State of Maine
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "The Pine Tree State"
Motto(s): "Dirigo" (Latin for "I lead")
Official language(s)	None
Demonym	Mainer[1]
Capital	Augusta
Largest city	Portland
Largest metro area	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford
Area	Ranked 39th in the U.S.
- Total	35,385 sq mi (91,646 km2)
- Width	210 miles (338 km)
- Length	320 miles (515 km)
- % water	13.5
- Latitude	42° 58′ N to 47° 28′ N
- Longitude	66° 57′ W to 71° 5′ W
Population	Ranked 41st in the U.S.
- Total	1,328,361[2] 1,274,923 (2000)
- Density	43.1/sq mi  (16.64/km2) Ranked 40th in the U.S.
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Katahdin[3] 5,268 ft (1,606 m)
- Mean	591 ft  (180 m)
- Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean[3] sea level
Admission to Union	March 15, 1820 (23rd)
Governor	Paul LePage (R)
President of the Senate	Kevin Raye (R)[4]
Legislature	Maine Legislature
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Olympia Snowe (R) Susan Collins (R)
U.S. House delegation	Chellie Pingree (D) Michael Michaud (D) (list)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations	ME US-ME
Website	maine.gov

Maine (ⁱ /ˈmeɪn/) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost portion of New England. It is known for its scenery—its jagged, mostly rocky coastline, its low, rolling mountains, its heavily forested interior and picturesque waterways—as well as for its seafood cuisine, especially lobsters and clams.

The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking peoples. The first European settlement in Maine was in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement in Maine, the short-lived Popham Colony, was established by the Plymouth Company in 1607. A number of English settlements were established along the coast of Maine in the 1620s, although the rugged climate, deprivations, and conflict with the local peoples wiped out many of them over the years. As Maine entered the 18th century, only a half dozen European settlements still survived. Patriot and British forces contended for Maine's territory during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Maine was an exclave of Massachusetts until 1820, when as a result of the growing population and a political deal regarding slavery, it became the 23rd state on March 15 under the Missouri Compromise.

GeographyEdit

To the south and east is the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and northeast is New Brunswick, a province of Canada. The Canadian province of Quebec is to the northwest. Maine is both the northernmost state in New England and the largest, accounting for nearly half the region's entire land area. Maine also has the distinction of being the only state to border just one other state (New Hampshire to the west). Maine is the easternmost state in the United States both in terms of its extreme points and its geographic center. The municipalities of Eastport and Lubec are, respectively, the easternmost city and town in the United States. 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 Moosehead Lake is the largest lake wholly in New England, as Lake Champlain is located between Vermont and New York. A number of other Maine lakes, such as South Twin Lake, are described by Thoreau. Mount Katahdin is both the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, which extends 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.

Maine also has several unique geographical features. Machias Seal Island and North Rock, off its easternmost point, are claimed by both the U.S. and Canada and are within one of four areas between the two countries whose sovereignty is still in dispute, but is the only one of the disputed areas containing land. Also in this easternmost area is the Old Sow, the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere.

Maine is the most sparsely populated U.S. state east of the Mississippi River. It is called the Pine Tree State; nearly 90% of its land is forested.^[5] In the forested areas of the interior lie much uninhabited land, some of which does not have formal political organization into local units (a rarity in New England). The Northwest Aroostook, Maine unorganized territory in the northern part of the state, for example, has an area of 2,668 square miles (6,910 square kilometres) and a population of 27, or one person for every 100 square miles (260 square kilometres).

Maine is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome. The land near the southern and central Atlantic coast is covered by the mixed oaks of the Northeastern coastal forests. The remainder of the state, including the North Woods, is covered by the New England-Acadian forests.^[6]

Maine has almost 230 miles (400 km) miles of coastline (and 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of tidal coastline).^[7][8] West Quoddy Head is the easternmost piece of land in the contiguous 48 United 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, Maine in "Renascence":

"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"

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.^[9] A rise in the elevation of the land due to the melting of heavy glacier ice caused a slight rebounding effect of underlying rock; this land rise, however, was not strong enough to eliminate all the effect of the rising sea level and its invasion of former land features.

The American ecologist Rachel Carson did research at one of the Maine seacoast's most characteristic features, a tide pool, for her classic The Edge of the Sea. The spot where she conducted observations is now preserved as the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Reserve at Pemaquid Point.

George Lorenzo Noyes, known as the Thoreauvian of Maine, is a state naturalist, mineralogist, development critic, writer and landscape artist. He lived a wilderness lifestyle in the mountains of Norway, Maine, expressing in his paintings his spiritual reverence for nature and writing of the values of a simple life of sustainable living. Noyes Mountain is named in his honor.

