Calais, Maine

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Downtown Calais.

Calais is a city in the state of Maine in the United States on the St. Croix River on the border with St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. It is in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,447 at the 2000 census. Its name is pronounced as callous, not the French-style cal-ayy listen (help·info).

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Government
5 Media
6 External links

[edit] History

The river and its area were first explored by Samuel de Champlain when he and his men spent a winter there in the early 1600s. However, the first permanent settlers did not arrive until 1770.

On June 27, 1789, the Massachusetts General Court sold the township to Mr. Waterman Thomas for 19¢ an acre. On June 16, 1809, the area was incorporated as a town. The city was given the name Calais after its ancient counterpart in France in honor of France's very significant contribution to American independence during the American Revolution. The State of Maine granted a City Charter on August 24, 1850.

Since 1948, the City of Calais has functioned under the Council/Manager form of government. The City's charter bestows upon the mayor and council the responsibility to set policy for all local matters. The mayor is elected at large for a two-year term while the six councilors are elected at large for three-year terms on a staggered, non-partisan basis.

Notable persons born in Calais:

Horatio Nelson Young, (1845-1913)

[edit] Geography

Calais is located at 45°9′58″N, 67°14′33″W (45.166045, -67.242434)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 103.7 km² (40.0 mi²). 88.2 km² (34.0 mi²) of it is land and 15.5 km² (6.0 mi²) of it (14.94%) is water.

Calais is the northern terminus of the East Coast Greenway which has its southern terminus in Key West, Florida.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,447 people, 1,486 households, and 904 families residing in the city. The population density was 39.1/km² (101.3/mi²). There were 1,921 housing units at an average density of 21.8/km² (56.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.81% White, 0.35% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,486 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,623, and the median income for a family was $39,118. Males had a median income of $37,684 versus $20,058 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,135. About 11.1% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 19.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

The City of Calais operates under the council-manager form of government. The current city manager is Linda Pagels. Some past city managers include: William Bridgeo, Nancy Orr, and Mark Ryckman.

[edit] Media

There are a few television stations (mostly from Saint John, New Brunswick and Bangor, Maine that serve Calais via rebroadcast transmitters:

Call letters	Analog Channel	Digital Channel	Network	City and state/province	Origin Station
CBAT-TV	4	Unknown	CBC	Saint John, NB	CBAT-TV
CBAFT-1 5	5	Unknown	SRC	Saint John, NB	CBAFT-TV
CKLT-TV	9	Unknown	CTV	Saint John, NB	CKLT-TV
CIHF-2 12	12	Unknown	Global	Saint John, NB	CIHF-TV
Maine Public Broadcasting Network	13	10.1, 10.2	MPBN/PBS	Calais, ME	Maine Public Broadcasting Network
W21BH	21	Unknown	TBN	Machias, ME	W21BH
W57AQ	57	8	NBC	Calais, ME	WLBZ
W61AO	61	None	CBS	Calais, ME	WABI-TV