claimed by both and the Maine town of Cutler, and are within one of four areas between the two countries whose sovereignty is still in dispute, but it is the only one of the disputed areas containing land. Also in this easternmost area in the Bay of Fundy is the , the largest in the Western Hemisphere.

Maine is the least densely populated state east of the Mississippi River. It is called the Pine Tree State due to its largest distribution and presence of , including and . Over 80% of its total area is forested or unclaimed, the most forest cover of any U.S. state. In the wooded areas of the interior lies much uninhabited land, some of which does not have formal political organization into local units (a rarity in New England). The Northwest Aroostook unorganized territory in the northern part of the state, for example, has an area of and a population of 10, or one person for every .

Maine is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests . The land near the southern and central Atlantic coast is covered by the mixed of the Northeastern coastal forests. The remainder of the state, including the North Woods, is covered by the New England–Acadian forests.

Maine has almost of ocean coastline (and of tidal coastline). West Quoddy Head in Lubec is the easternmost point of land in the 48 contiguous states. Along the famous rock-bound coast of Maine are lighthouses, beaches, fishing villages, and thousands of offshore islands, including the Isles of Shoals which straddle the New Hampshire border. There are jagged rocks and cliffs and many bays and inlets. Inland are lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains. This visual contrast of forested slopes sweeping down to the sea has been summed up by American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay of Rockland and Camden, in "Renascence":

Geologists describe this type of landscape as a "drowned coast", where a rising sea level has invaded former land features, creating bays out of valleys and islands out of mountain tops. A rise in land elevation due to the melting of heavy glacier ice caused a slight rebounding effect of underlying rock; this land rise, however, was not enough to eliminate all the effect of the rising sea level and its invasion of former land features.

Much of Maine's geomorphology was created by extended glacial activity at the end of the last ice age. Prominent glacial features include and Bubble Rock, both part of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. Carved by glaciers, Somes Sound reaches depths of . The extreme depth and steep drop-off allow large ships to navigate almost the entire length of the sound. These features also have made it attractive for boat builders, such as the prestigious .

Bubble Rock, a , is a large boulder perched on the edge of Bubble Mountain in Acadia National Park. By analyzing the type of granite, geologists discovered that glaciers carried Bubble Rock to its present location from near Lucerne, away. The runs through the north and west of the state, being underlain by the ancient , and the south and east underlain by the .

Acadia National Park is the only national park in New England. Areas under the protection and management of the National Park Service include:

  • Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail
  • Maine Acadian Culture in St. John Valley
  • Roosevelt Campobello International Park on Campobello Island in , Canada, operated by both the U.S. and Canada, just across the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge from Lubec
  • Saint Croix Island International Historic Site at Calais
  • Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

Lands under the control of the state of Maine include:

  • Maine State Parks
  • Maine Wildlife Management Areas (WMA)


Climate
Maine has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), with warm and sometimes humid summers, and long, cold and very snowy winters. Winters are especially severe in the northern and western parts of Maine, while coastal areas are moderated slightly by the , resulting in marginally milder winters and cooler summers than inland regions. Daytime highs are generally in the range throughout the state in July, with overnight lows in the high 50s°F (around 15°C). January temperatures range from highs near on the southern coast to overnight lows averaging below in the far north.

The state's record high temperature is , set in July 1911, at North Bridgton. Precipitation in Maine is evenly distributed year-round, but with a slight summer maximum in northern/northwestern Maine and a slight late-fall or early-winter maximum along the coast due to "nor'easters" or intense cold-season rain and snowstorms. In coastal Maine, the late spring and summer months are usually driest—a rarity across the Eastern United States. Maine has fewer days of thunderstorms than any other state east of the , with most of the state averaging fewer than twenty days of a year. are rare in Maine, with the state averaging two per year, although this number is increasing. Most severe thunderstorms and tornadoes occur in the southwestern interior portion of the state,[6] NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006. where summer temperatures are often the warmest and the atmosphere is thus more unstable compared to northern and coastal areas. Maine rarely sees the direct landfall of , as they tend to recurve out to sea or are rapidly weakening by the time they reach the cooler waters of Maine.

In January 2009, a new record low temperature for the state was set at Big Black River of , tying the New England record.

Annual precipitation varies from in Presque Isle to in Acadia National Park.

+Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Maine
−0/−10
−2/−12
−2/−14
−2/−11
−6/−17


Flora and fauna
Maine exhibits a diverse range of flora and fauna across its varied landscapes, including forests, coastline, and wetlands. Forested areas consist primarily of coniferous and deciduous trees, such as , , and its state tree, the . Coastal regions are characterized by hardy sea milkwort, , , and the invasive .

Maine's terrestrial fauna comprises mammals such as , black bears, and white-tailed deer, along with smaller species like , , and . Maine has the largest populations of moose and black bears in the contiguous United States. Avian diversity is evident with migratory birds like , American oystercatcher, and , as well as resident species like black-capped chickadees, , and . Wetlands provide habitat for amphibians such as spotted salamanders, , and toads. Freshwater habitats support fish species like , landlocked salmon, and multiple , while marine life in offshore waters includes , , , and . Maine's abundance of lobster makes the state the largest producer of lobster in the United States.


Demographics

Population
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of Maine was 1,344,212 on July 1, 2019, a 1.19% increase since the 2010 United States census. At the 2020 census, 1,362,359 people lived in the state. The state's population density is 41.3 people per square mile, making it the least densely populated state east of the Mississippi River. As of 2010, Maine was also the most rural state in the Union, with only 38.7% of the state's population living within urban areas. As explained in detail under "Geography", there are large tracts of uninhabited land in some remote parts of the interior of the state, particularly in the North Maine Woods.

The mean population center of Maine is located in Kennebec County, just east of Augusta. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is the most densely populated with nearly 40% of Maine's population. This area spans three counties and includes many farms and wooded areas; the 2016 population of Portland proper was 66,937.

Maine has experienced a very slow rate of population growth since the 1990 census; its rate of growth (0.57%) since the 2010 census ranks 45th of the 50 states. In 2021 and 2022, however, Maine had the highest proportion of arriving residents to departing residents of any state in the country, with 1.8 arrivals for every departure. The modest population growth in the state has been concentrated in the southern coastal counties; with more diverse populations slowly moving into these areas of the state. However, the northern, more rural areas of the state have experienced a slight decline in population from 2010 to 2016.

As of 2020, Maine has the highest population age 65 or older in the United States.

According to the 2010 census, Maine has the highest percentage of non-Hispanic of any state, at 94.4% of the total population. In 2011, 89.0% of all births in the state were to non-Hispanic White parents." Americans under age1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot". The Plain Dealer. June 3, 2012. Maine also has the second-highest residential senior population.

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 4,411 homeless people in Maine.

The table below shows the racial composition of Maine's population as of 2016.

+ Maine racial composition of population
100%
94.8%
1.2%
0.6%
1.1%
0.0%
0.2%
2.0%

According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 1.5% of Maine's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): (0.4%), (0.4%), (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (0.6%). The six largest ancestry groups were: (20.7%), (17.3%), (15.7%), (8.1%), American (7.8%) and French Canadian (7.7%).

People citing that they are American are of overwhelmingly English descent, but have ancestry that has been in the region for so long (often since the 17th century) that they choose to identify simply as Americans.

(2004). 9780826416438, A&C Black. .
Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, "The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns", Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44–6.Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, "Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82–86.Mary C. Waters, Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), p. 36. French Canadian Emigration to the United States 1840–1930. Claude Bélanger, Department of History, Marianopolis College. French-Canadian Americans by Marianne Fedunkiw.

Maine has the highest percentage of of any state. Most of them are of Canadian origin, but in some cases have been living there since prior to the American Revolutionary War. There are particularly high concentrations in the northern part of Maine in Aroostook County, which is part of a cultural region known as that goes over the border into . Along with the population in the north, many French-Canadians came from as immigrants between 1840 and 1930.

The upper Saint John River valley area was once part of the so-called Republic of Madawaska, before the frontier was decided in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. Over a quarter of the population of Lewiston, Waterville, and are Franco-American. Most of the residents of the and sections are chiefly of British heritage. Smaller numbers of various other groups, including , , Swedish and , have settled throughout the state since the late 19th and early 20th century waves.

Today there are four federally recognized tribes in Maine, including the Mi'kmaq Nation. In 2020, 7,885 identified as being Native American alone, and 25,617 did in combination with one or more other races.


