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The Flag for the US State of Maine by Enzwell –

55 Great Facts About Maine

Maine is the easternmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. 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, respectively. 

The largest state by total area in New England, Maine is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural of the 50 U.S. states. In this article, we highlight 55 great facts about Maine.

1. Maine is the most northeastern state in the contiguous United States

The contiguous United States consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States of America.

Maine is the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes, the only state whose name consists of a single syllable, and the only state to border exactly one other U.S. state.

2. Half the area of Maine lies on each side of the 45th parallel north in latitude

Location of state of Maine in the United States by TUBS –

The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude 45 degrees north of Earth’s equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. 

The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole, but the true halfway point is 16.0 km. At this latitude, the sun is visible for 15 hours 37 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours 46 minutes during the winter solstice.

3. Maine is the 44th most populous state in the United States

The state’s population density is 41.3 people per square mile, making it the least densely populated state east of the Mississippi River. As of 2010, Maine was also the most rural state in the Union, with only 38.7% of the state’s population living within urban areas.

The modest population growth in the state has been concentrated in the southern coastal counties; with more diverse populations slowly moving into these areas of the state. However, the northern, more rural areas of the state have experienced a slight decline in population from 2010 to 2016.

4. Maine is known for its rocky Atlantic Ocean and Bayshore coastlines

Maine Marine Patrol Boat at Winter Harbor, Maine on July 20, 2021 by Gordon Leggett –

Maine has traditionally been known for its jagged, rocky Atlantic Ocean and Bayshore coastlines; smoothly contoured mountains; heavily forested interior; picturesque waterways; and its wild lowbush blueberries and seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. Coastal and Down East.

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world’s five oceans. Coarse sand, boulders, and rocks were transported into some areas, such as off the coast of Nova Scotia or the Gulf of Maine during the Pleistocene ice ages.

5. Coastal and Down East Maine have emerged as important centres for the creative economy

Downeast is a term for parts of eastern coastal New England and Canada, particularly the U.S. state of Maine and Canada’s Maritime Provinces, an area that closely corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia. The phrase apparently derives from sailing terminology: sailors from western ports sailed downwind toward the east to reach the area.

The creative industries refer to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. It comprises advertising, architecture, art, crafts, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, R&D, software, toys and games, TV and radio, and video games.

6. The most populous city in Maine is Portland

Buildings in downtown Portland, Maine, USA by AlexiusHoratius –

Portland is the most populous municipality in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland’s population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Portland’s economy relies mostly on the service sector and tourism. The Old Port is known for its nightlife and 19th-century architecture. The marine industry plays an important role in the city’s economy, with an active waterfront that supports fishing and commercial shipping.

7. The capital of Maine is Augusta

Augusta is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Kennebec County. The city’s population was 18,899 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Maine, and the third-least populous state capital in the United States after Montpelier, Vermont, and Pierre, South Dakota.

8. The territory of Maine has been inhabited by aboriginal populations

Indian Pageant, Old Town, Maine by Tichnor Brothers –

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are generally known by other terms.

There are 574 federally recognized tribes living within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations.

9. The Wabanaki Confederacy is made up of most of present-day Maine

The Wabanaki Confederacy is made up of most of present-day Maine in the United States, and New Brunswick, mainland Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island and some of Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River, Anticosti, and Newfoundland in Canada.

At the time of European arrival, several Algonquian-speaking nations governed the area and these nations are now known as the Wabanaki Confederacy.

10. Loyalist and Patriot forces contended for Maine’s territory during the American Revolution

Engraving on the frontispiece of The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution by William Cooper Nell (1855) –

During the War of 1812, the largely undefended eastern region of Maine was occupied by British forces with the goal of annexing it to Canada via the Colony of New Ireland, but returned to the United States following failed British offensives on the northern border, mid-Atlantic and south which produced a peace treaty that restored the pre-war boundaries.

11. The French first settled in Maine on Saint Croix Island

The first European settlement in the area was by the French in 1604 on Saint Croix Island, founded by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The first English settlement was the short-lived Popham Colony, established by the Plymouth Company in 1607.

