Vinalhaven, Maine

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Vinalhaven is a town located in the Fox Islands in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,235 at the 2000 census. The community has a thriving fishery and hosts a summer colony.

[edit] Summer Colony

Like neighboring North Haven Island, Vinalhaven is well-known for its summer community of wealthy Northeasterners, mostly from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. The northern end of Vinalhaven, on the Fox Island Thoroughfare opposite North Haven, is often informally considered part of North Haven, since Vinalhaven's north shore is nearly a dozen miles from that community's town center. The Lobstering ground in The Fox Island Thoroughfare is heavily dominated by Vinalhaven fisherman who have no competition from North Haven's nearly nonexistent lobster fishery. Vinalhaven has the largest chunk of fishing ground in Penobscot Bay, only rivaled by the small pirate island of Matinicus nearly 13 miles away to the south west. Vinalhaven Lobsters have been said to be the best tasting lobsters in Maine, and Maine is said to have the best tasting lobsters in the world.

Prominent Vinalhaven families include those of:

Eliot Elisofon (1911-1973), noted photographer for Life and National Geographic magazines.
John Jay Iselin, former President of the Cooper Union and descendant of John Jay.
Brewster Jennings, partner in Standard Oil and CEO of Mobil Oil.
Leverett Saltonstall, Governor of Massachusetts.
Timothy Lane, Sea Captain and descendant of Benjamin Lane who settled on the island in the late 1700s.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 1,235 people, 550 households, and 341 families residing in the town. The population density was 18.8/km² (48.8/mi²). There were 1,228 housing units at an average density of 18.7/km² (48.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.14% White, 0.32% Native American, 0.32% Asian, and 1.21% from two or more races.

There were 550 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,087, and the median income for a family was $42,917. Males had a median income of $36,094 versus $17,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,287. About 5.7% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] External links

Vinalhaven Chamber of Commerce

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