Birth data
Note: Births in table do not sum to 100% because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race.
+Live births by single race/ethnicity of mother
> White11,774 (92.1%)11,654 (91.8%)11,563 (91.7%)11,484 (90.4%)10,958 (89.1%)11,022 (89.5%)10,401 (88.3%)10,231 (88.7%)10,619 (88.4%)10,640 (88.0%)10,015 (86.1%)
Black455 (3.6%)450 (3.5%)473 (3.7%)411 (3.2%)545 (4.4%)546 (4.4%)541 (4.6%)514 (4.5%)551 (4.6%)679 (5.6%)790 (6.8%)
253 (2.0%)248 (1.9%)186 (1.5%)192 (1.5%)219 (1.8%)202 (1.6%)217 (1.8%)195 (1.7%)197 (1.6%)163 (1.3%)199 (1.7%)
American Indian118 (0.9%)158 (1.2%)143 (1.1%)97 (0.7%)88 (0.7%)99 (0.8%)96 (0.8%)85 (0.7%)71 (0.6%)76 (0.7%)70 (0.6%)
Hispanic (of any race)172 (1.3%)200 (1.6%)251 (2.0%)238 (1.9%)229 (1.9%)224 (1.8%)257 (2.2%)258 (2.2%)305 (2.5%)338 (2.8%)334 (2.9%)
Total12,776 (100%)12,698 (100%)12,607 (100%)12,705 (100%)12,298 (100%)12,311 (100%)11,779 (100%)11,539 (100%)12,006 (100%)12,093 (100%)11,627 (100%)

  • Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

In 2018, the top countries of origin for Maine's immigrants were , the , , and .


Language
Maine does not have an official language, but the most widely spoken language in the state is English. The 2010 census reported 92.91% of Maine residents aged five and older spoke only English at home. French-speakers are the state's chief linguistic minority; census figures show that Maine has the highest percentage of people speaking French at home of any state: 3.93% of Maine households are French-speaking, compared with 3.45% (including Cajun and ) in , which is the second highest state. Spanish is the third-most-common language in Maine, after English and French.


Religion
According to the Pew Research Center in 2014, the religious affiliations of Maine were: 37% (in particular: Evangelical Protestant 14%, Mainline Protestant 21%, 2%), or 6%, Nothing in Particular 26%, Roman Catholic Church 21%, other Christians 5%, non-Christian religions including , , and Baháʼí 7%, and and Unitarians 5%.

In 2014, the Roman Catholic Church was the largest religious denomination and the (7% Evangelical and 5% Mainline) were the state's largest Protestant denomination, followed by the (6%) and the Congregationalists (5%). The atheists and the agnostics are only 6% of the state, but 26% of Mainers said that they "Believe in God but they are Unaffiliated." Eighty-one percent of Mainers believed in God, while 3% did not know and 16% did not believe in God. Thirty-four percent of Mainers thought that religion was "very important" and 29% said that it was "important", while 21% said that religion was not important.

According to a survey through the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, approximately 62% of the population were Christian; the religiously unaffiliated slightly increased to 33% from the separate 2014 study by the Pew Research Center. In a 2022 study by the Public Religion Research Institute, 63% of the population were Christian, and 30% were religiously unaffiliated. Among the non-Christian population in 2022, 1% were Unitarian Universalist, 5% , and 1% .

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, with Christianity as the dominant faith, the largest denominations by number of adherents were Catholicism (219,233 members), non-denominational Protestantism (45,364), and United Methodists (19,686). According to the same study, there were an estimated 16,894 Muslims in the state.


Economy
Total employment (May 2024):
  • 674,900
Total employer establishments (2021):
  • 42,519

Maine's total gross state product was $91.1 billion in 2023. The state's per capita personal income for 2023 was $63,117, ranking 30th in the nation, and its median gross income was $69,543. , Maine's unemployment rate is 3.2%. , Maine's is $14.65. Commercial fishing, once a mainstay of the state's economy, maintains a presence, particularly and . While lobster is the main seafood focus for Maine, the harvest of both oysters and seaweed are on the rise. In 2015, 14% of the Northeast's total oyster supply came from Maine. The shrimp industry of Maine is on a government-mandated hold. With an ever-decreasing Northern shrimp population, Maine fishermen are no longer allowed to catch and sell shrimp. The hold began in 2014, but a pilot program allowing limited shrimp fishing began in 2025. Western Maine aquifers and springs are a source of bottled water for companies like .