A number of English settlements were established along the coast of Maine in the 1620s, although the rugged climate and conflict with the local Indigenous people caused many to fail.

12. Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820

Harvard Yard in autumn, Boston, Massachusetts, 2015 by Nina R –

Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820 when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the most populous state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States, exceeding 7 million residents at the 2020 United States Census, its highest decennial count ever.

13. Maine became the 23rd state to join the Union

Maine admitted on March 15, 1820, was set off from Massachusetts. The Massachusetts General Court passed enabling legislation on June 19, 1819, consenting to the separation of the District of Maine from the rest of the state, an action approved by the voters in Maine on July 19, 1819; then, on February 25, 1820, passed a follow-up measure officially accepting the fact of Maine’s imminent statehood. The act of Congress establishing Maine as the 23rd state was part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

14. The earliest known inhabitants of  Maine were the Wabanaki peoples

Map of the Wabanaki Confederacy Range by Wolastoq –

These were including the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, Penobscot, Androscoggin, and Kennebec. During the later King Philip’s War, many of these peoples would merge in one form or another to become the Wabanaki Confederacy, aiding the Wampanoag of Massachusetts and the Mahican of New York. 

Afterwards, many of these people were driven from their natural territories, but most of Maine’s tribes continued, unchanged, until the American Revolution.

15. Many inhabitants of Maine lived in permanent, Iroquois-inspired settlements

The Iroquois are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America and Upstate New York. They were known during the colonial years to the French as the Iroquois League, and later as the Iroquois Confederacy.

Before this point, however, most of these people were considered separate nations. Many had adapted to living in permanent, Iroquois-inspired settlements, while those along the coast tended to move from summer villages to winter villages on a yearly cycle. They would usually winter inland and head to the coasts by summer.

16. The Plymouth Company established the first English settlement in Maine

Aerial view of the disused Plymouth Cordage Company factory in October 1982 by Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection –

The Plymouth Company established the first English settlement in Maine at the Popham Colony in 1607, the same year as the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. The Popham colonists returned to Britain after 14 months.

The Popham Colony was a short-lived English colonial settlement in North America. It was established in 1607 by the proprietary Plymouth Company and was located in the present-day town of Phippsburg, Maine, near the mouth of the Kennebec River.

17. The coastal areas of eastern Maine first became the Province of Maine 

The Province of Maine refers to any of the various English colonies established in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, within portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.

18. The Kennebec River was the most sparsely settled area in Maine

View of the Kennebec River from the Richmond Riverfront. View of the Maine Kennebec Bridge by Lord of the East –

The part of western Maine north of the Kennebec River was more sparsely settled and was known in the 17th century as the Territory of Sagadahock.

The Kennebec River is a 170-mile-long river in the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine.

19. Central Maine was formerly inhabited by the Androscoggin tribe of the Abenaki nation

They were driven out of the area in 1690 during King William’s War. They were relocated to St. Francis, Canada, which was destroyed by Rogers’ Rangers in 1759, and is now Odanak. The other Abenaki tribes suffered several severe defeats, particularly during Dummer’s War, with the capture of Norridgewock in 1724 and the defeat of the Pequawket in 1725, which significantly reduced their numbers. 

They finally withdrew to Canada, where they were settled at Bécancour and Sillery, and later at St. Francis, along with other refugee tribes from the south.

20. Maine was much fought over by the French and English in the 18th century

These natives conducted raids against settlers and each other, taking captives for ransom or, in some cases, kidnapped for adoption by Native American tribes. A notable example was the early 1692 Abenaki raid on York, where about 100 English settlers were killed and another estimated 80 taken hostage.

The Abenaki took captives taken during raids of Massachusetts in Queen Anne’s War of the early 1700s to Kahnewake, a Catholic Mohawk village near Montreal, where some were adopted and others ransomed. However, the British defeated the French in Acadia in the 1740s.

21. Maine was physically separate from the rest of Massachusetts

Long-standing disagreements over land speculation and settlements led to Maine residents and their allies in Massachusetts properly forcing an 1807 vote in the Massachusetts Assembly on permitting Maine to secede; the vote failed. 

