Lubec, ME

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse and Quoddy Narrows, with Grand Manan Island, Canada, visible in the background

Lubec is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,652 at the 2000 census. Lubec is the easternmost town in the United States (see Extreme points of the United States). However, if territories (Insular areas) are included, Point Udall in the U.S. Virgin Islands extends farther east.

Geography

Lubec is located in northeastern Maine, at 44°51′38″N, 66°59′5″W³, on the Passamaquoddy Bay, slightly south of Eastport. The West Quoddy Head is southeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 204.2 km² (78.9 mi²). 86.1 km² (33.3 mi²) of it is land and 118.1 km² (45.6 mi²) of it (57.82%) is water.

The "Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge" connects Lubec to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.

Easternmost point in the contiguous 48 United States

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

West Quoddy Head in Lubec, Maine is the easternmost point in the United States, located at 44°48′54″N, 66°57′1″W longitude. West Quoddy Head is adjacent to the Quoddy Narrows, a narrow strait between Canada and the United States, one of the entrances into Passamaquoddy Bay. Since 1808, there has been a lighthouse on the site to guide ships through this waterway. The present one with distinctive red-and-white stripes was built in 1858.

History

The town was originally part of Eastport, Maine, and incorporated as a separate town in 1811. It is named for Lübeck, Germany. After the War of 1812, Lubec was the site of a considerable smuggling trade in gypsum. From 1896 to 1898 the town was the site of a swindle in the sale of stock in the Electolytic Marine Salts Company, the brainchild of Reverend Prescott Jernegan, who had purportedly developed a method of using "accumulators" to get gold from sea water.^[1][1]

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 1,652 people, 755 households, and 427 families residing in the town. The population density was 19.2/km² (49.7/mi²). There were 1,072 housing units at an average density of 12.4/km² (32.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.94% White, 0.36% African American, 0.18% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.

There were 755 households out of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $20,565, and the median income for a family was $26,098. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,081. About 20.3% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.6% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.

External links

Coordinates: 44.860556° N 66.984722° W

• VisitLubecMaine.com
• Lubec, Maine, in the international Quoddy Loop

References

Further Reading

Joshua M. Smith, Borderland Smuggling: Patriots, Loyalists and Illicit Trade in the Northeast, 1783-1820 (Gainesville, University Press of Florida, 2006).

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