Maine's industrial outputs consist chiefly of paper, lumber and wood products, electronic equipment, leather products, food products, textiles, and bio-technology. Naval shipbuilding and construction remain key as well, with Bath Iron Works in Bath and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

Brunswick Landing, formerly Naval Air Station Brunswick, is also in Maine. Formerly a large support base for the U.S. Navy, the BRAC campaign initiated the Naval Air Station's closing, despite a government-funded effort to upgrade its facilities. The former base has since been changed into a civilian business park, as well as a new satellite campus for Southern Maine Community College. , Maine ports played a key role in national transportation. Beginning around 1880, Portland's rail link and made it Canada's principal winter port, until the aggressive development of Halifax, Nova Scotia in the mid-20th century. In 2013, 12,039,600 passed into and out of Portland by sea, which places it 45th of U.S. water ports. Portland International Jetport has been expanded, providing the state with increased air traffic from carriers such as and Southwest Airlines.

Maine has very few large companies that maintain headquarters in the state, and that number has fallen due to consolidations and mergers, particularly in the pulp and paper industry. Some of the larger companies that do maintain headquarters in Maine include in Portland; Fairchild Semiconductor in South Portland; IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook; Hannaford Bros. Co. in Scarborough; L.L.Bean in Freeport; and Puritan Medical Products in Guilford. Maine is also the home of the Jackson Laboratory, the world's largest non-profit mammalian genetic research facility and the world's largest supplier of genetically purebred mice.


Tourism
Tourism and outdoor recreation play a major and increasingly important role in Maine's economy. In 2023, 15,267,000 visitors spent more than $9 billion in Maine. Summer visitors and tourism began before the Civil War. After the Civil War, the number of visitors increased significantly. This was when a growing urban middle class wanted to leave cities in the summer to seek Maine's coast, lakes, woods, and mountains. Maine's fresh air, pure water, and local food were additional attractions. In the late 19th century, artist colonies developed in Oqunquit and on Monhegan. Acadia National Park became part of the national park system in 1929. The park is one of the most popular national parks in the United States. It attracts more than 4 million visitors each year. In 2024, visitors spent $475 million in the Bar Harbor area where the park is located. The flagship L.L. Bean store in Freeport attracts more than 3 million visitors each year. The state is a popular destination for sport (particularly deer, moose, and bear), , , , boating, and , among other activities.


Creative economy & the arts
Maine has developed a burgeoning , most notably centered in the Greater Portland vicinity. In 2022, Portland’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $86 million in economic activity, according to a survey by Americans for the Arts. The foundation of Maine's creative economy is its long tradition of fine arts. It also includes craftsmen, historic sites, museums, and cultural attractions.


Agriculture
Maine's outputs include potatoes, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cattle, wild blueberries, apples, , , and seaweed. Aroostook County is known for its crops. Potatoes make the state $166,672,000 a year. Maine is the top U.S. producer of low-bush blueberries. Preliminary data from the for 2012 also indicate Maine was the largest blueberry producer of the major blueberry producing states, with a total production of 91,100,000 lbs. This data includes both low (wild) and high-bush (cultivated) blueberries. In 2017, the production of Maine's seaweed industry was estimated at $20 million per year. In 2022, Maine seaweed farmers harvested over 1 million pounds of seaweed, which was predicted to rise to 4.1 million pounds by 2025. Sixty percent of American seaweed comes from Maine. Maine is home to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and had 535 certified organic farms in 2019.


Shipbuilding
Maine has a long-standing tradition of being home to many shipbuilding companies, such as Bath Iron Works and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Maine was home to many shipyards that produced wooden sailing ships. The main function of these ships was to transport either cargos or passengers overseas. One of these yards was located in Pennellville Historic District in what is now Brunswick, Maine. This yard, owned by the Pennell family, was typical of the many family-owned shipbuilding companies of the time period. Other such examples of shipbuilding families were the Skolfields and the Morses. During the 18th and 19th centuries, wooden shipbuilding of this sort made up a sizable portion of the economy.


Taxation
Maine has an structure containing two brackets, 6.5 and 7.95 percent of personal income. Before July 2013, Maine had four brackets: 2, 4.5, 7, and 8.5 percent. Maine's general rate is 5.5 percent. The state also levies charges of nine percent on lodging and prepared food and ten percent on short-term auto rentals. Commercial sellers of blueberries, a Maine staple, must keep records of their transactions and pay the state 1.5 cents per pound ($1.50 per 100 pounds) of the fruit sold each season. All and tangible personal property located in the state of Maine is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. The administration of property taxes is handled by the local assessor in incorporated cities and towns, while property taxes in the unorganized territories are handled by the State Tax Assessor.


