North Oxford is an
unorganized territory in
Oxford County,
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 ...
, United States. The population was 16 at the
2020 census.
Geography
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 t ...
, the unorganized territory has a total area of 546.2 square miles (1,414.7 km
2), of which, 509.6 square miles (1,319.9 km
2) of it is land and 36.6 square miles (94.8 km
2) of it (6.70%) is water.
The territory consists of fifteen townships, which are Riley, Grafton, Andover North Surplus, Andover West Surplus, Township C, C Surplus, Richardsontown, Adamstown, Lower Cupsuptic, Parkertown, Upper Cupsuptic, Lynchtown, Oxbow, Parmachenee, and Bowmantown. The terrain is mountainous with little level ground suitable for raising crops; and the elevation causes frost in June and August leaving a growing season of about 60 days.
History of Grafton
Grafton, the southernmost township, was the only township to achieve incorporation. The first European settler was James Brown in 1834. He built a sawmill in 1838, and a few of the men he hired to cut logs and mill lumber built homes along what is now
Maine State Route 26 above
Grafton Notch State Park
Grafton Notch State Park is a public recreation area in Grafton Township, Oxford County, Maine. The state park occupies surrounding Grafton Notch, the mountain pass between Old Speck Mountain and Baldpate Mountain. The park is abutted by th ...
. A few raised some livestock, hay, oats, and potatoes for subsistence. Grafton incorporated in 1852. The town school built just above Grafton Notch had 37 students by 1859, but that number slowly declined to 10 by 1900. The maximum population recorded for the town was 115 in the 1880 census. About a hundred men would come into Grafton for the winter logging season, and leave driving the logs downstream with the spring snowmelt in March or April. The intensity of logging increased in 1893 with completion of the
Success Pond Railroad from
Berlin, New Hampshire to the
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
border of Grafton. Aboriginal forests had been completely logged when the railroad was dismantled in 1907. When the logging jobs disappeared, most residents sold their land to a
pulp and paper company and moved away. Grafton disincorporated in 1919; and the Town records were turned over to
Newry, Maine
Newry (; ) is a resort town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 411 at the 2020 census. Newry was the site of one of Maine's worst Cold War aircraft crashes. The town is the home of Sunday River Ski Resort and has a p ...
. Most of the structures were demolished by the new landowner to reduce the fire hazard of use by a transient population.
1944 B-17 crash
![Boeing B-17G Superfortress Shoo Shoo Baby USAF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Boeing_B-17G_Superfortress_Shoo_Shoo_Baby_USAF.jpg)
North Oxford was the site of Maine's second worst military plane crash. A
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber was flying from
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
to
Dow Field
Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Ar ...
in preparation for a trans-Atlantic flight to participate in the
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 opposing ...
strategic bombing of Europe. The bomber apparently became lost in thunderstorms around North Oxford which may have damaged the plane's radio. Local residents heard the bomber wandering through the overcast in searching circles for more than an hour before it crashed 500 feet below the summit of Deer Mountain in the southeastern corner of Parkertown Township. There were no survivors from the ten-man
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
crew. The Deer Mountain crash site now includes a memorial marker and is a popular hiking destination. A similar
Long Creek Air Tragedy Memorial 100 miles to the south marks the site of Maine's worst plane crash. Through coincidence, both crashes occurred on the same day—11 July 1944.
Demographics
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 in ...
of 2000, there were 17 people, 9 households, and 6 families residing in the unorganized territory. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was 0.0 people per square mile (0.0/km
2). There were 254 housing units at an average density of 0.5/sq mi (0.2/km
2). The racial makeup of the unorganized territory was 94.12%
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 o ...
, and 5.88% from two or more races.
There were 9 households, out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were
married couples living together, and 33.3% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.89 and the average family size was 2.17.
In the unorganized territory the population was spread out, with 5.9% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 11.8% from 25 to 44, 52.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 57 years. For every 100 females, there were 240.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 220.0 males.
The median income for a household in the unorganized territory was $45,625, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $0 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 unorganized territory was $38,462. None of the population or the families 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 ...
.
References
{{authority control
Unorganized territories in Maine
Populated places in Oxford County, Maine