Searsport, Maine

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Searsport, Maine
settlement_type = Town
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption = Town House Hill


image_

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of the town of Searsport (in yellow) in Waldo County and the state of Maine


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Maine
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Waldo
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = 1845

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 111.2
area_land_km2 = 74.1
area_water_km2 = 37.2
area_total_sq_mi = 42.9
area_land_sq_mi = 28.6
area_water_sq_mi = 14.3

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 2641
population_density_km2 = 35.7
population_density_sq_mi = 92.4

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 72
elevation_ft = 236
latd = 44 |latm = 30 |lats = 2 |latNS = N
longd = 68 |longm = 55 |longs = 42 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 04974
area_code = 207
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 23-66635
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0582716
website =
footnotes =

Searsport is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,641 at the 2000 census. Searsport includes the village of North Searsport. The town is known as "the home of the famous sea captains" and the "Antique Capital of Maine." [http://clickbrochure.com/mainebb/brochure.html] .

History

Searsport was settled in the 1670s and incorporated on February 13, 1845 from portions of Prospect and Belfast. In 1747, when fire destroyed the Province House in Boston, General Samuel Waldo advocated, unsuccessfully, that the capital of Massachusetts be moved to Searsport, which was part of the Waldo Patent he purchased about 1720. [http://www.maine.gov/local/waldo/searsport] It was named after David Sears of Boston after he agreed to grant a large sum of money towards the town's founding. Searsport is noted for its rich maritime history. During the 19th-century the port had 17 shipyards and built 200 ships, while supplying fully one-tenth of the nation's merchant marine deep water captains. The Penobscot Marine Museum faithfully recalls this heritage.

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. [http://www.maine.gov/local/waldo/searsport] Indeed, the town became the Penobscot Bay shipping terminus for 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.

Notable residents

* Roswell K. Colcord, governor
* Peter A. Garland, congressman & town manager
* Sam Houston, bodyguard to George Washington
* Freeman McGilvery, army officer
* David Sears, merchant & founder
* Ephraim K. Smart, congressman
* Frederick Stevens, congressman

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 42.9 square miles (111.2 km²), of which, 28.6 square miles (74.1 km²) of it is land and 14.4 square miles (37.2 km²) of it (33.42%) is water. Situated on Penobscot Bay, Searport is drained by Long Cove Brook and Mill Brook. It includes Sears Island, which is convert|940|acre|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 to the northeast, Belfast to the southwest, Swanville to the northwest, and Frankfort to the north.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,641 people, 1,130 households, and 732 families residing in the town. The population density was 92.4 people per square mile (35.7/km²). There were 1,370 housing units at an average density of 47.9/sq mi (18.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.07% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.72% Native American, 0.08% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.19% of the population.

There were 1,130 households out 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.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.3% 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% who 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 median income for a household in the town was $31,288, and the median income for a family was $38,333. Males had a median income of $31,629 versus $23,221 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,883. About 11.3% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Searsport's government is organized around a town meeting system with an annual town meeting held every March and special town meetings held at various times during the year. A five member Board of Selectmen (with its members serving three-year terms) is elected at the Tuesday before the annual meeting and it, along with the Town Manager, run the town's daily affairs, including overseeing town water, sewage treatment, police patrol, fire protection, emergency medical service, recreational programs and a library. They cannot pass a budget or most ordinances without town approval at the annual or a special town meeting. The town has no mayor, but the Board of Selectmen does choose a Chair who is responsible for running the Board's meetings. [http://searsportme.com]

ites of interest

* [http://www.stateparks.com/moose_point.html Moose Point State Park]
* Penobscot Marine Museum
* Sears Island
* [http://www.searsporthistoricalsociety.org/ Searsport Historical Society & Museum]
* [http://www.penobscotbooks.com/ Penobscot Books ~ Art / Architecure / Photography]

References

Further reading

* A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, "A History and Description of New England", 1859; H. O. Houghton & Company, printers; Cambridge, Massachusetts

External links

* [http://www.searsportme.com/ Town of Searsport, Maine]
* [http://www.carver.lib.me.us/ Carver Memorial Library]
* [http://www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org/ Penobscot Marine Museum]
* [http://www.searsportme.net/ Searsport Business & Visitors' Guide]
* [http://maine.gov/local/waldo/searsport/ Maine.gov -- Searsport, Maine]