Secessionist sentiment in Maine was stoked during the War of 1812 when Massachusetts pro-British merchants opposed the war and refused to defend Maine from British invaders. In 1819, Massachusetts agreed to permit secession, sanctioned by voters of the rapidly growing region the following year.

22. Lubec in Maine is the easternmost organized settlement in the United States

Lubec in Maine sign by Andy8Kahn –

Maine is the easternmost state in the United States both in its extreme points and in its geographic center. The town of Lubec is the easternmost organized settlement in the United States.

Lubec is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. It is the easternmost municipality in the contiguous U.S. and is the country’s closest continental location to Africa.

23. Estcourt Station is Maine’s northernmost point

Estcourt Station is located on the Canada–United States border between Maine and Quebec, at the southern end of Lake Pohenegamook in the North Maine Woods region.

Its Quoddy Head Lighthouse is also the closest place in the United States to Africa and Europe. Estcourt Station is Maine’s northernmost point, as well as the northernmost point in New England.

24. Maine’s Moosehead Lake is the largest lake wholly in New England

Moosehead Lake by Dennis Redfield –

Moosehead Lake is a deep, coldwater lake located in Piscataquis County in Northwestern Maine. It is the second-largest lake in New England, and the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States. 

Situated in the mostly undeveloped Longfellow Mountains, the lake is the source of the Kennebec River.

25. Maine is the least densely populated U.S. state east of the Mississippi River

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sovereignty with the federal government.

26. Maine is nicknamed the Pine Tree State

Over 80% of its total land is forested or unclaimed, the most forest cover of any U.S. state. In the wooded areas of the interior lies much-uninhabited land, some of which does not have formal political organization into local units. 

The Northwest Aroostook unorganized territory in the northern part of the state, for example, has an area of 2,668 square miles and a population of 10, or one person for every 267 square miles.

27. Maine is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These forests are the richest and most distinctive in central China and eastern North America.

28. Much of Maine’s geomorphology was created at the end of the last ice age

Southwest Harbor, Near Acadia National Park, Maine by Ken Lund –

Prominent glacial features include Somes Sound and Bubble Rock, both part of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. Carved by glaciers, Somes Sound reaches depths of 175 feet (50 m). 

The extreme depth and steep drop-off allow large ships to navigate almost the entire length of the sound. These features also have made it attractive for boat builders, such as the prestigious Hinckley Yachts.

29. Acadia National Park is the only national park in Maine

Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and portions of 16 smaller outlying islands. 

It protects the natural beauty of the rocky headlands, including the highest mountains along the Atlantic coast. Acadia boasts a glaciated coastal and island landscape, an abundance of habitats, a high level of biodiversity, clean air and water, and a rich cultural heritage.

30. Maine has a humid continental climate

The state experiences warm and sometimes humid summers, and long, cold and very snowy winters. Winters are especially severe in the Northern and Western parts of Maine, while coastal areas are moderated slightly by the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in marginally milder winters and cooler summers than inland regions.

31. Maine’s record high temperature is 105 °F

Daytime highs are generally in the 75–85 °F (24–29 °C) range throughout the state in July, with overnight lows in the high 50s °F (around 15 °C). January temperatures range from highs near 30 °F (−1 °C) on the southern coast to overnight lows averaging below 0 °F (−18 °C) in the far north. The state’s record high temperature is 105 °F (41 °C), set in July 1911, at North Bridgton.

32. Precipitation in Maine is evenly distributed year-round

Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the earth. It comes in many forms, like rain, sleet, and snow.

Precipitation in Maine is evenly distributed year-round, but with a slight summer maximum in northwestern Maine and a slight late-fall or early-winter maximum along the coast due to intense cold-season rain and snowstorms.

33. Maine has fewer days of thunderstorms than any other state east of the Rockies

Rocky mountains by Khoshhat –

The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch 3,000 miles in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in the southwestern United States.