Transportation

Airports
Maine receives service at its two largest airports, the Portland International Jetport in Portland, and the Bangor International Airport in Bangor. Both are served daily by many major to destinations such as New York, , and Orlando. Essential Air Service also subsidizes service to a number of smaller airports in Maine, bringing small aircraft to regional airports such as the Augusta State Airport, Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport, Knox County Regional Airport, and the Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle. These airports are served by regional providers such as with Cessna 402s, and with Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft.

Many smaller airports are scattered throughout Maine, serving only traffic. The Eastport Municipal Airport, for example, is a city-owned public-use airport with 1,200 general aviation aircraft operations each year from single-engine and ultralight aircraft.


Highways
Interstate95 (I-95) travels through Maine, as well as its easterly branch I-295 and spurs I-195, I-395 and the unsigned I-495 (the Falmouth Spur). In addition, U.S. Route1 (US1) starts in Fort Kent and travels to . The eastern terminus of the eastern section of US2 starts in Houlton, near the New Brunswick, Canada border to Rouses Point, New York, at US11. US2A connects Old Town and Orono, primarily serving the University of Maine campus. US201 and US202 flow through the state. US2, Maine State Route 6 (SR6), and SR9 are often used by truckers and other motorists of the en route to other destinations in the United States or as a short cut to .


Rail

Passenger
The Downeaster passenger train, operated by , provides passenger service between Brunswick and Boston's , with stops in Freeport, Portland, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, and Wells. The Downeaster makes five daily trips.


Freight
Freight service throughout the state is provided by a handful of regional and shortline carriers: Pan Am Railways (formerly known as Guilford Rail System), which operates the former Boston and Maine and Maine Central railroads; St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad; Maine Eastern Railroad; Central Maine and Quebec Railway; and New Brunswick Southern Railway.


Shipping

Cargo
The International Marine Terminal in Portland provides shipping container transport. In 2021 an estimated 36,700 shipping containers moved through the terminal. In 2017, a total of 17,515 shipping containers were transported. The Icelandic shipping company opened its United States headquarters in Portland in 2013. Its ships stop in Portland once a week in a route that includes Atlantic Canada and Iceland with connections to northern Europe and Asia. In 2015, the terminal moved 10,500 containers. The Maine Port Authority in 2016 began a $15.5 million expansion and improvement of the terminal. The Maine Port Authority leased the International Marine Terminal from the city of Portland in 2009.


Law and government
The Maine Constitution structures Maine's state government, composed of three co-equal branches—the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The state of Maine also has three Constitutional Officers (the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, and the State Attorney General) and one Statutory Officer (the State Auditor).

The legislative branch is the Maine Legislature, a bicameral body composed of the Maine House of Representatives, with 151 members, and the , with 35 members. The Legislature is charged with introducing and passing laws.

The is headed by the Governor of Maine (currently ). The Governor is elected every four years; no individual may serve more than two consecutive terms in this office. The current attorney general of Maine is . As with other state legislatures, the Maine Legislature can by a two-thirds majority vote from both the House and Senate override a gubernatorial veto. Maine is one of seven states that do not have a lieutenant governor. The highest court in the state's is the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The lower courts are the District Court, Superior Court and Probate Court. All judges except for probate judges serve full-time, are nominated by the Governor, and confirmed by the Legislature for terms of seven years. Probate judges serve part-time and are elected by the voters of each county for four-year terms.

In a 2020 study, Maine was ranked as the 14th easiest state for citizens to vote in. In 2012, Maine became one of the first U.S. states to establish marriage rights for same-sex couples.


Politics
Maine politics are dynamic in nature, with parties loosely hung together, governors often winning by pluralities rather than majorities, and significant turnover both in members and parties in legislative districts. In his 2010 article "Maine's Paradoxical Politics", Kenneth Palmer suggests that "Maine's political leaders find themselves as , primarily because they want to find practical solutions to difficult problems."Palmer, Kenneth. "Maine's Paradoxical Politics". Maine Policy Review 19.1 (2010): 26–34.

The results of the elections are often . Maine is seen as a blue-leaning , with unusually high support for independent candidates. The Republican Party has won Maine in 11 out of the past 20 presidential elections, and the governorship has been won by Democrats and independents three times each, and Republicans four times, since 1974.

