Denmark, Maine

Denmark is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,148 at the 2010 census. A number of ponds and lakes are located within the town.

History

Denmark American Civil War Monument

The land was once part of Pequawket (now Fryeburg), village of the Sokokis Abenaki Indians. Attacked by Captain John Lovewell in 1725 during Dummer's War, the tribe abandoned the area and fled to Canada. The township combined a grant made by the Massachusetts General Court to Fryeburg Academy, Foster's Gore and a strip from Brownfield. Several settlers came from Andover, Massachusetts. It was incorporated as Denmark on February 20, 1807, and named in a show of solidarity with Denmark. That country's capital, Copenhagen, was attacked in 1801 and 1807 by the Royal Navy, which in 1775 had attacked Portland.^[4]

Farmers found the soil to be very stony and sandy, producing fair yields of potatoes, corn and oats. But the town did have excellent water powers at the streams, and mills were established to manufacture grain, long lumber, barrel staves, sashes, blinds and doors. Denmark Village was established at the foot of Moose Pond, whose outlet, Moose Pond Brook, provided the best water-power site.^[5] Today, the town is site of summer camps. Camp Wyonegonic, founded 1902, is the oldest girls' camp in the country. Also in Denmark is Camp Walden, established in 1916.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Denmark has a total area of 49.93 square miles (129.32 km²), of which 46.12 square miles (119.45 km²) is land and 3.81 square miles (9.87 km²) is water.^[1] Denmark is drained by Moose Pond Brook and the Saco River. The largest of its many ponds is Moose Pond, which is about 8 miles (13 km) long.

The town is crossed by State Routes 117 and 160. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgton to the northeast, Sebago to the southeast, Hiram to the south, Brownfield to the southwest, and Fryeburg to the northwest.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	436		—
1820	792		81.7%
1830	954		20.5%
1840	1,143		19.8%
1850	1,203		5.2%
1860	1,171		−2.7%
1870	1,069		−8.7%
1880	904		−15.4%
1890	755		−16.5%
1900	634		−16.0%
1910	596		−6.0%
1920	576		−3.4%
1930	474		−17.7%
1940	532		12.2%
1950	447		−16.0%
1960	376		−15.9%
1970	397		5.6%
1980	672		69.3%
1990	855		27.2%
2000	1,004		17.4%
2010	1,148		14.3%
Est. 2014	1,144	^[6]	−0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[7]

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $45,885, and the median income for a family was $57,625. The per capita income for the town was $28,563. About 5.4% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 1,148 people, 479 households, and 330 families residing in the town. The population density was 24.9 inhabitants per square mile (9.6/km²). There were 1,075 housing units at an average density of 23.3 per square mile (9.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.4% White, 0.4% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population.

There were 479 households of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.1% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.80.

The median age in the town was 46.6 years. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.5% were from 25 to 44; 36.4% were from 45 to 64; and 16.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.

Government

Denmark has a Town Meeting-Selectmen-Town Manager form of government and is governed by a municipal charter. The three member Board of Selectmen is elected at large on a non-partisan basis for staggered three-year terms. The Town Manager is appointed by the Board of Selectmen for an initial term of up to two years and may be reappointed in successive terms of up to three years each. Denmark's is currently seeking a Town Manager as Ephrem Paraschak left the position as of June 0f 2014. Recently retired Fire Chief and current Road Commissioner Ken Richardson is filling the role of Acting Town Manager until the full-time position is filled.

Education

The school system that serves Denmark is known as Maine School Administrative District 72 or MSAD 72. MSAD 72 also serves the municipalities of Brownfield, Fryeburg, Lovell, Stoneham, Stowe and Sweden in addition to Denmark.

Notable people

Nathaniel Cobb Deering, US congressman
Richard L. Dunn, state legislator (1962-1972)
Rufus Ingalls, Civil War era general
Nancy Masterton, state legislator (1977-1984)
Hazen S. Pingree, 24th governor of Michigan (1897–1901), mayor of Detroit (1889–1897)
Ralph Sarty, state legislator (2007-2012)

Photographs

Denmark Fire Station 2008
Moose Pond - Denmark, Maine 2008
Hancock Pond - Denmark, Maine 2008

References

1 2 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
↑ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. pp. 104–105.
↑ George J. Varney, "History of Denmark, Maine" (1886)
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

External links

Municipalities and communities of Oxford County, Maine, United States

County seat: Paris

Towns	Andover Bethel Brownfield Buckfield Byron Canton Denmark Dixfield Fryeburg Gilead Greenwood Hanover Hartford Hebron Hiram Lovell Mexico Newry Norway Otisfield Oxford Paris Peru Porter Roxbury Rumford Stoneham Stow Sumner Sweden Upton Waterford West Paris Woodstock

Plantations	Lincoln Plantation Magalloway Plantation

Unorganized territories	Milton North Oxford South Oxford

CDPs	Dixfield Fryeburg Mexico Norway Oxford Rumford South Paris

Other villages	Center Lovell Dickvale Kezar Falls North Waterford Waterford Flat

Saco River watershed

Tributaries	Bearcamp River Beech River Charles River Chocorua River Cold River Cold River (Bearcamp) Cutler River Dan Hole River Deer River Dry River East Branch Saco River East Branch Whiteface River East Fork East Branch Saco River Ellis River Hancock Brook Kezar River Little Cold River Little Ossipee River Little River Little Saco River Lovell River Mad River Middle Branch Mad River Mill Brook New River Old Course Saco River Ossipee River Pequawket Brook Pine River Rocky Branch Sawyer River Shepards River South Branch Mad River South River Swift River Swift River (Bearcamp) Tenmile River West Branch West Branch Tenmile River Whiteface River Wonalancet River

Lakes	Lake Arrowhead Balch Pond Barker Pond Broad Bay Chocorua Lake Conway Lake Dan Hole Pond Echo Lake Hancock Pond Kezar Lake Lovewell Pond Moose Pond Ossipee Lake Pine River Pond Province Lake Sand Pond Silver Lake Skelton Dam

Towns	Acton Arundel Baldwin Bartlett Biddeford Bridgton Brownfield Buxton Chocorua Conway Cornish Dayton Denmark Eaton Effingham Freedom Fryeburg Hart's Location Hiram Hollis Limerick Limington Lovell Lyman Madison Newfield Ossipee Parsonsfield Porter Saco Sebago Shapleigh Standish Stoneham Stow Sweden Tamworth Tuftonboro Wakefield Waterboro Waterford

Landmarks	Crawford Notch Maine Central Railroad U.S. Route 302 White Mountains

Coordinates: 43°58′13″N 70°48′12″W / 43.97028°N 70.80333°W / 43.97028; -70.80333

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