Mattawamkeag is a town in Penobscot 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, located where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot River. The population was 596 at the 2020 census. The village of Mattawamkeag is in the southwestern part of the town.

Railroad history

Mattawamkeag's history is inextricably linked to the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. The European & North American Railway built a track up the Penobscot River valley from Bangor and reached Mattawamkeag in 1869. By October 1871, the line was completed from Mattawamkeag to Vanceboro, where it connected through to Saint John,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad was a United States, U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expand ...

leased the Bangor-Vanceboro E&NA in 1882 and purchased it in 1955. In 1889, the International Railway of Maine was completed between Megantic,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and Mattawamkeag, where it interchanged with the Maine Central. The parent company of the International Railway,

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, obtained running rights from Maine Central for Mattawamkeag to Vanceboro, where it regained CPR trackage in New Brunswick. This placed Mattawamkeag on the transcontinental mainline of the Canadian Pacific, running from Saint John to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. In 1974, CPR purchased the Mattawamkeag-Vanceboro railway tracks from Maine Central. In 1988, CPR transferred trackage east of Megantic to its subsidiary Canadian Atlantic Railway. In 1994, Canadian Atlantic was sold, with the line running through Mattawamkeag being purchased by J. D. Irving, and is now operated as the Eastern Maine Railway. Maine Central was purchased by Guilford Transportation Industries in 1981 and became part of Guilford Rail System, since renamed Pan Am Railways. Pan Am now operates as a subsidiary of the larger

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

network, and is both the northernmost and easternmost point on the CSX Transportation network.

Historic building

The George W. Smith Homestead (1874) in Mattawamkeag is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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.

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 687 people, 317 households, and 197 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 407 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.0%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.7% 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 0.6% of the population. There were 317 households, of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.9% were non-families. 31.5% 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 2.17 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age in the town was 50.4 years. 15.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18% were from 25 to 44; 41.5% were from 45 to 64; and 19.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.9% male and 49.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 825 people, 338 households, and 234 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 393 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.06%

, 0.36% Native American, and 1.58% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.12% of the population. There were 338 households, out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were

living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $23,403, and the median income for a family was $32,000. Males had a median income of $27,857 versus $19,063 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 $12,573. About 7.8% of families and 12.9% 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 12.3% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Mary F. Cahill, state legislator * Steve Clifford, professional basketball coach

References

External links

Mattawamkeag Wilderness Park
{{authority control Towns in Penobscot County, Maine Towns in Maine