Mars Hill, Maine
Encyclopedia
Mars Hill is a town in Aroostook County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 1,480 at the 2000 census.
, particularly trees
for mast
s. Following the Aroostook War
, farming became important.
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
arrived in 1892, allowing shipment to distant markets of local produce -- especially potato
es. In the 1960s, Big Rock Ski Area
was founded on Mars Hill Mountain. In 2006, Maine's first wind farm
was installed along the top and northern side.
, the town has a total area of 35.2 square miles (91.2 km²), of which, 35.1 square miles (90.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.20%) is water. Mars Hill is split partly in half by the Prestile Stream, which runs directly between Fort Street and Silver Street, and then crosses beneath the Fort Street Bridge. After passing the bridge, it flows between Pleasant Street and U.S. 1
.
of 2000, there were 1,480 people, 614 households, and 413 families residing in the town. The population density
was 42.1 people per square mile (16.3/km²). There were 708 housing units at an average density of 20.2 per square mile (7.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.50% White, 0.14% African American, 1.49% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.20% from other races
, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population.
There were 614 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples
living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,083, and the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $27,054 versus $19,500 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $13,630. About 13.4% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
. On Main Street, you can find gas stations such as Mobil
and Exxon
, as well as a local IGA
supermarket, insurance agencies, realtors, a barbershop, the Midtown Motel, Al's Diner, and the local bank, Katahdin Trust Company.
Main street has two lanes for traffic, angle parking on either side of the street, and sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists. As you come into Mars Hill from twin town Blaine to the south, the name changes from Military Road to Main Street, and as you continue north across the Fort Street Bridge, the street becomes Fort Street. There is a major intersection of Main Street and Benjamin Street in Mars Hill. Heading north, U.S. 1
turns left from Main to Benjamin Street and continues north. There is a park close to downtown on Park Street, with a picnic area and baseball diamond. There is a retirement community on York Street. A branch of the Aroostook Medical Center, the Aroostook Health Center Long Term Care Nursing Home, (AHC-LTC) is also close to downtown on Highland Avenue.
OneStop gas station 1/4 mile away. It proceeds straight through the downtown and continues south until you leave town. Also on the west side is the Mountain View Apartment complex. On the east side is the Scovil's Apartment complex, the two schools for the area, Central Aroostook Jr/Sr High School and Fort Street Elementary School, and the local redemption center.
is visible from the top of Mars Hill Mountain over 85 miles (136.8 km) away.
Mars Hill Mountain underwent a wind power
project in the fall of 2006. Developers installed 28 GE 1.5 MW Wind Turbines along the top and northern section of the mountain, which overlooks Canada
. The windmills are assembled in multiple parts. The towers, which are composed of three support sections stacked one on top of another with a combined weight of 20,000 pounds, are 80 meters (262 feet) tall. Each of the turbine's three blades (together, a rotor) are approximately 37.5 meters (123 feet), for a total rotor diameter of approximately 75 meters (246 feet). Rotor diameters are comparable to the wingspan of a Boeing
747
jet-liner.
Mars Hill Mountain also features a ski resort
called Big Rock Ski Area
.
Aroostook County, Maine
Aroostook 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...
, 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 1,480 at the 2000 census.
History
The town is named for Hezekiah Mars, who camped for three years at the base of Mars Hill Mountain. In 1834, the first industry was cutting timberTimber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, particularly trees
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
for mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
s. Following the Aroostook War
Aroostook War
The 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...
, farming became important.
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces...
arrived in 1892, allowing shipment to distant markets of local produce -- especially 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. In the 1960s, Big Rock Ski Area
Big Rock (ski resort)
Bigrock Ski Area is located in Mars Hill, Maine, on the western face of Mars Hill. It is one of the larger ski resorts in the State of Maine with 2 chairlifts, 26 trails, 80% snowmaking, night skiing, and almost 1000 ft of continuous vertical drop.-Terrain:Most of the terrain at...
was founded on Mars Hill Mountain. In 2006, Maine's first wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
was installed along the top and northern side.
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 35.2 square miles (91.2 km²), of which, 35.1 square miles (90.9 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.20%) is water. Mars Hill is split partly in half by the Prestile Stream, which runs directly between Fort Street and Silver Street, and then crosses beneath the Fort Street Bridge. After passing the bridge, it flows between Pleasant Street and U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in Maine
In 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...
