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Known as the Pine Tree State because over 90% of the state is forested!
Population:
1743 – 12,000
1763
– 24,000
1800 – 150,000
2000 - 1,274,923 –
40th largest state in population
Population Density:
2000 -
36.0 persons per square mile, the 38th most densely populated state
Geography:
Longitude: 66° 57'W
to 71° 7'W
Latitude: 43° 4'N to 47° 28'N
Geographic
Center: 18 miles north of Dover-Foxcroft in Piscataquis County at
Longitude: 69° 14.0'W Latitude: 45° 15.2'N
Length: 320 miles
Width:
190 miles
Total land area: 30,865
square miles
Total water area: 4,523 square miles
Total area:
35,387 square miles, the 39th largest state in size
Highest Point: 5,276
feet above sea level at Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park
Lowest
Point: Sea Level at the Atlantic Ocean
Average elevation: 600 feet
above sea level
Borders:
To the north
is the international border with Canada. New Hampshire it both
south and west. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east
History:
Some say Maine was named by the French colonists for a province in France called Mayne, but others say it is just a word that means a mainland. The official origin of the name is not known.
Maine became the 23rd state in 1820. Before that time, it was part of Massachusetts. The northern border was not fixed until 1842.
The first true settlement was in 1607 when the Plymouth Company set up a community at Popham. Due to the very harsh winters, the settlement dissolved. Several other settlements appeared, but didn’t last due to the climate and also to the regular Indian attacks. Even as the 1700’s began, few towns had survived. It was during this time that Massachusetts bought the land claims for the territory. During the early 1700’s, settlers were heavily involved in both the French and Indians wars and the Revolutionary War. France wanted to claim the area as its own during the early 1700s. The Revolutionary War took a large tool on the area with destruction of seaports, the major cities and many of the populace.
As the 1800’s progressed, local people wanted local government and a separation movement began. As part of the Missouri Compromise, Maine became the 23rd state on 15 March 1820. Maine began with nine counties and 236 towns with a population of nearly 300,000. The first governor was William King, a prominent businessman who led the convention to write a new state constitution in 1819. The first capital was Portland, but was changed rather quickly, in 1832, to Augusta, a city more in the center of the state.
Weather & Climate
Record high temperature:
105 degrees, F. at North Bridgton on 10 July 1911
Record low
temperature: -48 degrees, F. at Van Buren on 19 January 1925
Monthly average high:
78.9
Monthly average low: 11.9
Other facts:
Per capita income:
$25,380 (2000)
Median household income: $27,483 (1993)
There are currently 16
counties
The largest city is Portland
State Capital: Augusta
Length of Coastline:
3,500 miles
Lakes and Ponds: 6,000
Forest: 17 million acres
average age: 33.9 years (2000)
Maine Historical
Society
485 Congress St
Portland, ME 04101-3401
Phone:
207-774-1822
Governor’s
Office
Office of the Governor
1 State House
Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0001
Phone: (207) 287-3531
(207)
287-6548 (TTY)
York, Maine is America's first chartered town - 1641. (to go along with Albany, New York - the first chartered city)
Aroostook county in northern Maine is larger in land area than the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined - 6543 square miles.
Maine raises 98% of the nations blueberries.
MAINE LINKS
Government
links page for Maine
Great links page for all levels of
government in Maine
Find the weather for anyplace in the USA
This page was created 21 October 1998
This page was last updated on 18 September 2006 at 11:32 pm
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