Waldoboro 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 Lincoln County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 5,154 at the 2020 census. Waldoboro was incorporated in 1773 and developed a reputation as a ship building and port facility from the banks of the Medomak River. The town's strong agricultural and fishing legacy continues today, with recently renewed enthusiasm for traditional

natural fiber Natural fibers or natural fibres (see spelling differences) are fibers that are produced by geological processes, or from the bodies of plants or animals. They can be used as a component of composite materials, where the orientation of fibers ...

production,

cheesemaking Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrat ...

, farm

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

soapmaking Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used a ...

, and other lost agrarian arts. Waldoboro is becoming a popular destination with miles of scenic river frontage, a thriving arts community, and historical interest in its past as a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

History

In 1629 the area that would become Waldoboro was granted to John Beauchamp of London and Thomas Leverett of

Boston, England Boston is a market town and inland port in the Borough of Boston, borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, Lincolns ...

, and was known as the Muscongus Patent. The patent lay dormant until 1719 when Leverett's great-grandson,

John Leverett John Leverett (baptized 7 July 1616 – 16 March 1678/79In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between Ja ...

, President of Harvard College, revived the ancient claim and formed the Lincolnshire Proprietors, also known as the Ten Proprietors, so named for the ten shares distributed, one to each member. General

Samuel Waldo Samuel Waldo (August 7, 1696 – May 23, 1759) was an American merchant, land speculator, army officer and politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Biography He was born in Boston, the son of Jonathan Waldo and Hannah Mason. In 1722, h ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

acquired a controlling interest in the patent in 1729 and it henceforward become known as the

Waldo Patent The Waldo Patent, a letters patent also known as the Muscongus Patent or the Lincolnshire Patent, was a document granting title to of land in what is now the U.S. state of Maine. It is named variously for businessman Samuel Waldo, who eventually ...

. First called Broad Bay, the village was settled between 1733 and 1740, but suffered a devastating attack as part of the Northeast Coast Campaign (1746) by Native Americans allied with

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 Spai ...

during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

. Houses were burned and inhabitants killed or carried away as captives. Survivors fled to the nearby settlements of

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

or Pemaquid. Peace returned with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1752–1753, Samuel Waldo, son of the general Jonathan Waldo, visited Germany and recruited about 1,500 immigrants to Waldoboro on the ship Lydia. Some were followers of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

and

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...

but they did not immigrate for religious reasons like the Pilgrims but for "...increasing their worldly goods.", most from the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

. Waldo hired

Sebastian Zouberbuhler Sebastian Zouberbuhler ( – January 31, 1773) was one of the founding fathers of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Biography Believed to have been born in Switzerland, he worked as an agent for Samuel Waldo, who speculated in land, in South Carolina a ...

as an agent. Many settled on the western side of Broad Bay, although in 1763–1764 the land was claimed under the Pemaquid Patent. About 300 residents moved to the Moravian settlements in what is now

Forsyth County, North Carolina Forsyth County is located in the northwest Piedmont of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,590, making it the fourth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Winston-Salem. Forsyth ...

, but the remainder bought their properties. On June 29, 1773, the township was incorporated as Waldoborough, named for the original proprietor. Waldoboro became

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Lincoln County in 1786, but the designation would shift to Wiscasset in 1880. Farms produced

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 ...

and potatoes. The

Knox and Lincoln Railroad The Rockland Branch is a railroad from Brunswick, Maine to Rockland, Maine. A charter was granted in 1849 to build a railway from the Portland and Kennebec Railroad on the west side of the Kennebec River to Rockland. Construction through the roc ...

arrived and spurred the town's development. Industries would include an iron

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, an

oakum Oakum is a preparation of tarred fibre used to seal gaps. Its main traditional applications were in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships; in plumbing, for s ...

mill, a

carding Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...

and cloth-dressing mill, a grain mill,

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 and planing mills, furniture and molding mills, a

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

sash A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...

and blind factory, and a

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

factory. There were also

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

and

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 undergro ...

yards and a

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

. But

ship building Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

was the principal business, with eight large vessels built in 1880. During the 19th century Maine became famous for its great shipbuilding center. Waldoboro was the launching port for the '' Governor Ames'' in 1888, the first five masted

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

. The ''Governor Ames'' was built in Waldoboro's Leavitt Storer Shipyard. A

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internati ...

, the town features an 1857

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

Ammi B. Young Ammi Burnham Young (June 19, 1798 – March 14, 1874) was a 19th-century American architect whose commissions transitioned from the Greek Revival to the Neo-Renaissance styles. His design of the second Vermont State House brought him fame and su ...

. Waldoboro is also known for the Waldoboro style of hooked rugs, the Waldoboro green neck turnip, Moody's Diner and Morse's Sauerkraut, and Fawcetts Toy Museum.

Places listed on the National Register of Historic Places

German Church and Cemetery The German Church and Cemetery, also known as the Old German Meeting House, is a historic German Lutheran church and cemetery at 235 Bremen Road (Maine State Route 32) in Waldoboro, Maine. Built in 1772, it is a well-preserved 18th-century chur ...

