The territory of Maine has been inhabited byIndigenous populations[13] for about 12,000 years,[14] after the glaciers retreated during thelast ice age. At the time of European arrival, severalAlgonquian-speaking nations governed the area and these nations are now known as theWabanaki Confederacy. The first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 onSaint Croix Island, founded byPierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-livedPopham Colony, established by thePlymouth Company 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 localIndigenous people caused many to fail. As Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements had survived.Loyalist andPatriot forces contended for Maine's territory during theAmerican Revolution. During theWar of 1812, the largely undefended eastern region of Maine was occupied by British forces with the goal of annexing it toCanada via theColony of New Ireland, but returned to the United States following failed British offensives on the northern border, mid-Atlantic and south which produced apeace treaty that restored the pre-war boundaries. Maine was part of theCommonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820 when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state. On March 15, 1820, under theMissouri Compromise, Maine wasadmitted to the Union as the 23rd state.
The earliest known inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples, including thePassamaquoddy,Maliseet,Penobscot,Androscoggin, and Kennebec. During the laterKing Philip's War, many of these peoples would merge in one form or another to become theWabanaki Confederacy, aiding theWampanoag ofMassachusetts and theMahican ofNew York. Afterwards, many of these people were driven from their natural territories, but most of Maine's tribes continued, unchanged, until theAmerican Revolution. Before this point, however, most of these people were considered separate nations. Many had adapted to living in permanent,Iroquois-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.[17][18]
European contact with what is now called Maine may have started around 1000 CE whenVikings are believed to have interacted with the nativePenobscot in present-dayHancock 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 inIceland andGreenland, the Norsefirst identified America andattempted to settle areas such asNewfoundland, but failed to establish a permanent settlement. Archeological evidence suggests thatVikings in Greenland returned to North America for severalcenturies after the initial discovery to trade and collect timber, with the most relevant evidence being theMaine Penny, an 11th-century Norwegian coin found at a Native American dig site in 1954.[19]
The first European confirmed settlement in modern-day Maine was in 1604 onSaint Croix Island, led by French explorerPierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. His party includedSamuel de Champlain, noted as an explorer. The French named the entire areaAcadia, including the portion that later became the state of Maine. (It is possible that they named the region Maine after theFrench province; however, debate exists as to the origin of the name of the state.) ThePlymouth Company established the first English settlement in Maine at thePopham Colony in 1607, the same year as the settlement atJamestown, Virginia. The Popham colonists returned toBritain after 14 months.[20]
Central Maine was formerly inhabited by theAndroscoggin tribe of theAbenaki nation, also known as Arosaguntacook. They were driven out of the area in 1690 duringKing William's War. They were relocated toSt. Francis, Canada, which was destroyed byRogers' Rangers in 1759, and is nowOdanak. The other Abenaki tribes suffered several severe defeats, particularly duringDummer's War, with the capture ofNorridgewock in 1724 and the defeat of thePequawket in 1725, which significantly reduced their numbers. They finally withdrew toCanada, where they were settled atBécancour andSillery, and later at St. Francis, along with other refugee tribes from the south.[22]
Maine was much fought over by theFrench, 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 byNative American tribes. A notable example was the early 1692Abenakiraid on York, where about 100 English settlers were killed and another estimated 80 taken hostage.[23] TheAbenaki took captives taken during raids ofMassachusetts inQueen Anne's War of the early 1700s toKahnewake, a CatholicMohawk village nearMontreal, where some were adopted and others ransomed.[24][25]
After the British defeated the French in Acadia in the 1740s, the territory from thePenobscot River east fell under the nominal authority of theProvince of Nova Scotia, and together with present-day New Brunswick formed the Nova Scotia county ofSunbury, 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 theColony of New Ireland.[26][27] The territory of Maine was confirmed as part of Massachusetts when the United States was formed following theTreaty of Paris ending the revolution, although the final border withBritish North America was not established until theWebster–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 theWar 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.
Formal secession from Massachusetts and admission of Maine as the 23rd state occurred on March 15, 1820, as part of theMissouri Compromise, which geographically restricted the spread ofslavery and enabled the admission to statehood ofMissouri the following year, keeping a balance betweenslave and free states.[28][29][30]
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 theMaine Supreme Judicial Court remains in Portland.
To the south and east is theGulf of Maine, and to the west is the state ofNew Hampshire. The Canadian province ofNew Brunswick is to the north and northeast, and the province ofQuebec 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 the45th parallel north inlatitude.
Maine is the easternmost state in thecontiguous United States both in its extreme points and its geographic center. The town ofLubec 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 seeextreme points of the United States)
Maine is the least densely populated state east of theMississippi River. It is called thePine Tree State due to its largest distribution and presence ofpine, includingPinus strobus andPinus resinosa. Over 80% of its total area is forested or unclaimed,[31]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). TheNorthwest Aroostookunorganized territory in the northern part of the state, for example, has an area of 2,668 square miles (6,910 km2) and a population of 10, or one person for every 267 square miles (690 km2).