Much of Maine's geography was created by heavy glacial activity at the end of the last ice age. Prominent glacial features include Somes Sound and Bubble Rock. Carved by glaciers, Somes Sound is considered to be the only fjord on the eastern seaboard and 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 prestigious Hinckley Yachts. Bubble Rock is what is known as a "glacial erratic" and is a large boulder perched on the edge of Bubble Mountain in Acadia National Park. By analyzing the type of granite, geologists were able to discover that glaciers carried Bubble Rock to its present location from the town of Lucerne — 30 miles (48 km) away.

Acadia National Park is the only national park in New England.

Areas under the protection and management of the National Park Service include:^[10]

• Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor
• Appalachian National Scenic Trail
• Maine Acadian Culture in St. John Valley
• Roosevelt Campobello International Park near Lubec
• Saint Croix Island International Historic Site at Calais

ClimateEdit

Maine experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), with warm (although generally not hot), humid summers. Winters are cold and snowy throughout the state, and are especially severe in the northern parts of Maine. Coastal areas are moderated somewhat by the Atlantic Ocean. Daytime highs are generally in the 75–80 °F (24–27 °C) range throughout the state in July, with overnight lows in the high 50s°F (around 15 °C). January temperatures range from highs near 32 °F (0 °C) on the southern coast to overnight lows below 0 °F (−18 °C) in the far north.

Maine is generally safe from hurricanes and tropical storms. By the time they reach the state, many have become extratropical and few hurricanes have made landfall in Maine. Maine has fewer days of thunderstorms than any other state east of the Rockies, with most of the state averaging less than 20 days of thunderstorms a year. Tornadoes are rare in Maine with the state averaging fewer than two per year, mostly occurring in the southern part of the state.^[11]

In January 2009, a new record low temperature for the state was set at Big Black River of −50 °F (−45.6 °C), tying the New England record.^[12] The state's record high temperature is 105 °F (41 °C), set in July 1911, at North Bridgton.^[13]

Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures (°F) For Various Maine Cities
City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Caribou	19/0	23/3	34/15	47/29	63/41	72/50	76/55	74/53	64/44	51/34	37/24	25/8
Portland	31/12	34/16	42/25	53/35	63/44	73/53	79/59	77/57	69/48	58/37	47/30	36/19

HistoryEdit

The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscots. The first European settlement in what is now called Maine was in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, including Samuel de Champlain, the noted explorer. The French named the entire area, including the portion that later became the State of Maine, Acadia. The first English settlement in Maine was established by the Plymouth Company at Popham in 1607, the same year as the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.The Popham Colony did not survive the harsh Maine winter.

Two Jesuit missions were established by the French; one on Penobscot Bay in 1609, and the other on Mount Desert Island in 1613. The same year, Castine was established by Claude de La Tour. In 1625, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour erected Fort Pentagouet to protect Castine. The coastal areas of western Maine first became the Province of Maine in a 1622 land patent. Eastern Maine north of the Kennebec River was more sparsely settled and was known in the 17th century as the Territory of Sagadahock. A second settlement was attempted at a place called York, now Portland, in 1623 by English explorer and naval Captain Christopher Levett, granted 6,000 acres (24 km²) by King Charles I of England.^[14] That settlement also failed.

Central Maine was formerly inhabited by people of the Androscoggin tribe, also known as Arosaguntacook. The Androscoggins were a tribe in the Abenaki nation. They were driven out of the area in 1690 during King Phillips war. They were relocated at St. Francis, Canada, which was destroyed by Rogers' Rangers in 1759, and is now Odanak. The other Abenaki tribes suffered several severe defeats, particularly the capture of Norridgewock in 1724 and the defeat of the Pequawket in 1725, which greatly reduced their numbers. They finally withdrew to Canada, where they were settled at Bécancour and Sillery, and later at St. Francis, along with other refugee tribes from the south.^[15]

The province within its current boundaries became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652. Maine was much fought over by the French, English and natives during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Dummer's War was fought primarily in Maine. After the defeat of the French in the 1740s, the territory from the Penobscot River east fell under the nominal authority of the Province of Nova Scotia, 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, and British forces occupied eastern Maine in both conflicts.^[16] The treaty concluding revolution was ambiguous about Maine's boundary with British North America. The territory of Maine was confirmed as part of Massachusetts when the United States was formed, although the final border with British territory was not established until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

Maine was physically separate from the rest of Massachusetts. Long-standing 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 if voters in Maine approved. Due to these considerations and rapid population growth, in 1820 Maine voted to secede from Massachusetts, and the secession and formation of the state of Maine as the 23rd state occurred on March 15, 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise, which also geographically limited the spread of slavery and enabled the admission to statehood of Missouri the following year, while keeping a balance between slave and free states.^[17][18][19]

Maine's original capital was Portland, the largest city in Maine, until it was moved to Augusta in 1832 to make it more central within the state.

