Houlton is a town in
Aroostook County, MaineAroostook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 71,870. In land area, it is the largest county in the state and the largest U.S. county east of the Mississippi River. Its seat is Houlton...
, on the United States – Canada border, located at 46.1256°N 67.8398°W. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 6,123. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of
Interstate 95In the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 is a long highway running from the New Hampshire border near Kittery, to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate Highway in Maine...
and for being the birthplace of
Samantha SmithSamantha Reed Smith was an American schoolgirl and child actress from Manchester, Maine, who became famous in the Cold War-era United States and Soviet Union...
. The town is home to the annual Houlton Agricultural Fair.
Houlton is the county seat for Aroostook County, and as such its nickname is the "Shire Town" and the Houlton High School sports teams are named "The Shiretowners." The
Meduxnekeag RiverThe Meduxnekeag River is a small river in northern Maine in the United States and western New Brunswick, Canada. It is long.It rises from the outflow of Meduxnekeag Lake in New Limerick, Maine, and flows to its end in the Town of Woodstock, New Brunswick.The North and South branches rise in...
flows through the heart of the town, and the border with the Canadian province of
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
is three miles east of the town's center. Houlton was the home of
Ricker CollegeRicker College was a small college located in Houlton, Maine. It opened in 1848 and closed in 1978.It began as Houlton Academy in 1848, before being subsequently renamed Ricker Classical Institute in 1887...
which closed in 1978.
Primary settlement and center of the town is designated as
CDPA census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
with the same name,
HoultonHoulton is a census-designated place in the town of Houlton in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,270 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Aroostook County and is on the Canadian border...
.
History
Aaron Putnam and Joseph Houlton started a village and named it for Joseph Houlton, who moved to Maine from the more populated part of
MassachusettsThe 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...
in 1807. Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820. The United States government in 1828 established
Hancock BarracksHancock Barracks was a 19th century fortification near Houlton, Maine.-Origin:Controversy surrounded the boundary between Massachusetts and New Brunswick after Treaty of Paris ended American Revolutionary War. British invaded coastal Maine during the War of 1812, but the treaty ending that war...
, a military post. Houlton officially incorporated as a town in 1831. When the
Aroostook WarThe Aroostook War was an undeclared nonviolent confrontation in 1838/1839 between the United States and Great Britain over the international boundary between British North America and Maine. The compromise resolution win a mutually accepted border between the state of Maine and the provinces of...
flared in 1839, three companies of the 1st Artillery Regiment manned Hancock Barracks under Major R. M. Kirby. Major Kirby helped to restrain the twelve companies of militia that Maine sent there from starting a shooting war. The
Webster-Ashburton TreatyThe Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies...
settled the boundary dispute in 1842, and the Army abandoned Hancock Barracks in 1847.
The U.S. Army installed its first transatlantic Radio Intelligence Station in Hancock, Maine, during
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Houlton Radio Intelligence Station intercepted German diplomatic communications primarily from its
Nauen Transmitter StationNauen Transmitter Station in Nauen, Havelland , Brandenburg, Germany, is the oldest transmitting plant in the world. It was founded on 1 April 1906 by Telefunken engineer R...
. MI-8 created the Radio Intelligence Service, using selected Signal Corps personnel for the sole purpose of supporting strategic intelligence through radio intercepts during World War I. The United States intelligence services built Houlton as the first unit of its type, and its success helped to lay the foundation for many more United States long range radio intercept stations.
On 7 January 1927,
AT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
initiated the first transatlantic commercial telephone service, linking New York and London. The AT&T Transoceanic Receiver Station was located at the end of Hand Lane, 46.1270°N 67.8841°W, two miles west of the town center. The massive receiving
antennaAn antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
, over three miles long and two miles wide, straddled
Interstate 95 in MaineIn the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 is a long highway running from the New Hampshire border near Kittery, to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate Highway in Maine...
four miles west of the center of Houlton. The receiver station worked with the massive long wave transmitting facility of AT&T located at
RCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
in
Rocky Point, New YorkRocky Point is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 10,185.Rocky Point is a community in the town of Brookhaven.-Geography:...
. The receiver station received the
longwaveIn radio, longwave refers to parts of radio spectrum with relatively long wavelengths. The term is a historic one dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of long, medium and short wavelengths...
telephone signal from the British General Post Office Rugby transmitting station near Rugby, England.
The Army established Houlton Army Air Base in 1941 immediately adjacent to the Canadian border. Prior to the United States's entry into World War II, American army pilots flew planes to the base, but they could not fly the planes directly into Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth, because that would violate the official United States position of neutrality. Local farmers then used their tractors to tow the planes into Canada, where the Canadians then closed the Woodstock highway so that aircraft could use it as a runway. The United States entered the war on 7 December 1941.
Royal New Zealand Air ForceThe Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
Pilot Officer George Newall Harrison, ferrying a
Hudson BomberThe Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
to Britain on 5 December 1942, crashed 500 yards south of the runway and died. Survivors buried his body in the Evergreen Cemetery plot for veterans. Few other
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
casualties from
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
were buried in the United States of America. They buried his 19 year old radio operator, Sergeant Henry Bordewick] from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, next to him. The
American LegionThe American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
post in Houlton carefully maintains both these
Commonwealth War GravesThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
.