Maine has almost 230 miles (400 km) of ocean coastline (and 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of tidal coastline).[33][34]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 theIsles 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 poetEdna St. Vincent Millay ofRockland andCamden, in "Renascence":[35]
All I could see from where I stood Was three long mountains and a wood; I turned and looked the other way, And saw three islands in a bay.
— Edna St. Vincent Millay, 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.[36] 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 thelast ice age. Prominent glacial features includeSomes Sound and Bubble Rock, both part of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. Carved by glaciers, Somes Sound reaches depths of 175 feet (50 m). 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 prestigiousHinckley Yachts.
Bubble Rock, aglacial erratic, is a large boulder perched on the edge of Bubble Mountain inAcadia National Park. By analyzing the type of granite, geologists discovered that glaciers carried Bubble Rock to its present location from nearLucerne, 30 miles (48 km) away. TheIapetus Suture runs through the north and west of the state, being underlain by the ancientLaurentian terrane, and the south and east underlain by theAvalonian terrane.
Acadia National Park is the only national park in New England. Areas under the protection and management of theNational Park Service include:[37]
Maine has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb), 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 theAtlantic Ocean, resulting in marginally milder winters and cooler summers than inland regions. Daytime highs are generally in the 75–85 °F (24–29 °C) range throughout the state in July, with overnight lows in the high 50s°F (around 15°C). January temperatures range from highs near 30 °F (−1 °C) on the southern coast to overnight lows averaging below 0 °F (−18 °C) in the far north.[38]
The state's record high temperature is 105 °F (41 °C), set in July 1911, at North Bridgton.[39]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 theRockies, with most of the state averaging fewer than twenty days ofthunderstorms a year.Tornadoes 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,[40] where summer temperatures are often the warmest and the atmosphere is thus more unstable compared to northern and coastal areas.[41] Maine rarely sees the direct landfall oftropical cyclones, 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 atBig Black River of −50 °F (−46 °C), tying the New England record.[38]
Annual precipitation varies from 35.8 in (909 mm) inPresque Isle to 56.7 in (1,441 mm) in Acadia National Park.[42]
Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in Maine[43]
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 asbalsam fir,sugar maple, and its state tree, theEastern white pine.[44] Coastal regions are characterized by hardysea milkwort,sea-blight,bayberry, and the invasiverugosa rose.[45]
TheU.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of Maine was 1,344,212 on July 1, 2019, a 1.19% increase since the2010 United States census.[51] At the2020 census, 1,362,359 people lived in the state. The state's population density is 41.3 people per square mile, making it theleast densely populated state east of theMississippi 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.[52] 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 theNorth Maine Woods.
The mean population center of Maine is located inKennebec County, just east of Augusta.[53] TheGreater Portland metropolitan area is the most densely populated with nearly 40% of Maine's population.[54] This area spans three counties and includes many farms and wooded areas; the 2016 population of Portland proper was 66,937.[55]
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.[56] 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.[57] 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.[58]
As of 2020, Maine has the highest population age 65 or older in the United States.[59]
According to the2010 census, Maine has the highest percentage of non-HispanicWhite 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.[60] Maine also has the second-highest residential senior population.[61]
People citing that they areAmerican 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.[66][67][68][69][70][71][excessive citations]
Maine has the highest percentage ofFrench Americans of any state. Most of them are ofCanadian origin, but in some cases have been living there since prior to theAmerican Revolutionary War. There are particularly high concentrations in the northern part of Maine inAroostook County, which is part of a cultural region known asAcadia that goes over the border intoNew Brunswick. Along with theAcadian population in the north, many French-Canadians came fromQuebec as immigrants between 1840 and 1930.
Today there are fourfederally recognized tribes in Maine, including theMi'kmaq Nation. In 2020, 7,885 identified as being Native American alone, and 25,617 did in combination with one or more other races.[73]
Since 2016, data for births ofWhite Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in oneHispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Maine does not have an official language,[7] 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 andCreole) inLouisiana, which is the second highest state.[8] Spanish is the third-most-common language in Maine, after English and French.[86]
In 2014, the Roman Catholic Church was the largest religious denomination and theBaptists (7% Evangelical and 5% Mainline) were the state's largest Protestant denomination, followed by theMethodists (6%) and theCongregationalists (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.[88]
According to a survey through thePublic 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.[89] 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% wereUnitarian Universalist, 5%Jewish, and 1%New Ager.
According to theAssociation 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).[90] According to the same study, there were an estimated 16,894Muslims in the state.