Maine uses ranked choice voting in primary elections for state and federal offices, as well as in general elections for federal offices. Ranked choice voting was adopted by voters in a 2016 referendum.


Counties
Maine is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. Since 1860 there have been 16 counties in the state, ranging in size from .
Maine counties
1.44%
19.76%
3.52%
5.05%
4.40%
2.75%
3.30%
2.03%
6.29%
10.29%
12.67%
1.07%
11.85%
2.47%
9.42%
3.68%
Total state area:


Law enforcement

Municipalities

Organized municipalities
An organized municipality has a form of elected local government which administers and provides local services, keeps records, collects licensing fees, and can pass locally binding ordinances, among other responsibilities of self-government. The governmental format of most organized towns and plantations is the town meeting, while the format of most cities is the council-manager form. the organized municipalities of Maine consist of 23 cities, 430 towns, and 30 plantations. Collectively these 483 organized municipalities cover less than half of the state's territory. Maine also has three Reservations: Indian Island, Indian Township Reservation, and Pleasant Point Indian Reservation.
  • The largest municipality in Maine, by population, is the city of Portland (pop. 68,408).
  • The smallest city by population is Eastport (pop. 1,288).
  • The largest town by population is Brunswick (pop. 21,756).
  • The smallest town by population is Frye Island, a resort town which reported zero year-round population in the 2000 Census; one plantation, Glenwood Plantation, also reported a permanent population of zero.
  • In the 2000 census, the smallest town aside from Frye Island was Centerville with a population of 26, but since that census, Centerville voted to disincorporate and therefore is no longer a town. The next smallest town with a population listed in that census is Beddington (pop. 60 at the 2020 census).
  • The largest municipality by land area is the town of Allagash, at .
  • The smallest municipality by land area is Monhegan Island, at . The smallest municipality by area that is not an island is Randolph, at .


Unorganized territory
Unorganized territory (UT) has no local government. Administration, services, licensing, and ordinances are handled by the state government as well as by respective county governments who have townships within each county's bounds. The unorganized territory of Maine consists of more than 400 townships (in Maine, towns are incorporated, townships are unincorporated), plus many coastal islands that do not lie within any municipal bounds. The UT land area is slightly over half the entire area of the State of Maine. Year-round residents in the UT number approximately 9,000 (about 1.3% of the state's total population), with many more people staying there only seasonally. Only four of Maine's sixteen counties (Androscoggin, Cumberland, Waldo and York) are entirely incorporated, although a few others are nearly so, and most of the unincorporated area is in the vast and sparsely populated Great North Woods of Maine.


Most populous cities and towns
Throughout Maine, many municipalities, although each separate governmental entities, nevertheless form portions of a much larger population base. There are many such population clusters throughout Maine, but some examples from the municipalities appearing in the above listing are:
  • Portland, South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Westbrook, Scarborough, and Falmouth
  • Lewiston and Auburn
  • Bangor, Orono, Brewer, Old Town, and Hampden
  • Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach
  • Brunswick and Topsham
  • Waterville, Winslow, Fairfield, and Oakland
  • Presque Isle and Caribou


Education
There are thirty institutions of in Maine. These institutions include the University of Maine, which is the oldest, largest and only in the state. UMaine was founded in 1865 and is the state's only and college. The University of Maine is located in the town of Orono and is the flagship of Maine. There are also branch campuses in Augusta, Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, and Presque Isle., , and (pictured) Colleges form the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium]] is a liberal arts college founded in 1794 in Brunswick, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state. in Waterville was founded in 1813 making it the second oldest college in Maine. in Lewiston was founded in 1855 making it the third oldest institution in the state and the oldest coeducational college in New England. The three colleges collectively form the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium and are ranked among the best colleges in the United States; often placing in the top 10% of all liberal arts colleges.

Maine's per-student public expenditure for elementary and secondary schools was 21st in the nation in 2012, at $12,344.

The collegiate system of Maine also includes numerous baccalaureate colleges such as: the Maine Maritime Academy (MMA), College of the Atlantic, Unity Environmental University, and . There is only one medical school in the state, (University of New England's College of Osteopathic Medicine) and only one law school (The University of Maine School of Law). There is one art school in the state, Maine College of Art, along with a private graduate school, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, which offers a Doctor of Philosophy to visual artists.

