Lubec, Maine
| Lubec, Maine | |
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| — Town — | |
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 Lubec, Maine
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| Coordinates: 44°50′27″N 67°0′56″W / 44.84083°N 67.01556°WCoordinates: 44°50′27″N 67°0′56″W / 44.84083°N 67.01556°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Washington |
| Incorporated | 1811 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 78.9 sq mi (204.2 km2) |
| • Land | 33.3 sq mi (86.1 km2) |
| • Water | 45.6 sq mi (118.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,652 |
| • Density | 73.1/sq mi (28.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 04652 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | 23-41610 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582570 |
Lubec is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,652 at the 2000 census. Lubec is the easternmost town in the contiguous United States (see Extreme points of the United States).
The town is home to Quoddy Head State Park.
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[edit] History
Located on a peninsula overlooking an excellent ice-free harbor, the town was first settled about 1775. Originally part of Eastport, it was set off and incorporated on June 21, 1811 and named for Lübeck, Germany.[1] Following the War of 1812, Lubec was site of considerable smuggling trade in gypsum, although principal industries remained agriculture and fisheries. By 1859, there was a tannery, three gristmills and nine sawmills; by 1886, there were also two shipyards, three boatbuilders and three sailmakers.[2]
From 1897 to 1898, the town was the site of a swindle in the sale of stock in the Electolytic Marine Salts Company, the brainchild of Reverend Prescott Jernegan and Charles Fisher of Martha's Vineyard.[3] Jernegan claimed to have developed a method of using "accumulators" to get gold from sea water, and bought an old grist mill to turn it into a factory. The scheme attracted an abundance of investors, who were all too eager to funnel money into the company after being promised astronomical returns. In the summer of 1898, work was suspended without explanation at the factory. Jernegan and Smith vanished, and the fraud was gleefully exposed by newspapers across New England.[3]
Jacqueline and Robert Norton, two retirees from Lubec, were passengers on the ill-fated American Airlines Flight 11 which was crashed into the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Robert Norton, 85, was the oldest person to die that day directly as a result of the attacks.[4]
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General view c. 1910
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War monument in 1908
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Bank Square c. 1908
[edit] Geography
Lubec is located in northeastern Maine, at 44°51′38″N 66°59′5″W / 44.86056°N 66.98472°W[5].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 78.9 square miles (204 km2), of which, 33.3 square miles (86 km2) of it is land and 45.6 square miles (118 km2) of it (57.82%) is water. Lubec is located on a peninsula in Passamaquoddy Bay, slightly south of Eastport. The West Quoddy Head is southeast.
West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine is the easternmost point in the United States, located at 44°48′54″N 66°57′1″W / 44.815°N 66.95028°W longitude. It is adjacent to the Quoddy Narrows, a narrow strait between Canada and the United States, one of the entrances into Passamaquoddy Bay. Since 1808, West Quoddy Head Lighthouse has been on the site to guide ships through this waterway. The present lighthouse with its distinctive red-and-white stripes was built in 1858.
Lubec is crossed by Maine State Route 189. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge connects the town to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2010, total population was 1,359 people, of whom 1,167 were 18 years of age or older.[7] There were 801 households, and 455 families residing in the town. The population density was 49.7 people per square mile (19.2/km²). There were 1,143housing units at an average density of 32.2 per square mile (12.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.94% White, 0.36% African American, 0.18% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.
There were 682 occupied, 465 unoccupied, and a total of 1,147 housing units. There were 801 households out of which 15.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 37.7% 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 2.14 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the town the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $20,565, and the median income for a family was $26,098. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,081. About 20.3% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.6% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Sites of interest
[edit] Notable people
- Myron Avery, lawyer, explorer
- James Henry Carleton, brevet major general
- Sumner Pike, member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, member of the Atomic Energy Commission
- Hopley Yeaton, ship captain, considered the "Father of the US Coast Guard"
[edit] References
- ^ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 201. http://books.google.com/?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA9&dq=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA201#v=onepage&q=.
- ^ Varney, George J. (1886). Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Lubec. Boston: Russell. http://history.rays-place.com/me/lubec-me.htm
- ^ a b Klondike: Lubec's Gold from Sea Water Hoax
- ^ Victims of the American Airlines Flight 11 Crash
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Census Bureau American FacFinder 2010 Lubec, Maine; retrieved 2011 April 9
[edit] Further reading
- Joshua M. Smith, Borderland Smuggling: Patriots, Loyalists and Illicit Trade in the Northeast, 1783-1820 (Gainesville, University Press of Florida, 2006).
[edit] External links
- Town of Lubec, Maine
- Lubec Memorial Library
- VisitLubecMaine.com
- Quoddy Head State Park
- Maine.gov -- Lubec, Maine
- Lubec, Maine, in the international Quoddy Loop
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