Southwest Harbor is a town in Hancock 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 on

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; ) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the List of islands of the United States by area, 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in th ...

, the population was 1,756 at the 2020 census. The municipality contains within it the villages of Southwest Harbor, Manset, Seawall, Wonderland, and Pemetic Hills.

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 1,764 people, 835 households, and 483 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 1,484 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.3%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.4% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 835 households, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% 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, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.2% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.69. The median age in the town was 47.2 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20% were from 25 to 44; 31.3% were from 45 to 64; and 22.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.0% male and 53.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,966 people, 899 households, and 534 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 1,288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.37%

, 0.31%

, 0.15% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population. There were 899 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were

living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. Of all households 34.0% were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.76. In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,555, and the median income for a family was $50,000. Males had a median income of $29,792 versus $24,044 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 $21,509. About 8.8% of families and 12.0% 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 17.3% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Southwest Harbor has one school, Pemetic Elementary School. The school educates students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The building originally housed Pemetic High School, which served Southwest Harbor and the neighboring town of Tremont. The elementary school includes two baseball fields and a soccer field. Today, high school students from Southwest Harbor and Tremont attend Mount Desert Island High School in the town of Mount Desert.

Business and industry

Hinckley Yachts Hinckley Yachts, founded in 1928, manufactures, services and sells luxury sail and powerboats. The company is based in Maine, United States. The company has developed yacht technologies including JetStick and Dual Guard composite material, and was ...

maintains its headquarters, design, construction, and repair facilities in Southwest Harbor. Other boat companies in the town include Ellis Boat Company and Morris Yachts, both of which build, among other types, boats tailored for use in Maine and New England. MapsAlive, a

software as a service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike o ...

company providing interactive maps and floor plans, is also located in Southwest Harbor. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

maintains a multipurpose facility in the town; USCGC ''Bridle'' is based there as well. The Claremont Hotel, built in 1883, 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 ...

Notable people

* Myrna Fahey, actress * Wendell Gilley, artist, bird carvings * John Johnston, chemist *

Agnes Newhall Stillwell Agnes Ellen Newhall Stillwell (March 4, 1906 – April 8, 1957) was an American archaeologist, focused on Corinth. Early life and education Newhall was born Agnes Ellen Milan in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Agnes was partly raised by an aunt, ed ...

, archaeologist

In popular culture

* Location filming for the 1999 television mini-series '' Storm of the Century'' took place in Southwest Harbor.Storm of the Century Locations
Internet Movie Database, Retrieved June 28, 2008 * The video for the song " Rebellion (Lies)" by

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

was filmed on High Road in downtown Southwest Harbor. * In the novel '' Fudge-a-Mania'' by

Judy Blume Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult, and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels. Among her best-known works are '' Are You There God? It's ...

, the main character and his family spend their summer vacation at a house in Southwest Harbor, sharing it with his archenemy. * It is a location in the ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...

'', in the Far Harbor expansion pack.

Gallery

PemeticESSWHarborME.JPG, Pemetic Elementary School SWHarborPoliceME.JPG, Southwest Harbor Police Department SWHarborLibraryME0.JPG, Southwest Harbor Public Library Beals Lobster Pound, July 2016.jpg, Beal's Lobster Pound

References

External links

Official government website

Chamber of Commerce website
{{authority control Mount Desert Island Towns in Hancock County, Maine Towns in Maine Populated coastal places in Maine