The 20th Maine under the command of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain defended Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg, preserving the Union Army from being flanked by the Confederate Army.

Four U.S. Navy ships have been named USS Maine in honor of the state.

EtymologyEdit

There is no definitive explanation for the origin of the name 'Maine'. The state legislature in 2001 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day, which stated that the state was named after the former French province of Maine.^[20] Other theories mention earlier places with similar names, or claim it is a nautical reference to the mainland.^[21] The first known record of the name appears in an Aug. 10, 1622 land charter to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason, English Royal Navy veterans, who were granted a large tract in present-day Maine that Mason and Gorges "intend to name The Province of Maine." Mason had served in Royal Navy in the Orkney Islands where the chief island was called Mainland, a more likely name derivation for these English sailors than the French province.^[22] A year later, in 1623, the English naval captain Christopher Levett, exploring the New England coast, wrote: "The first place I set my foote upon in New England was the Isle of Shoulds, being Ilands [sic] in the sea, above two Leagues from the Mayne."^[23] Whatever the origin, the name was fixed in 1665 when the King's Commissioners ordered that the "Province of Maine" be entered from then on in official records.^[24]

DemographicsEdit

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	96,540		—
1800	151,719		57.2%
1810	228,705		50.7%
1820	298,335		30.4%
1830	399,455		33.9%
1840	501,793		25.6%
1850	583,169		16.2%
1860	628,279		7.7%
1870	626,915		−0.2%
1880	648,936		3.5%
1890	661,086		1.9%
1900	694,466		5.0%
1910	742,371		6.9%
1920	768,014		3.5%
1930	797,423		3.8%
1940	847,226		6.2%
1950	913,774		7.9%
1960	969,265		6.1%
1970	992,048		2.4%
1980	1,124,660		13.4%
1990	1,227,928		9.2%
2000	1,274,923		3.8%
2010	1,328,361		4.2%
Source: 1910-2010[25]

As of 2008, Maine had an estimated population of 1,321,504, which is an increase of 6,520, or 0.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 46,582, or 3.7%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 6,413 people (that is 71,276 births minus 64,863 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 41,808 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 5,004 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 36,804 people. The population density of the state is 41.3 people per square mile, making it the least densely populated state in New England, the American northeast, the eastern seaboard, of all of the states with an Atlantic coastline and of all of the states east of the Mississippi River.

The mean population center of Maine is located in Kennebec County, just east of Augusta.^[26] The Greater Portland metropolitan area is the most densely populated with nearly 20% of Maine's population.^[27] As explained in detail under "Geography", there are large tracts of uninhabited land in some remote parts of the interior.

In 2009, Maine was one of three states to have lost population.^[28]

Race, ancestry, and languageEdit

Demographics of Maine (csv)
By race	White	Black	AIAN	Asian	NHPI
AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native   -   NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
2000 (total population)	98.08%	0.77%	1.03%	0.93%	0.06%
2000 (Hispanic only)	0.66%	0.06%	0.03%	0.02%	0.01%
2005 (total population)	97.81%	1.02%	1.00%	1.06%	0.06%
2005 (Hispanic only)	0.91%	0.07%	0.03%	0.02%	0.00%
Growth 2000-2005 (total population)	3.37%	37.45%	0.77%	17.68%	2.76%
Growth 2000-2005 (non-Hispanic only)	3.09%	38.61%	0.95%	18.10%	9.48%
Growth 2000-2005 (Hispanic only)	44.03%	22.69%	-5.57%	-3.52%	-43.56%

The largest ancestries in the state are:

• 30.6% English
• 25.0% French
• 18.3% Irish
• 8.3% German
• 5.8% Italian
• 4.8% Scottish
• 2.6% Scotch-Irish
• 2.3% Polish

^[29] Most of those claiming to be of "American" ancestry are actually of English descent, but have family that has been in the country for so long, in many cases since the early 17th century that they choose to identify simply as "American".^{[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]}

Maine is second only to New Hampshire in the percentage of French Americans among U.S. states. It also has the largest percentage of non-Hispanic whites of any state and the highest percentage of current French speakers who came from Quebec between 1840 and 1930, and New Brunswick prior to 1842. In northern Maine, (particularly Aroostook County), Acadians still speak French at home, since their relatives live in neighboring New Brunswick. The area was once known as the Republic of Madawaska, before the frontier was decided in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. Over one-quarter of the population of Lewiston, Waterville, and Biddeford are Franco-American. Much of the midcoast and downeast sections remain mostly of British heritage. Smaller numbers of various other groups, including Italian and Polish have settled throughout the state since the early 20th century immigration waves.

