Maine is a state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeastern most state in the Lower 48. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest, and shares a maritime border with Nova Scotia. Maine is the largest state in New England by total area, nearly larger than the combined area of the remaining five states. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural. Maine's capital is Augusta, and its most populous city is Portland, with a total population of 68,408, as of the 2020 census.
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,237. Its seat is Wiscasset. The county was founded in 1760 by the Massachusetts General Court from a portion of York County, Massachusetts and named after the English city Lincoln, the birthplace of Massachusetts Bay Provincial Governor Thomas Pownall.
Rockport is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It is 35 miles southeast of Augusta. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony.
Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Back Narrows, Dover, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The surrounding Boothbay Region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year-round. Five shipyards are located in the town, the largest of which is Washburn & Doughty.
Damariscotta is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,297 at the 2020 census. Damariscotta is the oyster capital of New England. A popular tourist destination, the towns of Damariscotta and Newcastle are linked by the Main Street bridge over the Damariscotta River, forming the "Twin Villages". The name Damariscotta derives from a native place-name meaning place of abundance of small fish (alewives).
South Bristol is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, South Bristol includes the villages of Walpole and Christmas Cove, the latter on Rutherford Island. The town has six nature preserves.
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum, and the Maine State Music Theatre. It was formerly home to the U.S. Naval Air Station Brunswick, which was permanently closed on May 31, 2011, and has since been partially released to redevelopment as "Brunswick Landing".
Penobscot Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine, a stretch known as Midcoast Maine, in a broader Atlantic region known as Down East. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, downriver from Belfast. Penobscot Bay has many working waterfronts including Rockland, Rockport, and Stonington, and Belfast. Penobscot Bay is between Muscongus Bay and Blue Hill Bay, just west of Acadia National Park.
The Damariscotta River is a 19.0-mile-long (30.6 km) tidal river in Lincoln County, Maine, that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Damariscotta is an old Abenaki word for "river of many fishes". There are 2,500-year-old oyster shell middens (heaps) along the banks of the Damariscotta River, which occupies a drowned river valley leading to the Gulf of Maine, a large embayment of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Rockland Branch is a railroad from Brunswick, Maine to Rockland, Maine. A charter was granted in 1849 to build a railway from the Portland and Kennebec Railroad on the west side of the Kennebec River to Rockland. Construction through the rocky headlands of the Atlantic coast proved more expensive than anticipated. The Knox and Lincoln Railroad commenced service to Rockland in 1871 using a ferry to cross the Kennebec River between Bath and Woolwich. The Knox and Lincoln was leased by Maine Central Railroad in 1891, and became Maine Central's Rockland Branch in 1901. Maine Central purchased the Samoset destination hotel in nearby Glen Cove in 1912, and offered direct passenger service for summer visitors from the large eastern cities. Carlton bridge was completed in 1927 to carry the railroad and U.S. Route 1 over the Kennebec River. Maine Central sold the Samoset hotel in 1941, and the last Maine Central passenger train to Rockland was on 4 April 1959. The State of Maine purchased the branch in 1987 to prevent abandonment. The line has subsequently been operated by the Maine Coast Railroad, the Maine Eastern Railroad, and, beginning in 2016, the Central Maine and Quebec Railway. In 2019, Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to purchase the Central Maine and Quebec, thereby inheriting the operation of the Rockland Branch. The acquisition was completed on June 3, 2020.
Damariscove is an uninhabited island that is part of Boothbay Harbor in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, approximately 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the coast at the mouth of the Damariscotta River. The long, narrow island is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 1,500 feet (460 m) at its widest point. The island has served in the past as a fishing settlement and a United States Coast Guard life saving station.
Ram Island Light is a lighthouse located just offshore of Ram Island, marking the eastern entrance to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and the west side of the mouth of the Damariscotta River. It was built in 1883 and automated in 1965. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Ram Island Light Station on January 21, 1988.
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Bayville, Mount Pisgah, and Sprucewold, and the villages of Isle of Springs and West Boothbay Harbor. During summer months, the entire Boothbay Harbor region is a popular yachting and tourist destination.
Damariscotta Lake is a lake in Lincoln County, Maine. Damariscota Lake, which covers 4,300 acres (1,700 ha), encompasses part of the towns of Jefferson, Nobleboro, and Newcastle. Damariscotta Lake State Park in Jefferson occupies 19 acres at the far northern end of the lake. The lake is known for its annual run of alewives and the dam and fish ladder built in 1807 at Damariscotta Mills at the lake's southern tip.
The Rockport Historic Kiln Area encompasses a portion of Rockport Marine Park in Rockport, Maine. This area in Midcoast Maine is home to many of the states late quarries, which over time have been turned into areas where local leaders meet and sing songs originating from this area. This area is part of the region's nationally significant lime processing history, including seven historic early 19th-century lime kilns. The area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops is a book and stationery retailer operating in Maine, United States. It is the oldest bookstore in the state, having been established in 1886, and is one of the ten oldest bookstores in the United States.