Houlton Army Air Base closed in July 1944. In 1944, the Army made a major part of the Houlton Army Air Base into
prisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
internment Camp Houlton. At its peak, the internment camp held 3,700 German prisoners of war. Forcing prisoners of war to work violated the Geneva Convention; however, they could volunteer to work. Camp Houlton provided laborers for local farms to harvest
peasP.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
, to pick
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, and to do other work. For security reasons, the government did not allow every prisoner of war to work on the farms. Most prisoners selected to work lacked interest in harming their captors or causing trouble. Many farmers came to see the prisoners of war who worked their fields as good laborers rather than enemy soldiers. They paid the prisoners $1/day in
scripScrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...
that they could spend at the post exchange, the base store, for toiletries,
tobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
,
chocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
, and even
beerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
. After the prisoners repatriated, the Army closed Camp Houlton in 1946. The site now hosts
Houlton International AirportHoulton International Airport is a public-use airport located two miles east of Houlton , Maine, in the town of Houlton in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the border of New Brunswick, Canada. This general aviation airport is publicly owned by the town of Houlton...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe 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 36.8 square miles (95.2 km²), of which, 36.8 square miles (95.2 km²) of it is land and 0.0 square miles (0.0 km²) of it (0.03%) is water. Houlton is drained by the
Meduxnekeag RiverThe Meduxnekeag River is a small river in northern Maine in the United States and western New Brunswick, Canada. It is long.It rises from the outflow of Meduxnekeag Lake in New Limerick, Maine, and flows to its end in the Town of Woodstock, New Brunswick.The North and South branches rise in...
.
The
Houlton/Woodstock Border CrossingThe Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing, also known as Woodstock Road Border Crossing is a border crossing on the Canada-United States border, east of Houlton, Maine and west of Woodstock, New Brunswick....
, located just east of Houlton, marks the northern terminus of
Interstate 95In the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 is a long highway running from the New Hampshire border near Kittery, to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate Highway in Maine...
. The town is crossed by
U.S. Route 1In the U.S. state of Maine, U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south state highway serving the eastern part of the state. It parallels the Atlantic Ocean from New Hampshire north through Portland, Brunswick, and Belfast to Calais, and then the St. Croix River and the rest of the Canadian border...
and U.S. Route 2.
Demographics
As of the
censusA 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 6,476 people, 2,677 households, and 1,654 families residing in the town. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 176.2 people per square mile (68.0/km²). There were 2,994 housing units at an average density of 31.5 persons/km² (81.5 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 94.19% White, 0.29%
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 4.23%
Native AmericanNative 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...
, 0.48%
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were
HispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or
LatinoThe demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race.
There were 1,677 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were
married couplesMarriage 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, 11.0% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 38.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $26,212, and the median income for a family was $34,812. Males had a median income of $27,623 versus $20,991 for females. The
per capita incomePer 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 $14,007. 17.7% of the population and 13.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 21.0% are under the age of 18 and 15.8% are 65 or older.
Sites of interest
- Amazeen House
Amazeen House is an historic house in Houlton, Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1986....
, built in 1882 and listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
- Aroostook County Courthouse and Jail
Aroostook County Courthouse and Jail, is located in Houlton, Maine. The building was built in 1859 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1990....
- Aroostook County Historical & Art Museum
- Blackhawk Putnam Tavern
Blackhawk Putnam Tavern is an historic tavern in Houlton, Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 30, 1976....
- Cary Library
The Cary Library is an historic library building located on Main Street in Houlton, Maine, USA. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It was designed by John Calvin Stevens....
- Donovan-Hussey Farms Historic District
- Edward L. Cleveland House
Edward L. Cleveland House is an historic house in Houlton, Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1987. It was built in 1902 and was the home of Edward L. Cleveland, one of the county's biggest potato magnates.-References:...
- The Elms
- First National Bank of Houlton
- Market Square Historic District
- Smith Bridge
- Unitarian Church of Houlton
Unitarian Church of Houlton is a historic church on Military Street in Houlton, Maine.It was built in 1902 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987....
- Walter P. Mansur House
Walter P. Mansur House is an historic house in Houlton, Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 1990. It was the home of Walter P. Mansur, manager of the Houlton Water Company and President of the First National Bank of Houlton. Mansur died in 1900 and his...
- White Memorial Building
Notable people
- Ralph Botting
Ralph Wayne Botting is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was drafted by the California Angels in the 7th round of the 1974 amateur draft, and played for the Angels in 1979 and 1980....
, pitcher for the California Angels.
- Shepard Cary
Shepard Cary was a U.S. Representative from Maine.Born in New Salem, Massachusetts, Cary attended the common schools.He moved with his parents to Houlton, Maine, in 1822....
, congressman.
- Marcus Davis
Marcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...
, mixed martial arts fighter with the Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
.
- William Dufris, original voice of Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
in North America.
- Ira G. Hersey
Ira G. Hersey was a politician from the U.S. state of Maine, serving in the Maine House of Representatives, the Maine State Senate, and as United States Representative from Maine....
, congressman.
- Stan Hindman
Stanley Chatham Hindman is a former professional American football defensive lineman in the National Football League for seven seasons for the San Francisco 49ers....
, defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
.
- Happy Iott
Frederick Bidds "Happy" Iott was an American professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Naps in 1903. He was born in Houlton, Maine, and pitched for the town team there...
, Major League Baseball outfielder.
- Alton Kelley, psychedelic poster artist.
- Lester D. Mallory
Lester DeWitt Mallory was an American diplomat.Mallory was born in Houlton, Maine. He received a bachelor of science in agriculture in 1927 and a master of science in agriculture degree in 1929 from the University of British Columbia. Mallory earned a Ph.D...
, diplomat.
- Henry Clay Merriam (1837–1912), Civil War era general, awarded the Medal of Honor.
- Samantha Smith
Samantha Reed Smith was an American schoolgirl and child actress from Manchester, Maine, who became famous in the Cold War-era United States and Soviet Union...
, schoolgirl famous for meeting with head of the USSR Yuri AndropovYuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 12 November 1982 until his death fifteen months later.-Early life:...
.
External links