Strong 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 Franklin 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 1,122 at the 2020 census. Strong is home to the annual Sandy River Festival.

History

The plantation was called Township No. 3, First Range North of Plymouth Claim, West of Kennebec River (or T3 R1 NPC WKR), then successively known as Middletown and Readstown. It was first settled in 1784 by William Read from Nobleboro. Readstown was incorporated on January 31, 1801, and named for

Caleb Strong Caleb Strong (January 9, 1745 – November 7, 1819) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father who served as the sixth and tenth governor of Massachusetts between 1800 and 1807, and again from 1812 until 1816. He assisted in draf ...

, a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

and

governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

. The

Maine Republican Party The Maine Republican Party is an affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Maine. It was founded in Strong, Maine, on August 7, 1854. The party currently does not control the governor's office or either chamber of the Maine Legislature ...

was founded here on August 7, 1854. Set on a hilly intervale above a big bend in the Sandy River, the area provided fertile soil for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. Farmers grew

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, corn,

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es. The northeast branch of the Sandy River provided

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

for

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

, helping make Strong prosperous. By 1859, when the population was 1,008, it had

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 ...

s, a

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 ...

, a

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

, a carding machine, a starch factory and a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

. The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Sandy River Railroad connected

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

and Phillips in 1879. By 1886, town industries included a boot and

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture ...

factory, machine shops, Maine's first cheese factory, a

clothespin A clothespin (US English), or clothes peg (UK English) is a fastener used to hang up clothes for drying, usually on a clothes line. Clothespins come in many different designs. Design During the 1700s laundry was hung on bushes, limbs or lin ...

manufacturer, a maker of

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...

seat chair bottoms, and an

excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...

factory. It was noted as "one of the prettiest villages in the county."George J. Varney, ''History of Strong, Maine'', Boston, Massachusetts 1886
/ref> Strong was called "Toothpick Capital of the World" due to the productivity of the Strong Wood Products Incorporated plant, which once manufactured 20 million toothpicks per day. Image:StrongME ForsterMemorialHall.jpg, Forster Memorial Hall (town offices and library) Image:Saw mill, Strong, Maine, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, Sawmill Image:Sweatland Flat, Strong, Maine, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, Sweatland Flat Image:Strong Wood Turning Company, Strong, ME.jpg, Wood Turning Co.

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. Strong is located above a bend in the Sandy River, a tributary of the Kennebec River. The town borders the towns of New Vineyard to the east,

to the south, and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and Avon to the west, and Freeman Township to the north. Strong is crossed by state routes 4,

145 145 may refer to: *145 (number), a natural number *AD 145, a year in the 2nd century AD *145 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *145 (dinghy), a two-person intermediate sailing dinghy *145 (South) Brigade *145 (New Jersey bus) 145 may refer to: *14 ...

, 149 and 234.

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 1,213 people, 496 households, and 339 families living 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 634 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.1%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.5% 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 ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, and 1.6% 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 ...

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 1.2% of the population. There were 496 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.7% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in the town was 41.5 years. 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.3% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.2% male and 48.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,259 people, 498 households, and 343 families living in the town. The

was 43.8 people per square mile (16.9/km²). There were 614 housing units at an average density of 21.4 per square mile (8.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.21%

, 0.16%

, 0.32% Native American, 0.08%

, 0.08% 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 0.16% from two or more races.

of any race were 1.27% of the population. There were 498 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,568, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $26,111 versus $18,636 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 $14,232. About 9.0% of families and 15.3% 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 17.3% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Elizabeth Akers Allen Elizabeth Akers Allen (pen name, Florence Percy; October 9, 1832 – August 7, 1911), was an American poet and journalist. Her early poems appeared over the signature of "Florence Percy", and many of them were first published in the ''Portland Tra ...

, author, journalist, poet * Ben C. Eastman, US congressman * John A. Eastman, Wisconsin state senator *

Julia Harris May Julia Harris May (April 27, 1833 – May 6, 1912) was an American poet, teacher, and school founder of the long nineteenth century. She spent several years teaching in the south. From 1868, she was the head of a private school in Strong, Maine. ...

(1833–1912), poet, teacher, school founder * Nathaniel W. Milliken, Wisconsin state assemblyman * James Porter (1847–1876), military officer who died at

Custer's Last Stand The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

References

External links

Town of Strong, Maine

Maine.gov – Strong, Maine

Maine Genealogy – Strong, Maine
{{Coord, 44, 48, 27, N, 70, 13, 15, W, type:city_region:US-ME, display=title Towns in Franklin County, Maine