Commercial fishing, once a mainstay of the state's economy, maintains a presence, particularlylobstering andgroundfishing. 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.[98][99] Western Maine aquifers and springs are a source of bottled water for companies likePoland Spring.
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, withBath Iron Works in Bath andPortsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.
Brunswick Landing, formerlyNaval Air Station Brunswick, is also in Maine. Formerly a large support base for the U.S. Navy, theBRAC 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 forSouthern Maine Community College.[100]
Wild low-bush blueberries are only produced commercially in Maine.[101]
Historically, Maine ports played a key role in national transportation. Beginning around 1880, Portland's rail link andice-free port made it Canada's principal winter port, until the aggressive development ofHalifax, Nova Scotia in the mid-20th century. In 2013, 12,039,600short tons passed into and out of Portland by sea,[102] which places it 45th of U.S. water ports.[103]Portland International Jetport has been expanded, providing the state with increased air traffic from carriers such asJetBlue andSouthwest Airlines.
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.[104] An estimated 14% of the housing stock in Maine is used as vacation homes.[105] In the late 19th century, artist colonies developed inOqunquit and onMonhegan.[106]Acadia National Park became part of the national park system in 1929.[107] 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 theBar Harbor area where the park is located.[108] The flagshipL.L. Bean store inFreeport attracts more than 3 million visitors each year.[109]
Summer visitors and tourism began before the Civil War. After the Civil War, the number of visitors increased significantly.[110] 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.[111]
Many notable persons have drawn attention to Maine's natural attractions. In 1846,Henry David Thoreau came to Maine to climbKatahdin and came back two more times to explore other trails and waterways.[112] His bookThe Maine Woods was published in 1864 recounting his journeys in Maine.[113] As early as 1878,Theodore Roosevelt visited Maine. Roosevelt explored what is now designated theKatahdin Woods and Waters National Monument with legendaryMaine guide William Wingate Sewall and stayed at theWilliam Sewall House.[114] American businessmanWilliam Henry Vanderbilt first vacationed with his family in Bar Harbor in the early 1880s.[115] In 1910, businessmanJohn D. Rockefeller Jr. purchased a summer home inSeal Harbor and later spent $3.5 million developing theCarriage Roads of what is now Acadia National Park.[116] In 1997, TV personality and businesswomenMartha Stewart purchased Skylands in Seal Harbor, featuring the estate regularly in national media outlets.[117]
Maine has developed a burgeoningcreative economy, most notably centered in theGreater Portland vicinity.[15] In 2022, Portland's nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $86 million in economic activity, according to a survey byAmericans for the Arts.[118] The foundation of Maine's creative economy is its long tradition of fine arts. It also includes craftsmen, historic sites, museums, and cultural attractions.[119]
Maine'sagricultural outputs include potatoes, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cattle, wild blueberries, apples,maple syrup,maple sugar, and seaweed.Aroostook County is known for itspotato crops. Potatoes make the state $166,672,000 a year.[120] Maine is the top U.S. producer oflow-bush blueberries. Preliminary data from theUSDA 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) andhigh-bush (cultivated) blueberries.[121] 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.[122] Maine is home to theMaine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and had 535 certified organic farms in 2019.[123]
Maine has a long-standing tradition of being home to many shipbuilding companies, such asBath Iron Works and thePortsmouth 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 inPennellville Historic District in what is nowBrunswick, 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.
Maine has anincome tax structure containing two brackets, 6.5 and 7.95 percent of personal income.[124] Before July 2013, Maine had four brackets: 2, 4.5, 7, and 8.5 percent.[125] Maine's generalsales tax 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.[126] 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. Allreal and tangiblepersonal 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.
Many smaller airports are scattered throughout Maine, serving onlygeneral aviation traffic. TheEastport 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.[127]
Interstate95 (I-95) travels through Maine, as well as its easterly branchI-295 and spursI-195,I-395 and the unsignedI-495 (the Falmouth Spur). In addition,U.S. Route1 (US1) starts inFort Kent and travels toFlorida. The eastern terminus of the eastern section ofUS2 starts in Houlton, near the New Brunswick, Canada border toRouses Point, New York, atUS11.US2A connects Old Town and Orono, primarily serving theUniversity of Maine campus.US201 andUS202 flow through the state. US2,Maine State Route 6 (SR6), andSR9 are often used by truckers and other motorists of theMaritime Provincesen route to other destinations in the United States or as a short cut toCentral Canada.
TheDowneaster passenger train, operated byAmtrak, provides passenger service between Brunswick and Boston'sNorth Station, with stops in Freeport, Portland,Old Orchard Beach, Saco, andWells. TheDowneaster makes five daily trips.[128]
The International Marine Terminal inPortland 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 companyEimskip 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.[129] 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.[130]
TheMaine 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).