The Maine Community College System, founded in 1985 also serves "to provide associate degree, diploma and certificate programs directed at the educational, career and technical needs of the State's citizens and the workforce needs of the State's employers." This system includes Southern Maine Community College (SMCC), York County Community College (YCCC), Central Maine Community College (CMCC), Eastern Maine Community College (EMCC), Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC), Northern Maine Community College (NMCC), and Washington County Community College (WCCC).

Private schools in Maine are funded independently of the state and its furthered domains. Private schools are less common than public schools. A large number of private elementary schools with under 20 students exist, but most private high schools in Maine can be described as "semi-private".

Maine also has Vocational Schools, such as the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology and Sanford Regional Technical Center that teach trades such as welding, construction and vehicle repair to students.


Culture

Agriculture
Farms and farming constitute a large part of Maine's history, heritage, and culture. Family farms, homesteads, and backyard gardens are common features of the Maine landscape.

Historically, Maine was a center of agriculture before it achieved statehood. Prior to colonization, Wabanaki nations farmed large crops of corn and other produce in southern Maine. Maine was a center of grain production in the 1800s, until grain production moved westward. However, in the early 2000s the local food movement spurred renewed interested in locally grown grains. In 2007, the Kneading Conference was founded. In, 2012, the Skowhegan grist mill Maine Grains opened. The revival of grain farming and milling in Maine has led to the creation of other businesses, including bakeries and malthouses.

Maine has many vegetable farms and other small, diversified farms. In the 1960s and 1970s, the book "Living the Good Life" by and caused many young people to move to Maine and engage in small-scale farming and homesteading. These back-to-the-land migrants increased the population of some counties.


Festivals
Maine has multiple fairs and festivals that are held annually, which include La Kermesse, a celebration of the state's and heritage, the , the , the , the Common Ground Country Fair, a number of Old Home Days festivals, and a number of Portland Food Festivals.


Food
Along with the growth of the local food movement over the last several decades, Maine has received national recognition for its food and restaurant scene. Portland was named Bon Appetit magazine's Restaurant City of the Year in 2018. In 2018, HealthIQ.com named Maine the 3rd most vegan-friendly state. Biddeford was selected by Food & Wine in 2022 as one of America's next great food cities.

Maine food shares many ingredients with Wabanaki cuisine, including corn, beans, squash, wild blueberries, maple syrup, fish, and seafood. By 1902, the Maine Italian sandwich had been invented in Portland. Sandwich shops across Maine serve the sandwiches. Baked beans are a common dish in Maine, served at community suppers where the beans are sometimes cooked underground in a bean hole. In New England, Maine baked beans are one of two well-known regional styles of baked beans, the other being Boston baked beans. Maine baked beans use thicker skinned, native bean varieties such like Marafax, soldier, and yellow-eye beans. From 1913 until 2021, baked beans were canned on the Portland waterfront at the B&M Baked Beans factory.


Sports teams

Professional


Non-professional
  • Portland Phoenix FC, , Premier Developmental League
  • Maine Roller Derby, roller derby, Women's Flat Track Derby Association


NCAA
  • Maine Black Bears
  • Husson Eagles
  • Maine Maritime Mariners
  • Bowdoin Polar Bears
  • New England Nor'easters


USCAA
  • York County Community College
  • University of Maine at Augusta


Terminology
Maine maintains some vernacular and terminology that is unique in comparison to the rest of the country. Some of these include:

  • "Ayuh" - An affirmative response, like "Yes".
  • "Can't get there from here" - Place requires complicated instructions to reach.
  • "Down cellah" - In the basement.
  • "Downeast" - The coastline of Washington and Hancock counties, including Bar Harbor.
  • "From away" - A non-native person of Maine.
  • "Hard tellin’ not knowin'" - Don't know.
  • "Puckerbrush" - Dense vegetation likely to scratch your legs.
  • "Upta camp" - Going to a more out-of-the-way, rustic place. Popularized by Bob Marley after his special of the same name.


People from Maine
Citizens of Maine are often known as Mainers. The term Downeaster may be applied to residents of the northeast coast of the state. The term Mainiac is considered by some to be derogatory, but is embraced with pride by others,Louise Dickinson Rich. State o'Maine. Harper & Row, 1964, p ix and is used for a variety of organizations and for events such as the YMCA Mainiac Sprint Triathlon & Duathlon.


See also
  • Index of Maine-related articles
  • Outline of Maine


Notes


Citations

External links

State government


U.S. government


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