The 2000 Census reported 92.25% of Maine residents age 5 and older speak English at home. Census figures show Maine has a greater proportion of people speaking French at home than any other state in the nation, a result of Maine's large French-Canadian community, who migrated from adjacent Quebec and New Brunswick. 5.28% of Maine households are French-speaking, compared with 4.68% in Louisiana.^[37]

ReligionEdit

The religious affiliations of the people of Maine are shown below:

• Christian – 82%
  • Protestant – 45%
    • Baptist (mostly American Baptist) – 16%
    • Methodist (mostly United Methodist Church with 31,689 members)^[38] – 9%
    • Episcopalian – 8%
    • United Church of Christ (29,122 members)^[38] / Congregational – 8%
    • Pentecostal – 6%
    • Lutheran – 3%
    • Other Protestant or general Protestant – 10%
  • Roman Catholic (283,024 members)^[38] – 37%
  • Other Christian – 1%
• Other religions – 1%
• Non-religious – 17%

EconomyEdit

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Maine's total gross state product for 2007 was US$48 billion.^[39] Its per capita personal income for 2007 was US$33,991, 34th in the nation. As of October 2010, Maine's unemployment rate is 7.4%.^[40]

Maine's agricultural outputs include poultry, eggs, dairy products, cattle, wild blueberries (the state produces 25% of all blueberries in North America, making it the largest blueberry producer in the world), apples, maple syrup and maple sugar. Aroostook County is known for its potato crops. Commercial fishing, once a mainstay of the state's economy, maintains a presence, particularly lobstering and groundfishing. Western Maine aquifers and springs are a major source of bottled water.

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. Naval Air Station Brunswick is also in Maine, and serves as a large support base for the U.S. Navy. However, the BRAC campaign recommended Brunswick's closing, despite a recent government-funded effort to upgrade its facilities.

Maine is the number one exporter of blueberries and toothpicks. The largest toothpick manufacturing plant in the United States is located in Strong, Maine. The Strong Wood Products Incorporated plant produces twenty million toothpicks a day.^[41]

Tourism and outdoor recreation play a major and increasingly important role in Maine's economy. The state is a popular destination for sport hunting (particularly deer, moose and bear), sport fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, boating, camping and hiking, among other activities.

Maine ports play a key role in national transportation. Beginning around 1880, Portland's rail link and ice-free port made it Canada's principal winter port, until the aggressive development of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the mid-1900s. In 2001, Maine's largest city of Portland surpassed Boston as New England's busiest port (by tonnage), due to its ability to handle large tankers. Maine's Portland International Jetport was recently expanded, providing the state with increased air traffic from carriers such as JetBlue.

Maine has very few large companies that maintain headquarters in the state, and fewer than before due to consolidations and mergers, particularly in the pulp and paper industry. Some of the larger companies that do maintain headquarters in Maine include Fairchild Semiconductor in South Portland; IDEXX Laboratories, in Westbrook; Hannaford Bros. Co. in Scarborough, Unum in Portland; TD Bank, in Portland; L.L. Bean in Freeport; Cole Haan and DeLorme, both located in Yarmouth. 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.

Maine has an income tax structure containing 4 brackets, which range from 2% to 8.5% of personal income. Maine's general sales tax rate is 5%. The state also levies charges of 7% on lodging and prepared food and 10% 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 real 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.

ShipbuildingEdit

Maine has a longstanding tradition of being home to many shipbuilding companies. 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 cargoes 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.

TransportationEdit

AirportsEdit

Maine receives passenger jet 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 airlines to destinations such as New York, Atlanta, and Orlando. Essential Air Service also subsidizes service to a number of smaller airports in Maine, bringing small turboprop 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 US Airways Express with small 19 to 30 seat planes. Many smaller airports are scattered throughout Maine, only serving general aviation 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.^[42]

HighwaysEdit

Interstate 95 runs through Maine, as well as its easterly branch I-295. In addition, U.S. Route 1 starts in Fort Kent and runs to Florida. The eastern terminus of the eastern section of U.S. Route 2 starts in Houlton, near the New Brunswick, Canada border to Rouses Point, New York, at US 11 . There is also another US 2A connecting Old Town and Orono, Maine, primarily serving the University of Maine campus. U.S. Route 2, Route 6 and Route 9 are often used by truckers and other motorists of the Maritime Provinces en route to other destinations in the United States or as a short cut to Central Canada.

