South Thomaston is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Knox 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 1,511 at the
2020 census. A
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
and
resort area, the town includes the village of
Spruce Head, Maine.
History
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
Indians called it Wessaweskeag, meaning "tidal creek" or "salt creek," a reference to what is now known as the
Weskeag River. Thomas Lefebvre from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
,
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 ...
owned a huge tract of land at the Weskeag River, where his stay began in 1704. He built a large
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
, with a house on the shoreline. Although he would eventually return to Quebec, the area retained his name—Thomas' Town. But the adjacent
St. George River was the uneasy dividing line between land controlled by
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
and
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
. Permanent settlement would be delayed by the
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
, which ended with the 1763
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
.
In 1767, Wessaweskeag was settled by Elisha Snow, who built a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where 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 (dimensi ...
operated by
tidal power
Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods.
Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Ti ...
. In 1773, Joseph Coombs arrived and built another sawmill nearby, and together they built a gristmill. The village of South Thomaston grew around the mills, which would include three
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
polishing machines to process stone cut from the town's numerous
quarries
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...
. On July 28, 1848, South Thomaston was set off from
Thomaston and incorporated as a separate town.
Owl's Head would be set off from South Thomaston on July 9, 1921. Joseph Baum and Flora Baum owned and operated the Baum's Market, now known as the Keag Store. Flora Baum was the Postmistress, appointed by President Woodrow Wilson. The Baum's had four children: Alice, Dorothy, Joan and Joseph Baum, Jr. (Bud). For many years Bud was on the Board of Selectmen and was the Fire Chief.
Gilford Butler was a local attorney and chairman of the school board. Gilford Bulter and his sister Lula Butler lived in what is now known as the Geag Inn, next to the present U. S. Post Office. Gilford was an attorney in nearby
Rockland. Gilford left a large amount of his estate to the town in order to build a local elementary school, with the stipulation that the school bear his name.
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 town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water.
South Thomaston is located on the
Weskeag River inlet.
Demographics
The median income for a household in the town was $43,594, and the median income for a family was $55,000. Males had a median income of $38,500 versus $33,125 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 $24,522. 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 t ...
, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over. Of the 832 people in the labor force only 25 were unemployed as of the 2010 census making the town's unemployment rate 2.9%.
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 in ...
of 2010, there were 1,558 people, 674 households, and 442 families residing in the town. 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 . There were 893 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.8%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 0.8%
Asian, 0.1% 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 1.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
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 0.6% of the population.
There were 674 households, of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were
married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.4% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.79.
The median age in the town was 47.1 years. 19.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.3% were from 25 to 44; 32.5% were from 45 to 64; and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.
Site of interest
* Wessaweskeag Historical Society
References
External links
Town of South Thomaston, MaineSouth Thomaston Public LibraryMaine Genealogy: South Thomaston, Knox County, Maine
{{authority control
Towns in Knox County, Maine
Towns in Maine
Populated coastal places in Maine