Maine has fewer days of thunderstorms than any other state east of the Rockies, with most of the state averaging fewer than twenty days of thunderstorms a year.

34. Tornadoes are rare in Maine

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud.

Tornadoes are rare in Maine, with the state averaging two per year, although this number is increasing. Most severe thunderstorms and tornadoes occur in the Southwestern Interior portion of the state, where summer temperatures are often the warmest and the atmosphere is thus more unstable compared to northern and coastal areas.

35. Maine rarely sees the direct landfall of tropical cyclones

This is because they tend to recurve out to sea or are rapidly weakening by the time they reach the cooler waters of Maine. 

In January 2009, a new record low temperature for the state was set at Big Black River of −50 °F (−46 °C), tying the New England record. Annual precipitation varies from 35.8 in (909 mm) in Presque Isle to 56.7 in (1,441 mm) in Acadia National Park.

36. The mean population center of Maine is located in Kennebec County

The Kennebec County Courthouse, located at 95 State Street in Augusta, Maine, United States by Calvin Beale –

Kennebec County is a county located in the South-central portion of the U.S. state of Maine. At the 2020 census, the population was 123,642. Its county seat is Augusta, the state capital. 

The county was established on February 20, 1799, from portions of Cumberland and Lincoln Counties. 

37. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is the most densely populated

The area has nearly 40% of Maine’s population. This area spans three counties and includes many farms and wooded areas, the 2016 population of Portland proper was 66,937.

The Greater Portland area has emerged as an important center for the creative economy, which is also bringing gentrification.

38. Maine has the highest population aged 65 or older in the United States

Maine has experienced a very slow rate of population growth since the 1990 census; its rate of growth (0.57%) since the 2010 census ranks 45th of the 50 states. The modest population growth in the state has been concentrated in the southern coastal counties; with more diverse populations slowly moving into these areas of the state. 

However, the northern, more rural areas of the state have experienced a slight decline in population from 2010 to 2016. As of 2020, Maine has the highest population aged 65 or older in the United States.

39. Maine has the highest percentage of non-Hispanic whites

According to the 2010 census, Maine has the highest percentage of non-Hispanic whites of any state, at 94.4% of the total population. In 2011, 89.0% of all births in the state were to non-Hispanic white parents.

White Americans are Americans who identify as white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. According to the 2020 census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone.

40. Maine has the highest percentage of French Americans of any state

Americans in French Foreign Legion by Morlae, Edward –

Most of them are of Canadian origin, but in some cases have been living there since prior to the American Revolutionary War. 

There are particularly high concentrations in the northern part of Maine in Aroostook County, which is part of a cultural region known as Acadia that goes over the border into New Brunswick. Along with the Acadian population in the north, many French-Canadians came from Quebec as immigrants between 1840 and 1930.

41. Maine does not have an official language

The most widely spoken language in the state is English. The 2000 census reported 92.25% of Maine residents aged five and older spoke only English at home. French speakers are the state’s chief linguistic minority, census figures show that Maine has the highest percentage of people speaking French at the home of any state.

5.28% of Maine households are French-speaking, compared with 4.68% in Louisiana, which is the second highest state. Although rarely spoken, Spanish is the third-most common language in Maine, after English and French.

42. 62% of the population in Maine is Christian

The Roman Catholic Church was the largest religious institution and the Baptists are the largest Protestant institution, followed by the Methodists (6%) and the Congregationalists (5%). The atheists and the agnostics are only 6% of the state, but 26% of Mainers said that they Believe in God but they are Unaffiliated.

By the publication of another study in 2020 through the Public Religion Research Institute, approximately 62% of the population was Christian; the religiously unaffiliated slightly increased to 33% from a separate 2014 study by the Pew Research Center.

43. Maine’s unemployment rate is 3.3%

Unemployment refers to the share of the labour force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Maine’s total gross state product for 2021 was $77.96 billion. Its per capita personal income for 2021 was $58,484, the 30th in the nation. As of September 2022, Maine’s unemployment rate is 3.3%.