In March 2011, Maine ranked amongst the top three best states in the American State Litter Scorecard, for overall effectiveness and quality of its public space cleanliness—primarily roadway and adjacent litter—from state and related debris removal efforts.^[43]

RailEdit

PassengerEdit

The Downeaster passenger train, operated by Amtrak, provides passenger service between Portland and Boston's North Station, with stops in Old Orchard Beach, Saco, and Wells. The Downeaster makes five southbound trips and five northbound trips every day.

Seasonal passenger excursions between Brunswick and Rockland are operated by the Maine Eastern Railroad, which leases the state-owned Rockland Branch rail corridor.

FreightEdit

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 & Maine and Maine Central railroads; St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad; Maine Eastern Railroad; Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway; and New Brunswick Southern Railway.

Law and governmentEdit

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 Maine Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is charged with introducing and passing laws.

The executive branch is responsible for the execution of the laws created by the Legislature and is headed by the Governor of Maine (currently Paul LePage, a Republican). 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 William J. Schneider. 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.

The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting state laws. The highest court of the state 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.

CountiesEdit

Maine is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. As of 1860 there were 16 counties in the state, ranging in size from 370 square miles (960 km²) to 6,829 square miles (17,700 km²).

MAINE COUNTIES
County name	County seat	Year founded	2010 population	Percent of total	Area (sq. mi.)	Percent of total
Androscoggin	Auburn	1854	107,702	8.14%	497	1.44%
Aroostook	Houlton	1839	71,870	5.80%	6,829	19.76%
Cumberland	Portland	1760	281,674	20.83%	1,217	3.52%
Franklin	Farmington	1838	30,768	2.31%	1,744	5.05%
Hancock	Ellsworth	1789	54,418	4.06%	1,522	4.40%
Kennebec	Augusta	1799	122,151	9.19%	951	2.75%
Knox	Rockland	1860	39,618	3.11%	1,142	3.30%
Lincoln	Wiscasset	1760	34,736	2.64%	700	2.03%
Oxford	Paris	1805	57,833	4.29%	2,175	6.29%
Penobscot	Bangor	1816	153,923	11.37%	3,556	10.29%
Piscataquis	Dover-Foxcroft	1838	17,535	1.35%	4,377	12.67%
Sagadahoc	Bath	1854	35,293	2.76%	370	1.07%
Somerset	Skowhegan	1809	52,228	3.99%	4,095	11.85%
Waldo	Belfast	1827	38,786	2.85%	853	2.47%
Washington	Machias	1790	32,856	2.66%	3,255	9.42%
York	Alfred	1636	197,131	14.65%	1,271	3.68%
Total Counties: 16			Total 2010 population: 1,328,361		Total State area: 34,554 square miles (89,494 km2)

State and local politicsEdit

See also: Maine gubernatorial election, 2006; Maine gubernatorial election, 2010; Maine Republican Party; Maine Democratic Party; Maine Green Independent Party; Libertarian Party of Maine; Electoral reform in Maine; Same-sex marriage in Maine

In state general elections, Maine voters tend to accept independent and third-party candidates more frequently than most states. Maine has had two independent governors recently (James B. Longley, 1975–1979 and Angus King, 1995–2003). Maine state politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, are noted for having more moderate views than many in the national wings of their respective parties.

Maine is an alcoholic beverage control state.

On May 6, 2009, Maine became the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage; however, the law was repealed by voters on November 3, 2009.^[44]

Federal politicsEdit

File:SMCandOJS.jpg

In the 1930s, Maine was one of very few states which remained dominated by the Republican Party. In the 1936 Presidential election, Franklin D. Roosevelt received the electoral votes of every state other than Maine and Vermont. In the 1960s, Maine began to lean toward the Democrats, especially in Presidential elections. In 1968, Hubert Humphrey became just the second Democrat in half a century to carry Maine thanks to the presence of his running mate, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie, although the state voted Republican in every Presidential election in the 1970s and 1980s.

Maine has since become a left-leaning swing state and has voted Democratic in five successive Presidential elections, casting its votes for Bill Clinton twice, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry (with 53.6% of the vote) in 2004, and Barack Obama in 2008. Though Democrats have carried the state in presidential elections in recent years, Republicans have largely maintained their control of the state's U.S. Senate seats, with Ed Muskie, William Hathaway and George Mitchell being the only Maine Democrats serving in the U.S. Senate in the past fifty years.

In the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans made major gains in Maine. They captured the governor's office as well as majorities in both chambers of the state legislature for the first time since the early 1970s.