* Hutchins House (Hall Funeral Home) * Ludwig, Godfrey, House * Reed, Co. Isaac G. House * U.S. Customhouse and Post Office *

Waldo Theatre The Waldo Theatre is a historic movie theater and performance venue at 916 Main Street in Waldoboro, Maine. Built in 1936 as a movie theater to a design by New York City architect Benjamin Schlanger, it was hailed at the time as one of the best- ...

built by

Carroll Cooney Carroll Trowbridge Cooney (April 1, 1887August 15, 1947) was an American football and squash player and a competitor in the hammer throw. Cooney played college football at Yale University from 1907 to 1909 at the center and guard positions. He ...

* Waldoborough Town Pound * Wetherill Site

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 the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water. Waldoboro is located at the

head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship be ...

on the Medomak River.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,075 people, 2,171 households, and 1,364 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,651 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.4%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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, 0.4%

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 1.1% 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 ...

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 2,171 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in the town was 43.5 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 30.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,916 people, 1,983 households, and 1,348 families residing in the town. The population density was 69.1 people per square mile (26.7/km). There were 2,360 housing units at an average density of 33.1 per square mile (12.8/km). The racial makeup of the town was 98.62%

, 0.22%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 0.14% Native American, 0.43%

, 0.08%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 0.04% from

, and 0.47% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.26% of the population. There were 1,983 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% 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 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $34,830, and the median income for a family was $41,042. Males had a median income of $30,788 versus $22,462 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,117. About 9.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The town is served by

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

and state routes 32, 220 and 235.

Education

Regional School Unit 40 Regional School Unit 40 (RSU#40), formerly known as Maine School Administrative District #40, is a school district headquartered on the second floor of Union Elementary School in Union, Maine.Medomak Valley High School Medomak Valley High School is a public high school established in 1968 in Waldoboro, Maine ( Lincoln County), United States, which educates grades 9–12. The school is part of the MSAD 40 district. Academics Medomak Valley offers a variet ...

— Grades 9–12 *Medomak Valley Middle School — Grades 7–8 *Miller Elementary School — Grades K–6 Waldoboro Public Library serves the community.

Notable people

* Benjamin Brown, member of the 14th

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

; practiced medicine in Waldoboro * Carroll Trowbridge Cooney, college football player and theatre owner *

Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He was close with Char ...

, poet * Tristan Dyer, filmmaker and Iraq War veteran; born in Waldoboro *

Ezra B. French Ezra Bartlett French (September 23, 1810 – April 24, 1880) was a United States representative from Maine. He was born in Landaff, New Hampshire where he attended the common schools and pursued an academic course. Later, he studied law in ...

, U.S. House of Representatives 1859–1861, Maine House of Representatives 1838–1840, Maine Senate 1842–1845, Secretary of State of Maine 1845–1850, bank commissioner and worked as a newspaper editor in 1856, assisted in organizing the Republican Party in 1856 *

Harriet Newell Haskell Harriet Newell Haskell (January 14, 1835 – May 6, 1907) was an American educator and school administrator from the U.S. state of Maine. She taught from 1855 to 1860 in Waldoboro, Maine and Boston, Massachusetts. From 1860 to 1868, she was a tea ...

(1835–1907), educator and administrator *

Conrad Heyer Conrad Heyer (April 10, 1749 – February 19, 1856) was an American farmer, veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and centenarian who is notable for possibly being the earliest-born person to have ever been photographed. Biography H ...

, Revolutionary War veteran and earliest-born person known to have been photographed * John Harvey Lovell, naturalist and author; born and lived in Waldoboro * Sebastian Streeter Marble, 41st governor of Maine *

John William McCormack John William McCormack (December 21, 1891 – November 22, 1980) was an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts. An attorney and a Democrat, McCormack served in the United States Army during World War I, and afterwards won terms in both th ...

, U.S House of Representatives, Speaker of the House. In 1929 John's father Joseph was buried in a pauper's grave in Waldoboro *

Frederick G. Payne Frederick George Payne (July 24, 1904 – June 15, 1978) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Maine from 1953 to ...

, US senator, 60th

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is Ja ...

* Isaac Reed, US congressman; born in Waldoboro * Frederick Robie, 39th governor of Maine; practiced medicine in Waldoboro for a time * Aaron Robinson, musician and composer *

Augusta Emma Stetson Augusta Emma Stetson (''née'' Simmons) (October 12, 1842 – October 12, 1928) was an American religious leader. Known for her impressive oratory skills and magnetic personality, she attracted a large following in New York City. However, her incr ...

, religious leader; born in Waldoboro *

Clyde Sukeforth Clyde Leroy Sukeforth (November 30, 1901 – September 3, 2000), nicknamed "Sukey", was an American professional baseball catcher, coach, scout and manager. He was best known for signing the first black player in the modern era of Major League ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player and agent, scouted and signed

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

Clyde Sukeforth, 98, Is Dead; Steered Robinson to Majors
/ref> * David Trahan, politician, logger, lobbyist, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine *

, merchant, soldier, political figure and proprietor of

Waldo County Waldo County is a county in the state of Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,607. Its county seat is Belfast. The county was founded on 7 February 1827 from a portion of Hancock County and named after ...

and the towns of Waldo and Waldoboro

References

External links

Town of Waldoboro official websiteWaldoboro Public LibraryMedomak Valley Land TrustMaine Genealogy: Waldoboro, Lincoln County, MaineWaldoboro Historical Society & MuseumOld Broad Bay Family History Association

{{authority control Towns in Lincoln County, Maine Populated places established in the 1730s German-American culture in Maine Towns in Maine Populated coastal places in Maine