Skowhegan, Maine
Somerset County
23-68910
Skowhegan is a city in the U.S. state of Maine in the United States of America. It is the administrative capital of Somerset County and with 8,589 inhabitants (according to the census of 2010), one of the larger cities in Maine.
- 5.1 traffic
- 5.2 Media
- 5.3 Public bodies
- 5.4 Education
Geography
Skowhegan extends over a length of about one kilometer on both banks as well as an island in the Kennebec River, right on the " Skowhegan Falls", a series of rapids that overcome one kilometer in length about 10 meters (28 feet) height difference. These rapids are now overbuilt by a dam and serve the energy by a hydroelectric power plant.
While the urban area (ft 200) on average about 60 meters above sea level, rises the highest point of the area, the Bigelow Hill, about 170 meters (500 ft) above sea level.
History
Originally the area was inhabited by a tribe of Abenaki Indians, who fished at the falls from spring to autumn. It comes from the name of the place: it means " the place where you wait for the fish ."
On September 29, 1775 Colonel Benedict Arnold and his troops passed through this place on their way along the Kennebec River to Quebec. A bronze memorial plaque in the main street of it.
On April 30, 1772 reached the first white settlers, a Joseph Weston and his family, the position; Already in 1773 a settlement was founded on the north shore of the river. It was regarded initially as part of the nearby Canaan; on February 5, 1823 site under the name Millburn became independent. The residents but preferred the old name of the settlement, and named the city in 1836 in Skowhegan to. 1861, lying on the opposite side of the river community Bloomfield was incorporated. Since the end of the 19th century, the waterfall was systematically used for energy source, and in the course of the general industrialization of the area Skowhegan became a prosperous paper and Sägemühlenstadt. Today, the industry is determined by wood processing enterprises and a large shoe factory.
Policy
Urban development has priority in Skowhegan. By 2013, the fresh water and waste water systems are to be expanded and modernized; bring to a second industrial area in the south of the city, the request of the Town Manager, " a few dozen new jobs."
Skowhegan is the Kennebec Valley Council of Gouvernments attached, an administrative community of different places that delegate common tasks here and reduce in this way the local administrative costs.
Culture and sights
Museums
- Skowhegan History House, a house built 1839 brick home, which now contains the local history collection of the place and tried to reproduce the lifestyle of 1840-1860.
Economy and infrastructure
Traffic
Skowhegan is located approximately 20 miles from Interstate 95 at the intersection of U.S. Routes 2 and 201 The river is not navigable, and a formerly existing rail line is shut down.
Media
In Skowhegan a daily newspaper, the " Somerset Gazette " appears. It is part of the newspaper chain " Orphan Publications."
Public institutions
The Redington - Fairview General Hospital supplied with 65 beds since 1952, the environment in medical emergencies.
Education
All of the basic education beyond educational institutions are located in surrounding communities. Thus, for example, the next College in Fairfield.
Others
The downtown Skowhegans is of a more than 20 meters (62 ft) high sculpture of an Indian dominated, created by the sculptor Bernard Langlais. It is the tallest sculpture of an Indian in the United States. It is found on the north side of the public car park of the city administration.