Otisfield is a town in Oxford County,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, United States. Otisfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 1,853 at the 2020 census. Otisfield is a summer recreation area and home to Seeds of Peace Camp and Camp Arcadia.

History

It was granted by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

on June 15, 1771 to James Otis, Nathaniel Gorham and other descendants of Captain John Gorham and certain members of his company who had fought in the 1690 Battle of Quebec. It replaced a 1736 grant which was ruled invalid when the line between

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

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was redrawn to satisfy claims by the heirs of John Mason. Many early settlers were veterans of the Revolutionary War, with the greater number coming from Groton, Massachusetts. First called Otis Field Plantation, it was incorporated on February 19, 1798 as Otisfield. It then included nearly all of Harrison, set off in 1805, and a large part of

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, set off in 1834. The town was part of Cumberland County until 1978, when it joined Oxford County. The surface of the town is uneven with gravelly but productive soil.

Farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

became the principal occupation, with

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es and hay the chief crops. Mills were erected at various water power sites, with the first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

built 1812. Other industries included

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shops, a tannery, a pants factory and

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

shop, a

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

mill and cannery for

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

s, a

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

factory, a shingle mill and a woolen carding mill. Today, Otisfield is largely a recreational area, with camps and summer cottages lining the shores of Pleasant Lake, Thompson Lake, Saturday Pond and Moose Pond.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Otisfield is drained by the Crooked River. The town is served by state routes 117 and 121. It borders the towns of

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to the north,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

to the northeast,

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to the east, Casco and

to the south, and Harrison to the west.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,770 people, 704 households, and 492 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 1,169 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 1.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 704 households, of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.1% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the town was 44.8 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 34.8% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.4% male and 48.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,560 people, 595 households, and 452 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 1,011 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.21%

, 0.26%

, 0.45% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06%

, and 0.90% from two or more races. There were 595 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were

living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.95. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,304, and the median income for a family was $46,652. Males had a median income of $32,167 versus $26,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $19,142. About 6.7% of families and 9.1% 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 ...

, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Seeds of Peace

Otisfield is known throughout the state of Maine for being the home of the Seeds of Peace Camp. Seeds of Peace has been located in Otisfield since its founding in 1993. It is placed on Pleasant Lake and located on the former Camp Powhatan. In 2022, the number of alumni from the Seeds of Peace Camp had passed 8,000.

Site of interest

*Otisfield Historical Society

Notable person

* Horace A. Barrows, 19th century physician, maker of plant-based medicines and advocate of vegetarian diet

References

External links

Town of Otisfield, Maine

Genealogy in Otisfield, Maine

Maine.gov – Otisfield, Maine

Maine Genealogy: Otisfield, Oxford County, Maine
{{Presumpscot River Seeds of Peace Towns in Oxford County, Maine