Alfred, Maine
Encyclopedia
Alfred is a town
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...

 in York County
York County, Maine
York County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, the population was 197,131. Its county seat is Alfred.Founded in 1636, it is the oldest county in Maine and one of the oldest in the United States....

, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, the town population was 2,497. Alfred is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of York County
York County, Maine
York County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, the population was 197,131. Its county seat is Alfred.Founded in 1636, it is the oldest county in Maine and one of the oldest in the United States....

and home to part of the Massabesic Experimental Forest. The Alfred Historic District includes 48 houses on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Alfred is part of the Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

South Portland
South Portland, Maine
South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state. Founded in 1895, as of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,002. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of...

Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...

, Maine metropolitan statistical area
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area
The Portland–South Portland–Biddeford Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Greater Portland, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Maine, anchored by the city of Portland and the smaller cities of South Portland and Biddeford...

.

History

Abenaki Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 called the area Massabesic, meaning "large pond," or "the place of much water." It was in the western portion of a large tract of land purchased from Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 chiefs Fluellin, Hombinowitt and Meeksombe (also known as Captain Sunday), between 1661 and 1664 by Major William Phillips, an owner of mills in Saco
Saco, Maine
Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...

 (which then included Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...

). According to historian Jim Brunelle, editor of the Maine Almanac, the price was "two large blankets, two gallons of rum, two pounds of powder, four pounds of musket balls, 20 strings of beads and several other articles."

Simeon Coffin of Newbury
Newbury, Massachusetts
Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2010 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town , Plum Island and Byfield, home of The Governor's Academy , a private preparatory school.- History :Newbury Plantation was settled and incorporated...

, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 arrived in 1764 and lived for a time in a wigwam
Wigwam
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...

, although the first permanent settlement took place in 1770. Known as the north parish of Sanford
Sanford, Maine
Sanford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,798 in the 2010 census, the highest of the York County towns, and the 8th largest in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale...

, the community was set off and incorporated as a district on February 4, 1794. Sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s and gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

s operated by water power at the streams. A log jail was built in 1803, with a brick jail in 1869. The courthouse was built in 1806, the year Alfred became the shire town of York County. It was incorporated as a town in 1808, named in honor of King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...

. Land would be set off to Sanford in 1828, and annexed from Waterboro
Waterboro, Maine
Waterboro is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,214 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....

 in 1847. The Rochester & Portland Railroad entered from Waterboro in 1864, connecting to Rochester
Rochester, New Hampshire
Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 29,752. The city includes the villages of East Rochester and Gonic. Rochester is home to Skyhaven Airport and the annual Rochester Fair....

, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 in 1871. More than 30 trains passed through Alfred daily between 1910 and 1920, but use would decline in the age of automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s. Passenger service ceased in 1949, with the final train departing in 1961. A severe drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

 in Maine tindered the Great Fires of 1947, burning 4500 acres (18.2 km²) of woodland and two residences in the town.
A Shaker
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...

 religious community once thrived in Alfred. In 1783, members of the Shaker Church settled on the hill near Massabesic (now Shaker) Pond. Others dubbed them the "Merry Dancers," because of their ecstatic worship. "They were," as historian George J. Varney writes, "at this time fanatical in religion and intemperate in their indulgences." Organized in 1793, Alfred Shaker Village practiced the religion's celibate communal living, with equality among the sexes and races. They built plain architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 and furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...

, honest expressions of their faith. At the movement's height in the 1840s, Shakers operated 19 utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...

n communities scattered from Maine to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, and as far west as Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. But among all the "societies," Alfred Shaker Village in particular was noted for "spiritualistic healing of the sick." It was also where Elder Joseph Brackett
Joseph Brackett
Joseph Brackett Jr. , an American songwriter and Elder of The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing , was born in Cumberland, Maine, and died in the Shaker community of Sabbathday Lake at New Gloucester, Maine.Brackett is known as the author of the Shaker dancing song "Simple...

 wrote the famous 1848 Shaker dancing song, Simple Gifts
Simple Gifts
"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett.It has endured many inaccurate descriptions. Though often classified as an anonymous Shaker hymn or as a work song, it is better classified as a dance song.-Lyrics:...

.

Only Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village is a Shaker village near New Gloucester and Poland, Maine, in the United States. It is the last active Shaker community, with only three members as of 2009. The community was established in either 1782, 1783 or 1793 at the height of the Shaker movement in the United...

 in New Gloucester
New Gloucester, Maine
New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker Village in the U.S...

 survives under the control of the last few Shakers. Some former communities operate today as museums because, like Alfred Shaker Village, they closed when the congregation dwindled. In 1931, the Alfred property was sold to the Brothers of Christian Instruction
Brothers of Christian Instruction of St Gabriel
The Brothers of Christian Instruction of St Gabriel, otherwise Gabrielite Brothers or FSG, is a secular Catholic order. Its roots go back to Saint Louis de Montfort, who opened a few schools for poor children in La Rochelle, France, in about 1711....

, who allow the Friends of Alfred Shaker Village to operate a museum in one of the site's original Shaker buildings. Although the Shakers are gone, some of their apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

 orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...

s and blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...

 fields are still yielding fruit, the sale of which helps support the York County Shelter.

