Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States, and a port of entry situated on the St. Croix River at the border with St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 3,447 at the 2000 census. The local pronunciation of Calais rhymes with palace. 
listen (help·info).
History
The river and its area were first explored by Samuel de Champlain when he and his men spent a winter on St. Croix Island in 1604. The first permanent settler was Daniel Hill of Jonesboro, who arrived in 1779, and with others built the first sawmill in 1782. On June 27, 1789, the Massachusetts General Court sold the township to Waterman Thomas for 19¢ an acre (Approx $2.30 an acre in 2006 dollars). Early occupations included farming, hunting and ship building.
On June 16, 1809, Plantation Number 5 PS was incorporated as Calais after Calais, France, in honor of French assistance during the American Revolution. The river provided the mill town with water power for industry, which included sawmills, clapboard and shingle mills, 2 planing mills, a saw factory, 2 axe factories and 4 grain mills. There were foundries, machine shops, granite works, shoe factories and a tannery. Other businesses produced bricks, bedsteads, brooms, carriages and plaster.
Calais is the home of the first railroad built in the state of Maine, the Calais Railroad incorporated by the state legislature on February 17, 1832.[1] It was built to transport lumber from a mill on the Saint Croix River opposite Milltown, New Brunswick two miles (3 km) to the tidewater at Calais in 1835. In 1849, the name was changed to the Calais & Baring Railroad and the line was extended four more miles to Baring.[2] In 1870, it became part of the St. Croix & Penobscot Railroad.[3]
Calais was incorporated as a city on August 24, 1850. On July 18, 1864, Confederate agents crossed the border from New Brunswick, Canada, and robbed a bank in Calais. [5]
The Calais Free Library was designed by noted Boston architect Arthur H. Vinal and opened on July 4, 1893. The Romanesque Revival building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Calais has both a residential and downtown historic district.
Notable residents
- Nehemiah Abbott, U.S. Representative
- Ron Corning, television anchor man
- Thomas Fuller, U.S. Representative
- Frederick A. Pike, U.S. Representative
- James Shepherd Pike, journalist
- Henry Milner Rideout, author
- Harriet Prescott Spofford, author
- Horatio Nelson Young, naval hero
- Andrea Gibson, Spoken Word Artist, Poet, Activist
Geography
Calais is located at 45°9′58″N 67°14′33″W / 45.16611°N 67.2425°W / 45.16611; -67.2425 (45.166045, -67.242434)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.0 square miles (103.7 km²), of which, 34.0 square miles (88.2 km²) of it is land and 6.0 square miles (15.5 km²) of it (14.94%) is water. Calais is located at the head of tide on the St. Croix River.
Calais is the northern terminus of the East Coast Greenway which has its southern terminus in Key West, Florida.
Calais viewed from St. Stephen across the St. Croix River
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1810 |
372 |
|
—
|
| 1820 |
418 |
|
12.4% |
| 1830 |
1,686 |
|
303.3% |
| 1840 |
2,934 |
|
74.0% |
| 1850 |
4,749 |
|
61.9% |
| 1860 |
5,621 |
|
18.4% |
| 1870 |
5,944 |
|
5.7% |
| 1880 |
6,173 |
|
3.9% |
| 1890 |
7,290 |
|
18.1% |
| 1900 |
7,655 |
|
5.0% |
| 1910 |
6,116 |
|
−20.1% |
| 1920 |
6,084 |
|
−0.5% |
| 1930 |
5,470 |
|
−10.1% |
| 1940 |
5,161 |
|
−5.6% |
| 1950 |
4,589 |
|
−11.1% |
| 1960 |
4,223 |
|
−8.0% |
| 1970 |
4,044 |
|
−4.2% |
| 1980 |
4,262 |
|
5.4% |
| 1990 |
3,963 |
|
−7.0% |
| 2000 |
3,447 |
|
−13.0% |
| Est. 2006 |
3,227 |
|
−6.4% |
| sources:[5][6] |
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 3,447 people, 1,486 households, and 904 families residing in the city. The population density was 101.3 people per square mile (39.1/km²). There were 1,921 housing units at an average density of 56.4/sq mi (21.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.81% White, 0.35% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 1,486 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,623, and the median income for a family was $39,118. Males had a median income of $37,684 versus $20,058 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,135. About 11.1% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 19.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The City of Calais operates under the council-manager form of government. The current city manager is Diane Barnes. Some past city managers include: William Bridgeo, Nancy Orr, and Mark Ryckman. The current city mayor is Vinton Cassidy.
Transportation
Calais is located along 
U.S. 1 and 
Maine State Route 9.
New U.S. Land Port of Entry
International Bridge Crossings
The Ferry Point International Bridge and the Milltown International Bridge connects Calais, Maine, U.S.A. to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. Construction began in 2008 on a third international bridge referred to as the International Avenue Bridge which connects the two communities as well. The International Avenue Bridge opened on November 16, 2009 and serves commercial, cargo, trucking, passenger vehicles, pedestrians, campers, RVs, and buses. The Ferry Point and Milltown International Bridges will remain in use for passenger vehicles [8] The new inspection facility alleviates traffic congestion from downtown Calais and the neighboring towns in Canada. It is equipped with state-of-the-art security equipment that allows for efficient processing of both commercial and passenger vehicles. The new facility is occupied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This facility was built as part of GSA's high performance green building program and has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for comprehensive use of sustainable design and technology. Recycled, reused, and local materials were used during the construction. The facility conserves energy by bringing natural light into every occupied space, and conserves water by using low-flow fixtures that consumes 40 percent less water than traditional plumbing. The new International Avenue Bridge [6], designed by Robert Siegel Architects [7] provides six lanes of non-commercial inspection and three lanes of commercial inspection.
Media
There are a few television stations (mostly from Saint John, New Brunswick and Bangor, Maine) that serve Calais via rebroadcast transmitters:
Stations available on Cable:
Sites of interest
References
- ^ Railroads and Canals of the United States of America, by Henry V. Poor (New York: John H. Schultz & Co, 1860), page 35. [1]
- ^ Railroads and Canals of the United States of America, by Henry V. Poor (New York: John H. Schultz & Co, 1860), pages 21-2. [2]
- ^ Report on the Agencies of Transportation in the United States 1880 by United States Census Bureau (Washington DC: 1883). [3]
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ [4], accessed December, 2007.
- ^ Lewiston city, Maine - Population Finder - American FactFinder
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "U.S. gives go ahead to third bridge", St. Croix Courier, September 26, 2006.
Further reading
External links