Theexecutive branch is headed by theGovernor of Maine (currentlyJanet Mills). The Governor is elected every four years; no individual may serve more than two consecutive terms in this office. The currentattorney general of Maine isAaron Frey. As with otherstate 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.
Maine.gov logo
The highest court in the state'sjudicial branch is theMaine 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.[131] In 2012, Maine became one of the first U.S. states to establishmarriage rights for same-sex couples.[132]
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 inlegislative districts. In his 2010 article "Maine's Paradoxical Politics", Kenneth Palmer suggests that "Maine's political leaders find themselves ascentrists, primarily because they want to find practical solutions to difficult problems."[133]
The results of the elections are oftenvaried. Maine is seen as a blue-leaningswing state, with unusually high support forindependent candidates. TheRepublican Party has won Maine in 11 out of the past 20 presidential elections, and the governorship has been won byDemocrats and independents three times each, and Republicans four times, since 1974.[134]
Maine usesranked 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 a2016 referendum.[135]
Maine is divided into political jurisdictions designated ascounties. Since 1860 there have been 16 counties in the state, ranging in size from 370 to 6,829 square miles (958 to 17,700 km2).
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 bindingordinances, among other responsibilities of self-government. The governmental format of most organized towns andplantations is the town meeting, while the format of most cities is the council-manager form. As of 2022[update] the organized municipalities of Maine consist of 23cities, 430towns, and 30plantations. Collectively these 483 organized municipalities cover less than half of the state's territory. Maine also has three[contradictory] Reservations:Indian Island, Indian Township Reservation, and Pleasant Point Indian Reservation.[137]
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 isFrye 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 wasCenterville 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 isBeddington (pop. 60 at the 2020 census).
The largest municipality by land area is the town ofAllagash, at 128 square miles (332 km2).
The smallest municipality by land area isMonhegan Island, at 0.86 square miles (2.2 km2). The smallest municipality by area that is not an island isRandolph, at 2.23 square miles (6 km2).
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 ofMaine'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 populatedGreat North Woods of Maine.[138]
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:
Bowdoin College is a liberal arts college founded in 1794 in Brunswick, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state.Colby College in Waterville was founded in 1813 making it the second oldest college in Maine.[143]Bates College in Lewiston was founded in 1855 making it the third oldest institution in the state and the oldestcoeducational college in New England.[144] The three colleges collectively form theColby-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.[145][146][147]
Maine's per-student public expenditure for elementary and secondary schools was 21st in the nation in 2012, at $12,344.[148]
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 theBiddeford Regional Center of Technology[151] and Sanford Regional Technical Center[152] that teach trades such as welding, construction and vehicle repair to students.
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.[153]
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.[154] 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, theSkowhegan grist mill Maine Grains opened.[155][156] The revival of grain farming and milling in Maine has led to the creation of other businesses, including bakeries and malthouses.[157]
Maine has many vegetable farms and other small, diversified farms. In the 1960s and 1970s, the book "Living the Good Life" byHelen Nearing andScott Nearing caused many young people to move to Maine and engage in small-scale farming and homesteading. Theseback-to-the-land migrants increased the population of some counties.[158]
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 namedBon Appetit magazine's Restaurant City of the Year in 2018.[163] In 2018, HealthIQ.com named Maine the 3rd most vegan-friendly state.[164]Biddeford was selected byFood & Wine in 2022 as one of America's next great food cities.[165]
Maine food shares many ingredients withWabanaki cuisine, including corn, beans, squash, wild blueberries, maple syrup, fish, and seafood.[166] By 1902, theMaine Italian sandwich had been invented in Portland. Sandwich shops across Maine serve the sandwiches.[167] 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 beingBoston baked beans. Maine baked beans use thicker skinned, native bean varieties such like Marafax, soldier, and yellow-eye beans.[168] From 1913 until 2021, baked beans were canned on the Portland waterfront at theB&M Baked Beans factory.
Citizens of Maine are often known as Mainers.[180] 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,[181] and is used for a variety of organizations and for events such as the YMCA Mainiac Sprint Triathlon & Duathlon.[182]
^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.[when?]
^French-Canadian Americans by Marianne Fedunkiw.[when?]
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Curtin, Sally C.; Mathews, T.J. (January 15, 2015)."Births: Final Data for 2013"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.64 (1). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–65.PMID25603115.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Curtin, Sally C.; Mathews, T.J. (December 23, 2015)."Births: Final Data for 2014"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.64 (12). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–64.PMID26727629.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Mathews, T.J. (January 5, 2017)."Births: Final Data for 2015"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.66 (1). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 1.PMID28135188.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Drake, Patrick (January 31, 2018)."Births: Final Data for 2016"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.67 (1). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–55.PMID29775434.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Drake, Patrick (November 7, 2018)."Births: Final Data for 2017"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.67 (8). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–50.PMID30707672. RetrievedJuly 5, 2021.
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