Searsport, Maine
Parts of this article (those related to demographics) need to be updated.(November 2023) |
Searsport, Maine | ||
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FIPS code 23-66635 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 0582716 | |
Website | www.searsport.maine.gov |
Searsport is an incorporated
History
Searsport was settled in the 1760s and incorporated on February 13, 1845, from portions of
Port facilities
Searsport is Maine's second largest deep water port and is ideally located from the point of view of railroad, wood products and other development interests.[citation needed] Indeed, the town became the Penobscot Bay shipping terminus for the Northern Maine Seaport Railroad, a line opened in 1905 by the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, which sent potatoes, timber and other products from here by boat, and loaded coal for use by its locomotives, without having to arrange rates with the Maine Central Railroad.[6] Searsport harbor is an excellent sheltered anchorage, covering an area of roughly 2 by 3 miles (3 by 5 km), with a controlling depth of 40 feet (12 m) at mean low water and an average tidal fluctuation of 10 feet (3.0 m). The railroad pier is 800 feet (240 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide, with belt conveyors to handle bagged cargo to and from four warehouses. Tracks running along either side of the pier can hold 24 railcars on the west side and twelve cars on the east side. Sprague pier is 614 feet (187 m) long, with an adjacent berth 850-foot (260 m) in length. Berths adjacent to the piers are dredged to a mean low water depth of 32 feet (9.8 m) and are connected to a turning basin by channels 500 feet (150 m) wide. The Searsport railway yard can hold 700 cars.[7] The port facilities at Searsport were a preferred loading point for ammunition during World War II.[8]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.53 square miles (110.15 km2), of which 28.65 square miles (74.20 km2) is land and 13.88 square miles (35.95 km2) is water.[1] Situated on Penobscot Bay, Searport is drained by Long Cove Brook and Mill Brook. It includes Sears Island, which is 940 acres (3.8 km2) in area.
The town is crossed by U. S. Route 1 and Maine State Route 3. It borders the towns of Prospect and Stockton Springs to the northeast, Belfast to the southwest, Swanville to the northwest and Frankfort to the north.
Demographics
This section needs to be updated.(November 2023) |
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1850 | 2,208 | — | |
1860 | 2,532 | 14.7% | |
1870 | 2,282 | −9.9% | |
1880 | 2,322 | 1.8% | |
1890 | 1,693 | −27.1% | |
1900 | 1,349 | −20.3% | |
1910 | 1,444 | 7.0% | |
1920 | 1,373 | −4.9% | |
1930 | 1,414 | 3.0% | |
1940 | 1,319 | −6.7% | |
1950 | 1,457 | 10.5% | |
1960 | 1,838 | 26.1% | |
1970 | 1,951 | 6.1% | |
1980 | 2,309 | 18.3% | |
1990 | 2,602 | 12.7% | |
2000 | 2,641 | 1.5% | |
2010 | 2,615 | −1.0% | |
2020 | 2,649 | 1.3% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[9] |
2010 census
At the 2010 census,
There were 1,186 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present and 39.7% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.73.
The median age was 46.9 years. 19% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 22.2% were from 25 to 44, 33.5% were from 45 to 64 and 19% were 65 years of age or older. The sex make-up of the town was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.
2000 census
At the 2000 census,
There were 1,130 households, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.2% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% 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 2.86.
23.3%Of the population were under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64 and 15.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The
Government
Searsport's government is organized around a
Notable people
- Phineas Banning Blanchard, sea captain and maritime industry leader; resided and buried in Searsport (born at sea)
- Henry Chadwick, journalist
- Joanna Carver Colcord, writer, social work pioneer
- governor of Nevada; born in Searsport[12]
- Lincoln Ross Colcord, author, journalist
- Peter A. Garland, US congressman, town manager of Searsport[13]
- Sam Houston, bodyguard for George Washington
- Matthew Kenney, celebrity chef, raised in Searsport[14]
- Freeman McGilvery, army officer
- Marlboro Packard, master shipbuilder
- Ephraim K. Smart, US congressman; born in Searsport[15]
- Frederick Stevens, US representative from Minnesota; raised in Searsport[16]
Sites of interest
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Searsport harbor in Maine
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Six-masted schooner c. 1908
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Mack Point cargo terminal rail yard
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Typical 19th century Searsport sea captain's house (built 1840)
References
- ^ a b "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ISBN 0-89933-035-5. map 15
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Searsport town, Waldo County, Maine". Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ a b Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts: A.J. Coolidge. p. 299 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Vickery, Oliver (1979). Harbor Heritage: Tales of the Harbor Area of Los Angeles, California. Morgan Press/Farag Associates.
- OCLC 44089438.
- ^ Strout, W. Jerome (1966). 75 Years The Bangor and Aroostook. Bangor, Maine: Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. pp. 38–39.
- ISBN 0-9615574-2-7.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Nevada Governor Roswell Keyes Colcord". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 26, 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "GARLAND, Peter Adams, (1923–2005)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ^ Goad, Meredith (April 26, 2016). "Maine native Matthew Kenney plans new restaurant in Belfast". PortlandPress Herald. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ "SMART, Ephraim Knight, (1813–1872)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ^ "STEVENS, Frederick Clement, (1861–1923)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved September 26, 2012.