Ross Perot achieved a great deal of success in Maine in the presidential elections of 1992 and 1996. In 1992 as an independent candidate, Perot came in second to Bill Clinton, despite the longtime presence of the Bush family summer home in Kennebunkport. In 1996, as the nominee of the Reform Party, Perot did the best in Maine of any state.

Since 1969, two of Maine's four electoral votes are awarded based on the winner of the statewide election. The other two go to the highest vote-winner in each of the state's two congressional districts.

Famous politicians from Maine include Percival Baxter, James Blaine, Owen Brewster, William Cohen, Susan Collins, Hannibal Hamlin, George J. Mitchell, Edmund Muskie, Thomas Brackett Reed, Margaret Chase Smith, Olympia Snowe, and Wallace H. White, Jr..

Maine's U.S. senators are Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. The current Governor is Republican Paul LePage. The state's two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are Democrats Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud.

MunicipalitiesEdit

Organized municipalitiesEdit

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. As of 2007 the organized municipalities of Maine consists of 22 cities, 432 towns, and 34 plantations. Collectively these 488 organized municipalities cover less than half of the state's territory. Maine also has 3 Reservations: Indian Island, Indian Township Reservation, and Pleasant Point Indian Reservation.^[45]

• The largest municipality in Maine, by population, is the city of Portland (pop. 64,249).
• The smallest city by population is Eastport (pop. 1,640).
• The largest town by population is Brunswick (pop. 21,172).
• 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, Maine, 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. 29).
• The largest municipality by land area is the town of Allagash 128 square miles (332 km²)
• The smallest municipality by land area is the plantation of Monhegan Island 0.86 square miles (2.2 km²).

Unorganized territoryEdit

Unorganized territory has no local government. Administration, services, licensing, and ordinances are handled by the State Government. The Unorganized Territory of Maine consists of over 400 townships (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 one 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 residing only seasonally within the UT. Only four of Maine's sixteen counties 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.^[46]

Most populous cities and townsEdit

Fact Finder US Census Maine Portland:

The 49 most populous cities and towns as of the year 2010 US Census

Portland (66,194)	Lewiston (36,592)	Bangor (33,039)	South Portland (25,002)	Auburn (23,055)	Biddeford (21,277)	Sanford (20,798)
Brunswick (20,278)	Augusta (19,136)	Scarborough (18,919)	Saco (18,482)	Westbrook (17,494)	Windham (17,001)	Gorham (16,381)
Waterville (15,722)	York (12,529)	Falmouth (11,185)	Kennebunk (10,798)	Orono (10,362)	Standish (9,874)	Presque Isle (9,692)
Wells (9,589)	Kittery (9,490)	Brewer (9,482)	Cape Elizabeth (9,015)	Lisbon (9,009)	Topsham (8,794)	Old Orchard Beach (8,624)
Skowhegan (8,589)	Bath (8,514)	Yarmouth (8,349)	Caribou (8,189)	Buxton (8,034)	Freeport (7,879)	Old Town (7,840)
Winslow (7,794)	Gray (7,761)	Farmington (7,760)	Ellsworth (7,741)	Waterboro (7,693)	Rockland (7,297)	Hampden (7,257)
Berwick (7,246)	South Berwick (7,220)	Cumberland (7,211)	Fairfield (6,735)	Belfast (6,668)	Oakland (6,240)	Eliot (6,204)

Augusta

Bangor

Bath

Biddeford

Lewiston

Old Town

Portland

Saco

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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</li>
• Lewiston and Auburn</li>
• Bangor, Orono, Brewer, Old Town, and Hampden</li>
• Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach</li>
• Brunswick and Topsham</li>
• Waterville, Winslow, Fairfield, and Oakland</li>
• Presque Isle and Caribou</li>^[47]

EducationEdit

Public schoolsEdit

Maine has four types of school departments: the first is a local school, one which serves only one municipality, and is headed by a superintendent. Usually, it serves kindergarten through grade 12, although some only go to grade 8. Usually, independent school districts which do not have a high school are not totally independent; they are part of a school union, the second type of school district.

A school union is two or more school departments that share a superintendent but nothing else; each town has an independent school board. Usually, only one of the schools in the school union has a high school, but unlike MSADs (discussed below), students in the whole school union are not compelled to attend that school. School union students are given a choice of neighboring school districts, and the school union pays for the student's tuition.

The third type is a MSAD (Maine School Administrative District). This is a regional school district that incorporates two or more towns into one school department with one high school and middle school. These towns do not have independent school boards, but instead have one central board governing the entire district. Students are obligated to attend the central high school. Usually, a MSAD comprises one larger town and one or more smaller towns. The larger town is equipped with a high school and middle school, while the surrounding towns have elementary schools as well, but no secondary schools. The elementary schools usually cut off after grade 5 or grade 6. Sometimes, towns in a MSAD do not have an elementary school but possess a high school and/or middle school, whereas the surrounding towns have the elementary schools.