In 1873 Louis H. F. Wagner rowed out to Smuttynose Island
Smuttynose Island
Smuttynose Island is one of the Isles of Shoals, located six miles off the coast of New Hampshire, but actually in the state of Maine. It was named by fishermen, seeing the island at sea level and noticing how the profuse seaweed at one end looked like the "smutty nose" of some vast sea...

 in the Isles of Shoals
Isles of Shoals
The Isles of Shoals are a group of small islands and tidal ledges situated approximately off the east coast of the United States, straddling the border of the states of New Hampshire and Maine.- History :...

, off the Atlantic coast near Kittery
Kittery, Maine
Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...

, intending to rob but eventually murdering two of the three women left alone on the island. When the authorities finally caught up with him, jurisdiction for the case was given to York County and the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

, Alfred. The biggest trial in the state at that time was held in the Alfred Court House.

Wagner having little defense was quickly found guilty and sentenced to be hanged on the gallows of the Maine State Prison
Maine State Prison
The Maine State Prison was erected in Thomaston, Maine in 1824 and relocated to Warren in 2002. This maximum-security prison has a capacity of 916 adult male inmates with an average daily population of 900.-History:...

 at Thomaston
Thomaston, Maine
Thomaston, Maine is a town on the coast of Maine the United States. The name may also refer to:*Thomaston , Maine, a census-designated place comprising the center of the town*South Thomaston, Maine, an adjacent town...

. While he was awaiting transfer he broke out of the Alfred jail and made his escape, eventually being caught in Farmington, New Hampshire
Farmington, New Hampshire
Farmington is a town located in Strafford County, New Hampshire, USA. The 2010 census reported that the town had a total population of 6,786. Farmington is home to Blue Job State Forest....

.

Notable people

  • James Abbe
    James Abbe
    James Abbe was an American photographer.-Background:James Abbe was born in 1883 in Alfred, Maine. He traveled throughout Europe as a young photojournalist recording the unstable power struggles of the early 20th century...

    , photographer
  • Joseph Brackett
    Joseph Brackett
    Joseph Brackett Jr. , an American songwriter and Elder of The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing , was born in Cumberland, Maine, and died in the Shaker community of Sabbathday Lake at New Gloucester, Maine.Brackett is known as the author of the Shaker dancing song "Simple...

    , songwriter and Shaker elder
  • Joshua Herrick
    Joshua Herrick
    Joshua Herrick was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Beverly, Massachusetts where he attended the common schools. He moved to the district of Maine in 1811 and engaged in the lumber business and served in the War of 1812...

    , congressman
  • John Holmes
    John Holmes (U.S. politician)
    John Holmes was an American politician. Holmes, a National Republican, served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and was one of the first two U.S. Senators from Maine. Holmes was noted for his involvement in the Treaty of Ghent.-Early life and education:Holmes was born in Kingston,...

    , senator

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the town has a total area of 27.9 square miles (72.3 km²), of which, 27.2 square miles (70.4 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) of it (2.40%) is water. Alfred is drained by the Middle Branch of the Mousam River, Littlefield River, Hay Brook and Trafton Brook. Yeaton Hill has an elevation of 602 feet (183 m), and Brackett Hill an elevation of 480 feet (146 m). The highest point in town is on Fort Ridge, elevation 1,020 feet (311 m), at the Shapleigh
Shapleigh, Maine
Shapleigh, pronounced "SHAP-lee", is a town in York County, Maine, United States which was incorporated as the state's 43rd town in 1785. The population was 2,326 at the 2000 census. Shapleigh is divided into the villages of North Shapleigh, Shapleigh Corner, Ross Corner and Emery Mills...

 line.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 2,497 people, 996 households, and 682 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 91.7 people per square mile (35.4/km²). There were 1,103 housing units at an average density of 40.5 per square mile (15.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.52% White, 0.24% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.48% Asian, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.12% of the population.

There were 996 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,583, and the median income for a family was $47,625. Males had a median income of $36,957 versus $25,026 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $19,337. About 4.2% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Alfred has three selectmen who manage town business. Selectmen are elected in an annual town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....

 to three year terms.

Schools

Alfred's children attending public school go to Alfred Elementary School from kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 through fifth grade. Sixth,seventh and eighth grade students attend Massabesic Middle School in Waterboro
Waterboro, Maine
Waterboro is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,214 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....

. Ninth through twelfth graders attend Massabesic High School
Massabesic High School
Massabesic High School, Pronounced "MASS-UH-BEE-SlK" is a public high school located in Waterboro, Maine, United States...

 in Waterboro. Elementary aged students may also attend the private Unlimited Vision Montessori School.

Adjacent towns

  • Kennebunk
    Kennebunk, Maine
    Kennebunk is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,075 people at the 2000 census. Including Kennebunkport , the population totals 14,196 people...

  • Lyman
    Lyman, Maine
    Lyman is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,795 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area...

  • Sanford
    Sanford, Maine
    Sanford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,798 in the 2010 census, the highest of the York County towns, and the 8th largest in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale...

  • Shapleigh
    Shapleigh, Maine
    Shapleigh, pronounced "SHAP-lee", is a town in York County, Maine, United States which was incorporated as the state's 43rd town in 1785. The population was 2,326 at the 2000 census. Shapleigh is divided into the villages of North Shapleigh, Shapleigh Corner, Ross Corner and Emery Mills...

  • Waterboro
    Waterboro, Maine
    Waterboro is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,214 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....


External links


Sites of interest

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