Brooksville is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 911.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 51.1 square miles (132.3 km²), of which, 31.1 square miles (80.6 km²) of it is land and 20.0 square miles (51.8 km²) of it (39.12%) is water.
Located at 44°20′27.14″N 68°44′14.94″W / 44.3408722°N 68.7374833°W / 44.3408722; -68.7374833Coordinates: 44°20′27.14″N 68°44′14.94″W / 44.3408722°N 68.7374833°W / 44.3408722; -68.7374833, Brooksville is bounded on the west by Penobscot Bay, on the north and east by the Bagaduce River (a tidal estuary), and on the south by Eggemoggin Reach. It is nearly an island, with just two slim land bridges to the rest of the mainland. It has 53.75 miles (86.50 km) of shoreline.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 911 people, 412 households, and 278 families residing in the town. The population density was 29.3 people per square mile (11.3/km²). There were 791 housing units at an average density of 25.4/sq mi (9.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.68% White, 0.44% Asian, 0.22% Pacific Islander, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.
There were 412 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.65.
In the town the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 34.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,458, and the median income for a family was $41,875. Males had a median income of $26,923 versus $24,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,565. About 7.6% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.
Points of interest
- Four Season Farm, the nationally-known organic farm of Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch.
- Good Life Center, the hand-built last home of Helen and Scott Nearing, dedicated to advancing their vision of social justice and simple living.
- The massive gravel pit on Varnumville Road, once the best farmland in the town but now mined for gravel and also used as an illegal dumping site for toxic chemicals. A garbage fire burned there from Christmas of 2001 to May 2002. While the local community has made some efforts to draw government attention to the situation, as of the present date little has been done.
- Holbrook Island Sanctuary, a protected natural area on Penobscot Bay for hiking and wildlife watching.
- The reversing falls on the Bagaduce River at Davis Narrows, where Routes 175 and 176 cross the river.
Notable residents
- Clarence Milville Condon [1] (1875-1916), Battery Sergeant who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in battle near Calulut, Luzon, Philippine Islands, November 1899.
- Archibald Cox (1912-2004), Boston lawyer, Harvard law professor, U.S. Solicitor General, and the first special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal. President Richard Nixon's attempt to fire him on October 20, 1973, precipitated the Saturday Night Massacre.
- John Mack (also known as Michael Connely)[2] (1843-1865), Navy seaman who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in defending St. Marks, Florida, in March 1865.
- Robert McCloskey (1914-2003), award-winning author and illustrator of children's books, including Homer Price and Make Way for Ducklings. Some of them feature stories and pictures of Maine, such as Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, and Time of Wonder.
- Helen and Scott Nearing (Helen 1904-1995, Scott 1883-1993), influential socialists and advocates of simple living, authors of Living the Good Life (and many other books), and founders of Brooksville's Good Life Center (in Harborside, Cape Rosier).
- David Atwood Wasson [3] (1823-1887), lawyer, pastor, political thinker, and poet, considered by Frank Preston Stearns to be a member of the Concord circle, with Emerson and Hawthorne, and "the first and most original of American thinkers."
References
Further reading
- Jean Hay Bright, Meanwhile, Next Door to the Good Life, Dixmont, Maine: BrightBerry Press, 2003.
- Ellenore W. Doudiet, Majabigwaduce: Castine, Penobscot, Brooksville, Castine Scientific Society, 1978.
- Stanley Joseph and Lynn Karlin, Maine Farm: A Year of Country Life, Random House, 1991.
- LeCain W. Smith, Maritime History of Brooksville, Brooksville Historical Society, 2005.
- Walter A. Snow (ed.), Brooksville, Maine: A Town in the Revolution, Downeast Graphics, 1976.
- George J. Varney, History of Brooksville, Maine, from A Gazetteer of the State of Maine, Boston: B.B. Russell, 1886.
- George Augustus Wheeler, History of Castine, Penobscot, and Brooksville, Maine, including the ancient settlement of Pentagoet. Bangor: Burr & Robinson, 1875.