The last type of school district is a CSD (Community School District, sometimes called a Consolidated School District). This usually (but not always) exists in school districts with such a small student population between several towns that the school district cannot justify an elementary school outside the largest town in the district. In rare cases a CSD refers to only a high school of a school union. Sometimes, in towns geographically isolated (such as island towns) the entire student population attends one school grades PK–12.

Students can choose to attend a school in another district if the parents agree to pay the school tuition. Vocational centers are usually regional, so one school department will administer a technical center but other school districts will transport their students there to take classes.

Private schoolsEdit

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 perceived as "semi-private." This means that while it costs money to send children there, towns will make a contract with a school to take children from a town or MSAD at a slightly reduced rate. Often this is done when it is deemed cheaper to subsidize private tuition than build a whole new school when a private one already exists.

Magnet schoolsEdit

Maine has one major magnet school: The Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone. Another specialty public school exists in Portland: the Maine School of Performing Arts.

Colleges and universitiesEdit

Bangor Theological Seminary Bates College Beal College Bowdoin College Colby College College of the Atlantic Husson College Maine College of Art Maine Community College System Central Maine Community College Kennebec Valley Community College Eastern Maine Community College Northern Maine Community College Southern Maine Community College Boat School at Eastport (a branch of Husson College) Washington County Community College York County Community College

Maine Maritime Academy St. Joseph's College Thomas College Unity College University of Maine System University of Maine at Augusta University of Maine at Farmington University of Maine at Fort Kent University of Maine at Machias University of Maine at Orono, the flagship campus University of Maine at Rockland University of Maine at Presque Isle University of Maine School of Law University of Southern Maine University of New England

CultureEdit

Sports teamsEdit

ProfessionalEdit

• Lewiston Maineiacs, junior hockey, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
• Maine Red Claws, basketball, NBA Development League
• Portland Pirates, minor league hockey, American Hockey League
• Portland Sea Dogs, minor league baseball, Eastern League (U.S. baseball)

Non-professionalEdit

• Portland Phoenix FC, soccer, Premier Developmental League

State symbolsEdit

File:Maine license plate.gif

• State berry: Wild Blueberry^[48]
• State bird: Black-capped Chickadee
• State cat: Maine Coon
• State dessert: Blueberry pie made with wild Maine blueberries
• State fish: Land-locked salmon
• State flower: White Pinecone and Tassel
• State fossil: Pertica Quadrifaria
• State gemstone: Tourmaline
• State herb: Wintergreen
• State insect: European honey bee
• State mammal: Moose
• State soft drink: Moxie
• State soil: Chesuncook soil series
• State song: State of Maine Song
• State treat: Whoopie pie^[49]
• State tree: Eastern White Pine
• State vessel: Arctic exploration schooner Bowdoin
• State motto: Dirigo ("I lead")

^[50]

Maine in fictionEdit

LiteratureEdit

• Charlotte Agell lives in Maine and has several books set in Maine.
• Gerald Warner Brace (1901–1978) lived in Deer Isle. All of his novels are set in New England, some in Maine.
• Carolyn Chute (1947–) lives in Maine and set several novels in fictional town of Egypt, Maine.
• Robert P. T. Coffin (1892–1955) — Iconic Maine writer.
• John Irving wrote The Cider House Rules, a novel (and later a motion picture), set in several fictional Maine towns.
• Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909) lived in South Berwick, Maine. Many of her novels and short stories were set in Maine.
• Elijah Kellogg Jr^[51] (1813–1901) — Popular author of Horatio Alger, Jr.-style boy's books. Many of these out-of-copyright books are available online at books.google.com.
• Stephen King, a Maine native and resident of Bangor, bases much of his fiction in Maine.
• Dean Koontz wrote Night Chills, horror/suspense novel, which takes place in the fictional town of Black River, Maine.
• H. P. Lovecraft, who set almost all of his stories in New England, occasionally mentions Maine.
• Robert McCloskey (1914–2003 ) — Beloved children's author.
• Ruth Moore's novels were based almost entirely in Maine, although she rejected the label of "regional writer."
• Van Reid wrote The Moosepath League series of books, which are humorous adventures set in 19th century Maine.
• Rhea Cote Robbins, author of Wednesday's Child about a mill town, and coming of age experiences.
• Harriet Beecher Stowe composed Uncle Tom's Cabin almost entirely in Brunswick, Maine.
• Henry David Thoreau wrote The Maine Woods, which he visited during his stay at Walden Pond.
• Lewis Robinson's novel Water Dogs and many of his short stories in Officer Friendly and Other Stories are set in Maine.