44. The shrimp industry of Maine is on a government-mandated hold

Shrimp Boats in Bayou La Batre –

With an ever-decreasing Northern shrimp population, Maine fishermen are no longer allowed to catch and sell shrimp. The hold began in 2014 and is expected to continue until 2021. Western Maine aquifers and springs are a major source of bottled water.

45. Maine is the number one U.S. producer of low-bush blueberries

Preliminary data from the USDA for 2012 also indicate Maine was the largest blueberry producer of the major blueberry-producing states, with 91,100,000 lbs. This data includes both low (wild), and high-bush cultivated blueberries: Vaccinium corymbosum.

46. Maine is a popular destination for sport hunting

Tourism and outdoor recreation play a major and increasingly important role in Maine’s economy. The state is a popular destination for sport hunting particularly deer, moose and bear, sport fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, boating, camping and hiking, among other activities. 

Concomitantly with the tourist and recreation-oriented economy, Maine has developed a burgeoning creative economy, most notably centred in the Greater Portland vicinity.

47. Maine ports played a key role in national transportation

Beginning around 1880, Portland’s rail link and ice-free port made it Canada’s principal winter port, until the aggressive development of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the mid-20th century. In 2013, 12,039,600 short tons passed into and out of Portland by sea, which places it 45th among U.S. water ports.

48. Maine is the home of the Jackson Laboratory

Located near scenic Frenchman Bay on Mount Desert Island, Maine by The Jackson Laboratory –

Maine is also the home of the Jackson Laboratory, the world’s largest non-profit mammalian genetic research facility and the world’s largest supplier of genetically purebred mice.

The mission of The Jackson Laboratory is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.

49. Maine has been home to many shipbuilding companies

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Maine was home to many shipyards that produced wooden sailing ships. The main function of these ships was to transport either cargo or passengers overseas. One of these yards was located in Pennellville Historic District in what is now Brunswick, Maine. This yard, owned by the Pennell family, was typical of the many family-owned shipbuilding companies of the time period. Other such examples of shipbuilding families were the Skolfields and the Morses. During the 18th and 19th centuries, wooden shipbuilding of this sort made up a sizable portion of the economy.

50. Maine has two large airports

Maine receives passenger jet service at its two largest airports, the Portland International Jetport in Portland, and the Bangor International Airport in Bangor. Both are served daily by many major airlines to destinations such as New York, Atlanta, and Orlando. 

Essential Air Service also subsidizes service to a number of smaller airports in Maine, bringing small turboprop aircraft to regional airports such as the Augusta State Airport, Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport, Knox County Regional Airport, and the Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle. 

51. The state of Maine also has three Constitutional Officers

Portland, Maine City Hall 1830s –

The Maine Constitution structures Maine’s state government, composed of three co-equal branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The state of Maine also has three Constitutional Officers, the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, the State Attorney General and one Statutory Officer, the State Auditor.

The legislative branch is the Maine Legislature, a bicameral body composed of the Maine House of Representatives, with 151 members, and the Maine Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is charged with introducing and passing laws.

52. Maine is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties

In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority.

Maine is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. Since 1860 there have been 16 counties in the state, ranging in size from 370 to 6,829 square miles.

53. Maine is an alcoholic beverage control state

Alcoholic beverage control states by Orser67 –

Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that, as of 2016, have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.

54. Maine has thirty institutions of higher learning

These institutions include the University of Maine, which is the oldest, largest and only research university in the state. UMaine was founded in 1865 and is the state’s only land grant and sea grant college. 

The University of Maine is located in the town of Orono and is the flagship of Maine. There are also branch campuses in Augusta, Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, and Presque Isle.

55. Maine was a center of agriculture before it achieved statehood

Prior to colonization, Wabanaki nations farmed large crops of corn and other produce in southern Maine. The state is a major producer of potatoes. Until World War II, Maine was the number one potato producer in the nation. In 2022, Maine ranked ninth in producing the most potatoes in the nation. Maine is the number one U.S. producer of low-bush blueberries. Preliminary data from the USDA for 2012 also indicate Maine was the largest blueberry producer of the major blueberry-producing states, with 91,100,000 lbs.