Deer Isle, Maine
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| Deer Isle, Maine | |
  Deer Isle, Maine
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Hancock |
| Area | |
| - Total | 123.7 sq mi (320.4 km²) |
| - Land | 29.7 sq mi (76.9 km²) |
| - Water | 94.0 sq mi (243.5 km²) |
| Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 1,876 |
| - Density | 63.2/sq mi (24.4/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 04627 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | 23-17145 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582437 |
Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2000 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the town's many art galleries.
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[edit] History
(From Dave Buckout/Inheritage) "All the early explorers encountered the natives. Their experiences surely varied, but most often fell in line with the prevailing attitudes of European superiority — Martin Pring having taken five Indian captives back to England as "oddities." Edith Spofford-Watts provided us a few more objective details of the earliest inhabitants. She highlights state archeological finds that have estimated human habitation dating to 11,000 B.C., writing of possible descendents called the "Red Paint People" due to their use of ochres in burial traditions. Digs have shown them to be an advanced race of adept toolmakers who made the area home from 8,000 B.C. to within a few millennia of Christ’s birth. Ample evidence of thriving sedentary communities that engaged in trade have been unearthed, the frequent discovery of clamshell heaps confirming an obvious reliance on the sea. These long periods of general cultural knowledge begin to come more clear, more refined by the time of Norse and later European exploration. By the 16th century, Deer Isle was the heart of the Eastern Abeneki, an Algonquin speaking people composed of a multitude of sub-tribes — such as the regional Penobscot and Tarrantine. But fratricidal conflict was prevalent and the native population had been "greatly depleted by the forays and massacres of long Indian wars" by the time of the first whites, according to Spofford-Watts. Those that were left were ill-equipped to resist the white man, and the diseases he brought.
The first permanent white settlers of Deer Isle were William Eaton and his wife Meribah. They arrived in 1762 at the head of a number of pioneers(among them were descendants of Scots Covenantor George Gray, who was a Battle of Dunbar (September 3rd, 1650) prisoner of war and Durham Cathedral survivor. Gray's descendent, Joshua Gray relocated to Sedgewick and Deer Isle, Me after defending Fort Pownal during the French and Indian War in 1760s). Records show over a dozen men, including Eaton, petitioned the state of Massachusetts [which laid claim to and governed the lands of Maine until 1820] for land titles as early as August of that year. As mentioned, wild game, mostly deer, was abundant. The settlers named their new home for the thriving herds. But it would be the harvest of the ever present sea that would always be the predominant provider. The Eatons and others, such as Jonathan Greenlaw, a man of importance among the early settlers, put up their dwellings along the shores to take advantage of the sea. The first settlers lined North and Little Deer Isles along "the Reach." Only after the lands to the north were claimed did new settlers begin to move into the interior and southern reaches of the islands. As is requisite of local history narratives, Hosmer provides us a testament to the hardships of these settlers’ daily lives:
Rustic log cabins with thatched or bark roofs containing a stone fireplace, sometimes a cellar, sometimes just a dirt floor, was the standard dwelling. The plentiful banks of clams and the profusion of fish, gathered with hand-drawn lines from dugouts on the many inlets, bays and straits, were the staple. These were augmented by game hunted on the interior of the islands, herring and smelt caught from the numerous clear freshwater sources inland, and waterfowl. "Duck-driving," the driving of large flocks during molting season, when the birds were unable to fly, across the southern bays towards waiting hunters at a pre-arranged inlet was a popular sport that yielded sustaining quantities of meat. On land area was being cleared for dairy cattle and freeranging sheep. Sheep’s wool, along with the flax plant, produced the fiber required for use in "spinning" clothing and blankets. Corn was the staple vegetable. It was supplemented by wild nuts, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and planted apple trees. Whale oil was used in lanterns, seaweed used for fertilizer, the ingenuity of relying on available resources evident … The settlements slowly became grounded communities. The first child was born to the Timothy Billings family in May of 1764, beginning a long lineage that can still be found in the many modern-day descendents of original settlers."
The town was incorporated in 1789, at which time it included the islands of Little Deer Isle, Deer Isle, and Isle au Haut. In 1868 Isle au Haut became a separate town. In 1897 the southern third of Deer Isle incorporated as the town of Stonington.[1]
In the 19th century, the granite industry flourished on Deer Isle. Deer Isle quarries supplied granite for structures such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Institution and the US Naval Academy, Manhattan Bridge and at JFK's tomb at Arlington Cemetery.
In John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, Deer Isle was a stopping point for the author after the insistence of a close friend to visit the location. Steinbeck wrote, "One doesn't have to be sensitive to feel the strangeness of Deer Isle."
It was Deer Isle that musician Dan Fogelberg and his wife Jean chose for their final home, and where he passed away in 2007. This isle was the home town of the dock that was the inspiration for the painter Farfield Porter. Many small private islands can be found here.
[edit] Geography
The town of Deer Isle is one of two communities on the island of Deer Isle. The other is Stonington, Maine. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 123.7 square miles (320.4 km²). 29.7 square miles (76.9 km²) of the town is land and 94.0 square miles (243.5 km²) of it is water.
Deer Isle is separated from the main land by Eggemoggin Reach and may be reached by car via a narrow 1939 suspension bridge bearing the island's name. This bridge is a sister bridge to the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which collapsed spectacularly in 1940, due to wind vibrations. The Eggemoggin Reach bridge still stands today. Presumably the dimensions of the bridge and the geography of the Reach do not create the same aerodynamic conditions that occurred in the Tacoma Narrows. The bridge does bounce up and down on windy days, however.
[edit] Demographics
As of the 2000 census[2], there were 1,876 people, 781 households, and 523 families residing in the town. The population density was 63.2 people per square mile (24.4/km²). There were 1,575 housing units at an average density of 53.0/sq mi (20.5/km²), and The racial makeup of the town was 98.61% White, 0.16% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.21% Asian, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population.
Out of the 781 households, 29.1% contain children under the age of 18 living, 57.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% contain someone 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.32 people and the average family size was 2.82 people.
22.5% of the population is under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% are 65 years of age or older, and the median age is 44 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $40,714. Males had a median income of $27,008 versus $19,052 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,875, and About 5.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Deer Isle - Stonington Chamber of Commerce
- Maine's Hidden Treasure, a photo-essay by Thomas R. & Deborah A. Fletcher
- The Island Ad-Vantages, A local newspaper.
[edit] References
- ^ Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). in Doris A. Isaacson: Maine: A Guide 'Down East'. Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc., 347-349.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
