Kingfield, Maine
Encyclopedia
Kingfield is a town
in Franklin County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 997 at the 2010 census. Kingfield is the principal gateway to Sugarloaf, a major ski resort
, and is headquarters to Maine Huts and Trails
.
, temporary resident and future governor of Maine, in partnership with three others. On January 24, 1816, the township was incorporated as Kingfield, named after William King.
Farms produced hay
, potato
es, apple
s and pear
s. The confluence
of the West Branch and Carrabassett rivers at the town's center provided 20 places for water power of industry. Kingfield businesses included sawmill
s, a shingle
mill, gristmill
, carding
mill, rake
factory, carriage
factory and tannery
. In 1895, the town became headquarters to the Kingfield and Dead River Railroad, a narrow gauge
line which would be merged with others to form the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad
. But with the Great Depression
, industry in Kingfield began to decline, although the two mills of the Wing Spool & Bobbin Company remained in operation until the late 1950s. In the early 1950s, a local partnership organized Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Development, which transformed Sugarloaf Mountain
into a ski resort
. The Sugarloaf ski resort is an important part of the Kingfield economy.
, the town has a total area of 43.6 square miles (112.9 km²), of which, 43.4 square miles (112.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (0.37%) is water. Situated in the Carrabassett River valley, Kingfield is drained by the Carrabassett River
.
of 2000, there were 1,103 people, 454 households, and 304 families residing in the town. The population density
was 25.4 people per square mile (9.8/km²). There were 659 housing units at an average density of 15.2 per square mile (5.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.37% White, 0.09% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races
, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.18% of the population. 24.8% were of English
, 18.0% American
, 12.1% Irish
, 8.0% French
, 6.5% German
, 5.3% French Canadian
and 5.0% Finnish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 454 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples
living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,250, and the median income for a family was $37,614. Males had a median income of $27,059 versus $20,547 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $15,954. About 5.1% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
Chanconetta Stanley, Photographer
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 Franklin County
Franklin County, Maine
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 30,768. Its county seat is Farmington.Franklin County was established on 9 May 1838.-Geography:...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 997 at the 2010 census. Kingfield is the principal gateway to Sugarloaf, a major ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
, and is headquarters to Maine Huts and Trails
Maine Huts and Trails
Maine Huts and Trails is a non-profit public service organization that aims to create a 180-mile network of cross-country ski trail stretching between the Mahoosuc Range in western Maine to Moosehead Lake, the state's largest water body.- Overview :...
.
History
The area was first known as township T3 R1 BKP WKR, or Plantation No. 3, Range 1 of Bingham's West Kennebec Purchase. It was first settled in 1806 by John W. Dutton, Nathaniel Kimball and their families, who built homes at the foot of Vose Mountain. In 1807, Plantation No. 3 was bought by William KingWilliam King (governor)
William King was an American merchant, shipbuilder, army officer, and statesman from Bath, Maine. A proponent of statehood for Maine, he became its first Governor when it separated from Massachusetts in 1820....
, temporary resident and future governor of Maine, in partnership with three others. On January 24, 1816, the township was incorporated as Kingfield, named after William King.
Farms produced hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, potato
Potato
The 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, 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...
s and pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s. The confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the West Branch and Carrabassett rivers at the town's center provided 20 places for water power of industry. Kingfield businesses included 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, a shingle
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
mill, 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 :...
, carding
Carding
Carding is a mechanical process that breaks up locks and unorganised clumps of fibre and then aligns the individual fibres so that they are more or less parallel with each other. The word is derived from the Latin carduus meaning teasel, as dried vegetable teasels were first used to comb the raw wool...
mill, rake
Rake (tool)
A rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
factory, carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
factory and tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
. In 1895, the town became headquarters to the Kingfield and Dead River Railroad, a narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
line which would be merged with others to form the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad
Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad
The Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad was a narrow gauge common carrier railroad that operated approximately of gauge railroad in Franklin County, Maine.-History:Josiah L...
. But with the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, industry in Kingfield began to decline, although the two mills of the Wing Spool & Bobbin Company remained in operation until the late 1950s. In the early 1950s, a local partnership organized Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Development, which transformed Sugarloaf Mountain
Sugarloaf Mountain (Franklin County, Maine)
Sugarloaf Mountain is a mountain located in Franklin County, Maine. It is the second highest mountain in the state, after Mount Katahdin. Sugarloaf is flanked to the south by Spaulding Mountain....
into a ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
. The Sugarloaf ski resort is an important part of the Kingfield economy.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited 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 43.6 square miles (112.9 km²), of which, 43.4 square miles (112.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (0.37%) is water. Situated in the Carrabassett River valley, Kingfield is drained by the Carrabassett River
Carrabassett River
The Carrabassett River, a tributary of the Kennebec River, is located in Franklin County and Somerset County, Maine, in the United States. It rises near Sugarloaf Mountain, east of Rangeley Lake, and runs for , flowing southeast past Kingfield and joining the Kennebec River in the town of...
.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 1,103 people, 454 households, and 304 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 25.4 people per square mile (9.8/km²). There were 659 housing units at an average density of 15.2 per square mile (5.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.37% White, 0.09% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.18% of the population. 24.8% were of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 18.0% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 12.1% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, 8.0% French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, 6.5% German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 5.3% French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
and 5.0% Finnish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 454 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% 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, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,250, and the median income for a family was $37,614. Males had a median income of $27,059 versus $20,547 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 $15,954. About 5.1% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- Kingfield Historical Society Museum
- Stanley Museum
Notable people
- Francis E. StanleyFrancis Edgar StanleyFrancis Edgar Stanley was an American businessman and was the co-founder, along with his twin brother Freelan Oscar Stanley, of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company which built the Stanley Steamer.-Biography:...
, inventor, businessman - Freelan O. Stanley, inventor, businessman
Chanconetta Stanley, Photographer
- William KingWilliam KingWilliam King may refer to:*Bill King, , American radio announcer*Billy King , Irish cricketer*Willie King , blues guitarist and singer...
, First Governor of Maine