Mars Hill is a town in
Aroostook County
Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent.
Kn ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the 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 north ...
, United States, nestled at the foot of
Mars Hill Mountain
Mars Hill is a mountain located in Mars Hill, Maine, and gave the town its name.
The mountain plays an important role in the Mars Hill community, and overlooks the Saint John Valley, in which Mars Hill is located. Mount Katahdin is visible fr ...
. The town borders
Wicklow Parish,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The region is mainly agricultural. The population was 1,360 at the time of the
2020 census.
History
Timeline of events
The town of Mars Hill is named for Hezekiah Mars, who camped for three years at the base of
Mars Hill Mountain
Mars Hill is a mountain located in Mars Hill, Maine, and gave the town its name.
The mountain plays an important role in the Mars Hill community, and overlooks the Saint John Valley, in which Mars Hill is located. Mount Katahdin is visible fr ...
. In 1834, the first industry was cutting
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
, particularly
trees
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...
for
masts. Farming later became important. Following the end of the
Aroostook War
The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...
in 1839, a boundary line between
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the 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 north ...
and
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
was cleared and iron markers were put in place three years later. The first mill opened at Rocky Brook in 1856. In 1860, the first school was established for the community of Mars Hill. Further development of the community was delayed until after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. The
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Aroostook County in northern Maine. Brightly-painted BAR boxcars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives op ...
arrived in 1892, allowing shipment of local produce to distant markets.
In 1906, the White Mountain Telephone Company, later known as the Aroostook Telephone & Telegraph Company, opened a new office in Mars Hill. A six-bed community hospital was established in 1912. In 1922, an intense fire devastated the business district in town. Businesses were promptly rebuilt. In 1937, the Walter T.A. Hansen Memorial Library opened.
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 of Mars Hill Mountain.
Military presence
During and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Mars Hill and the economies of surrounding towns were dominated by military spending. In 1947, the Limestone Army Air Field was built in
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
. It opened in 1953 and was renamed the
Loring Air Force Base
Loring Air Force Base was a United States Air Force installation in northeastern Maine, near Limestone and Caribou in Aroostook County. It was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command during its existence, and was t ...
. Aroostook County was chosen due to its strategic location as the closest point in the continental United States to Europe. The
1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended the closure of the Loring Air Force Base, and it closed in 1994.
Big Rock Ski Area
During the late 1950s, two hundred acres were purchased to develop a local recreation area, and by 1960 the Big Rock Ski Area was opened. Big Rock Ski Center was purchased in 2000 by the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC), through grants by the Libra Foundation.
Wind power development
On March 27, 2007, a wind farm project was commissioned to be constructed on Mars Hill Mountain by
First Wind
First Wind is an independent renewable energy company. It develops and operates utility-scale power projects in the United States. It employs more than 220 workers.
Headquartered in Boston, the company developed and operated renewable energy pr ...
, a Massachusetts-based renewable energy company. The Mars Hill Wind Farm was projected to have cost $85 million. A total of 28
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
1.5
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...
turbines were installed along the ridge and in the northern section of the mountain. The wind
farm generates about 130 million
kilowatt hour
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
s (kW·h) per year (15 MW·yr/yr), with a
capacity factor
The net capacity factor is the unitless ratio of actual electrical energy output over a given period of time to the theoretical maximum electrical energy output over that period. The theoretical maximum energy output of a given installation is de ...
of 35%. Mars Hill Wind Farm was the first utility-scale facility in Maine, with projected capacity to produce enough electricity to power 20,000 homes. Mars Hill Wind Farm exports electricity to
New Brunswick Power and has become an important component in the local economy.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 1,493 people, 614 households, and 413 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 687 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.3%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.2%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.2% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.0% of the population.
There were 614 households, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.7% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.82.
The median age in the town was 44 years. 21% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.8% were from 45 to 64; and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 1,480 people, 614 households, and 413 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 708 housing units at an average density of 20.2 per square mile (7.8/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.50%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.14%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.49%
Native American, 0.20%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.20% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.47% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
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, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
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 (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $13,630. About 13.4% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
Geography and climate
![Mars Hill Winter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Mars_Hill_Winter.jpg)
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Mars Hill is split partly in half by the Prestile Stream, which runs directly between Fort Street and Silver Street, then crosses beneath the Fort Street Bridge. After passing the bridge, it flows between Pleasant Street and
U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, ...
.
Mars Hill is located in the
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfb''), with warm, humid summers. Winters are cold and snowy. Daytime highs are generally in the range through July, with overnight lows in the high 50s °F (around 15 °C). January temperatures range from highs near to overnight lows averaging below .
Mars Hill Mountain
Mars Hill Mountain
Mars Hill is a mountain located in Mars Hill, Maine, and gave the town its name.
The mountain plays an important role in the Mars Hill community, and overlooks the Saint John Valley, in which Mars Hill is located. Mount Katahdin is visible fr ...
plays an important role in the Mars Hill community, providing a dramatic backdrop for
photographs as well as magnificent views from atop its peak. It overlooks the
Saint John Valley, in which Mars Hill is located. Maine's tallest mountain,
Mount Katahdin
Mount Katahdin ( ) is the highest mountain in the U.S. state of Maine at . Named Katahdin, which means "Great Mountain", by the Penobscot Native Americans, it is within Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, and is the centerpiece of Baxte ...
is visible from the top of Mars Hill Mountain, over away.
A
wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...
project was begun on Mars Hill Mountain in the fall of 2006. A total of 28
GE 1.5 MW wind turbines were installed along the ridge and northern section of the mountain. The windmills are assembled in multiple parts. The towers, which are composed of three sections stacked together have a combined weight of 20,000 pounds, and are tall. Each of the turbine's three blades (together, a rotor) are approximately long, with a total rotor diameter of approximately . The rotor diameters of the turbines are comparable to the wingspan of a
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
.
Mars Hill Mountain features a ski area,
Big Rock Ski Area.
[http://www.bigrockmaine.com/]
See also
*
Wind power in Maine
There are a number of wind power projects in the state of Maine, totaling more than 900 megawatts (MW) in capacity. In 2020 they were responsible for 24% of in-state electricity production. In 2019, Maine had more wind capacity than the oth ...
References
External links
Town of Mars Hill official websiteWalter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library
{{Authority control
Towns in Aroostook County, Maine
Towns in Maine