.
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 1,480 people, 614 households, and 413 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 42.1 people per square mile (16.3/km²). There were 708 housing units at an average density of 20.2 per square mile (7.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.50% White, 0.14% African American, 1.49% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.20% 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 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population.
There were 614 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% 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, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,083, and the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $27,054 versus $19,500 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 $13,630. About 13.4% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
Downtown
The bulk of Mars Hill's downtown area is on Main Street, also referred to as U.S. 1U.S. Route 1 in Maine
In 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...
. On Main Street, you can find gas stations such as Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
and Exxon
Exxon
Exxon is a chain of gas stations as well as a brand of motor fuel and related products by ExxonMobil. From 1972 to 1999, Exxon was the corporate name of the company previously known as Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard....
, as well as a local IGA
IGA
Iga or IGA may stand for:-Given name:* a female given name of Polish origin. The name originates from the female given name Jadwiga and stands for gia,or gina in the USA....
supermarket, insurance agencies, realtors, a barbershop, the Midtown Motel, Al's Diner, and the local bank, Katahdin Trust Company.
Main street has two lanes for traffic, angle parking on either side of the street, and sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists. As you come into Mars Hill from twin town Blaine to the south, the name changes from Military Road to Main Street, and as you continue north across the Fort Street Bridge, the street becomes Fort Street. There is a major intersection of Main Street and Benjamin Street in Mars Hill. Heading north, U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in Maine
In 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...
turns left from Main to Benjamin Street and continues north. There is a park close to downtown on Park Street, with a picnic area and baseball diamond. There is a retirement community on York Street. A branch of the Aroostook Medical Center, the Aroostook Health Center Long Term Care Nursing Home, (AHC-LTC) is also close to downtown on Highland Avenue.
Uptown
Uptown is what the locals call the Silver Street/Benjamin Street/Presque Isle Road area on the west side of the Prestile Stream, and the Pleasant Street/Fort Street/Scovil Street area on the east side. The west side carries the ITS-83 snowmobile trail, which the locals call "the tracks." It is a popular path of travel year round, even among people travelling on foot because it runs parallel to Benjamin Street, crosses Silver Street, and then runs directly in between Benjamin and Silver Streets. Then, it comes out behind the MobilMobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
OneStop gas station 1/4 mile away. It proceeds straight through the downtown and continues south until you leave town. Also on the west side is the Mountain View Apartment complex. On the east side is the Scovil's Apartment complex, the two schools for the area, Central Aroostook Jr/Sr High School and Fort Street Elementary School, and the local redemption center.
Mars Hill Mountain
Mars Hill Mountain plays an important role in the Mars Hill community. It provides not only a dramatic backdrop for photographs, but also magnificent views from atop its peak. It overlooks the Saint John Valley, in which Mars Hill is located. Mount KatahdinMount Katahdin
Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine at . Named Katahdin by the Penobscot Indians, the term means "The Greatest Mountain". Katahdin is the centerpiece of Baxter State Park: a steep, tall mountain formed from underground magma. The flora and fauna on the mountain are typical of those...
is visible from the top of Mars Hill Mountain over 85 miles (136.8 km) away.
Mars Hill Mountain underwent a wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
project in the fall of 2006. Developers installed 28 GE 1.5 MW Wind Turbines along the top and northern section of the mountain, which overlooks Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The windmills are assembled in multiple parts. The towers, which are composed of three support sections stacked one on top of another with a combined weight of 20,000 pounds, are 80 meters (262 feet) tall. Each of the turbine's three blades (together, a rotor) are approximately 37.5 meters (123 feet), for a total rotor diameter of approximately 75 meters (246 feet). Rotor diameters are comparable to the wingspan of a Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
jet-liner.
Mars Hill Mountain also features 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...
called Big Rock Ski Area
Big Rock (ski resort)
Bigrock Ski Area is located in Mars Hill, Maine, on the western face of Mars Hill. It is one of the larger ski resorts in the State of Maine with 2 chairlifts, 26 trails, 80% snowmaking, night skiing, and almost 1000 ft of continuous vertical drop.-Terrain:Most of the terrain at...
.