FilmEdit

• The Beans of Egypt, Maine a 1994 film directed by Jennifer Warren. Based on the 1985 novel by Carolyn Chute.
• Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel, is set in Maine.
• Casper, a 1996 children's film set in the town of Friendship, Maine.
• The Cider House Rules, based on the John Irving novel set in several fictional Maine towns.
• Dark Harbor, a 1998 mystery/suspense film set in an island off the coast of Maine
• Darkness Falls, a 2003 horror film, is set in the fictional Maine town of Darkness Falls but was filmed mostly in Australia.
• Dreamcatcher, 2003 film adaption of the Stephen King novel set in and around the town of Derry, Maine.
• Empire Falls, a motion picture based on Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, was filmed almost entirely in Waterville and Skowhegan.
• Todd Field's 2001 Academy Award–nominated film for Best Picture, In the Bedroom, is set in many towns throughout Maine including Rockland, Owls Head, Rockport, Camden, Thomaston, Trevette and Old Orchard Beach.
• The Iron Giant, based on the novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, is an award-winning animated film that takes place in the fictional town of Rockwell, Maine in the 1950s.
• It Happened to Jane, a 1959 romantic comedy, is set in the fictional town of Cape Anne, Maine and prominently features the fictional Eastern & Portland Railroad, which was based loosely on the Boston & Maine Railroad and the New Haven Railroad.
• Lake Placid, a 1999 comedy-horror film set by a fictional lake in Maine, starring Bridget Fonda and a large man-eating crocodile.
• The Man Without a Face, a 1993 film starring Mel Gibson, was shot throughout midcoast Maine.
• The Mist, a Stephen King novel, is set in Maine.
• Pete's Dragon, a 1977 Walt Disney live-action/animated musical set in Passamaquoddy, Maine^[52]
• Peyton Place, filmed in 1957, was set in New Hampshire but filmed in Camden region of Maine.
• The Shawshank Redemption, an award-winning 1994 movie, was set in Maine.
• Storm of the Century, a miniseries based on the Stephen King novel, takes place in Maine, along with many other adaptations of his books.
• Welcome to Mooseport was a 2004 movie set in the fictional city of Mooseport, Maine.
• Wet Hot American Summer is set near Waterville, Maine.

TelevisionEdit

• "Augusta, Gone" (2001) a television drama about a teenager's descent into drug use, is set on Mount Desert Island, Maine.
• Dark Shadows is set in the fictional coastal town of Collinsport, Maine.
• Hawkeye Pierce, a central character of the television sitcom M*A*S*H, is a resident of the fictional town of Crabapple Cove, Maine. The role of Pierce was played by Alan Alda. The series was based upon the writings of Dr. H. Richard Hornberger (writing as Richard Hooker), who following the war resided in Pittsfield.
• Murder, She Wrote, a television series starring Angela Lansbury, is set in the fictional Maine village of Cabot Cove, but filmed in Mendocino, California.
• Murder in Small Town X was an unscripted drama series airing in 2001 with ten people competing to find a fictional killer in the town of Sunrise (Eastport, Maine) ^[53]
• Kingdom Hospital, Stephen King's 2004 ABC mini-series, was set in Lewiston
• Haven is set in the fictional costal town of Haven, Maine. It is based on Stephen King's book "The Colorado Kid."

Notable residentsEdit

A citizen of Maine is known as a "Mainer,"^[1] though the term "Downeaster" may be applied to residents of the northeast coast of the state.

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

Find more about Maine on Wikipedia's sister projects:

	Definitions from Wiktionary
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

Geographic data related to Maine at OpenStreetMap

State government

• Maine government
• Maine Office of Tourism Search for tourism-related businesses
• Visit Maine (agriculture) Maine fairs, festivals, etc. - Agricultural Dept.

U.S. government

• U.S. EIA Energy Profile for Maine - economic, environmental and energy data
• U.S. Geological Survey Real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Maine
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Maine State Facts - agricultural
• U.S. Census Bureau Quick facts on Maine

Information

• Maine at the Open Directory Project
• Maine Historical Society
• Old USGS maps of Maine.
• 1860 Map of Maine by Mitchell.
• 1876 Panoramic Birdseye View of Portland by Warner at LOC.,
• Portland Stage Company
• Comprehensive compilation of media sources in Maine.

Related informationEdit

	Saint Lawrence River	Canada  Quebec	Gulf of Saint Lawrence
	New Hampshire		New Brunswick Bay of Fundy
		Maine: Outline • Index
	Massachusetts	Atlantic Ocean

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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Maine. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.