Otisfield, Maine

Otisfield, Maine
Town
Otisfield, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 44°4′45″N 70°32′23″W / 44.07917°N 70.53972°W / 44.07917; -70.53972Coordinates: 44°4′45″N 70°32′23″W / 44.07917°N 70.53972°W / 44.07917; -70.53972
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Oxford
Incorporated	1798
Area^[1]
• Total	44.25 sq mi (114.61 km²)
• Land	39.93 sq mi (103.42 km²)
• Water	4.32 sq mi (11.19 km²)
Elevation	666 ft (203 m)
Population (2010)^[2]
• Total	1,770
• Estimate (2012^[3])	1,770
• Density	44.3/sq mi (17.1/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-55960
GNIS feature ID	0582655

Otisfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,770 at the 2010 census. Otisfield is a summer recreation area and home to Seeds of Peace Camp and Camp Arcadia.

History

It was granted by the Massachusetts General Court on June 15, 1771 to James Otis, Nathaniel Gorham and other descendants of Captain John Gorham and certain members of his company who had fought in the 1690 Battle of Quebec. It replaced a 1736 grant which was ruled invalid when the line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts was redrawn to satisfy claims by the heirs of John Mason. Many early settlers were veterans of the Revolutionary War, with the greater number coming from Groton, Massachusetts.^[4] First called Otis Field Plantation, it was incorporated on February 19, 1798 as Otisfield. It then included nearly all of Harrison, set off in 1805, and a large part of Naples, set off in 1834. The town was part of Cumberland County until 1978, when it joined Oxford County.^[5]

The surface of the town is uneven with gravelly but productive soil. Farming became the principal occupation, with corn, potatoes and hay the chief crops. Mills were erected at various water power sites, with the first sawmill built 1812. Other industries included gristmills, blacksmith shops, a tannery, a pants factory and shoe shop, a cider mill and cannery for apples, a barrel factory, a shingle mill and a woolen carding mill.^[6] Today, Otisfield is largely a recreational area, with camps and summer cottages lining the shores of Pleasant Lake, Thompson Lake, Saturday Pond and Moose Pond.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 44.25 square miles (114.61 km²), of which, 39.93 square miles (103.42 km²) of it is land and 4.32 square miles (11.19 km²) is water.^[1] Otisfield is drained by the Crooked River.

The town is crossed by state routes 117 and 121. It borders the towns of Norway to the north, Oxford to the northeast, Poland to the east, Casco and Naples to the south, and Harrison to the west.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	197		—
1800	450		128.4%
1810	912		102.7%
1820	1,107		21.4%
1830	1,274		15.1%
1840	1,307		2.6%
1850	1,171		−10.4%
1860	1,199		2.4%
1870	1,099		−8.3%
1880	927		−15.7%
1890	838		−9.6%
1900	728		−13.1%
1910	632		−13.2%
1920	581		−8.1%
1930	568		−2.2%
1940	488		−14.1%
1950	599		22.7%
1960	549		−8.3%
1970	589		7.3%
1980	897		52.3%
1990	1,136		26.6%
2000	1,560		37.3%
2010	1,770		13.5%
Est. 2014	1,759	^[7]	−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8]

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 1,770 people, 704 households, and 492 families residing in the town. The population density was 44.3 inhabitants per square mile (17.1/km²). There were 1,169 housing units at an average density of 29.3 per square mile (11.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.5% White, 0.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.

There were 704 households of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.1% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.88.

The median age in the town was 44.8 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 34.8% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 51.4% male and 48.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 1,560 people, 595 households, and 452 families residing in the town. The population density was 39.0 people per square mile (15.1/km²). There were 1,011 housing units at an average density of 25.3 per square mile (9.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.21% White, 0.26% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 0.90% from two or more races.

There were 595 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.0% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,304, and the median income for a family was $46,652. Males had a median income of $32,167 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,142. About 6.7% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Seeds of Peace

Main article: Seeds of Peace

Otisfield is known throughout the state of Maine for being the home of the Seeds of Peace Camp. Seeds of Peace has been located in Otisfield since its founding in 1993. It is placed on Pleasant Lake and located on the former Camp Powhatan. Over 6,000 teenagers and educators from all over the world have come to Seeds of Peace to discuss conflict resolution issues.^[10]

Site of interest

Otisfield Historical Society

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. 243–244.
↑ History of Otisfield, Maine
↑ Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Otisfield, Boston: Russell
↑ "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.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
↑ "About Seeds of Peace". Retrieved 2010-06-16.

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

Androscoggin River watershed

Tributaries	Alder River Bear River Cathance River Chickwolnepy Stream Clear Stream Concord River Cupsuptic River Dead Cambridge River Dead Diamond River Dead River (ME) Dead River (NH) Dead River (Sabattus) East Branch Cupsuptic River East Branch Dead Diamond River East Branch Nezinscot River East Branch Pleasant River East Branch Swift River Ellis River First East Branch Magalloway River Kennebago River Little Androscoggin River Little Dead Diamond River Little East Branch Cupsuptic River Little Magalloway River Little River Magalloway River Middle Branch Dead Diamond River Middle Branch Little Magalloway River Mollidgewock Brook Moose Brook Moose River Muddy River Nezinscot River Peabody River Pleasant River Rangeley River Rapid River Rattle River Sabattus River Sanborn River Second East Branch Magalloway River South Branch Little Dead Diamond River South Branch Sunday River Sunday River Swift Cambridge River Swift Diamond River Swift River Third East Branch Magalloway River Webb River West Branch Dead Diamond River West Branch Ellis River West Branch Little Dead Diamond River West Branch Little Magalloway River West Branch Magalloway River West Branch Nezinscot River West Branch Peabody River West Branch Pleasant River West Branch Swift River Wild River

Lakes	Akers Pond Androscoggin Lake Lake Auburn Aziscohos Lake Echo Lake Greenough Pond Kennebago Lake Mooselookmeguntic Lake Parker Pond Parmachenee Lake Pontook Reservoir Range Ponds Rangeley Lake Richardson Lakes Sabattus Pond Thompson Lake Tripp Pond Success Pond Umbagog Lake Webb Lake

Towns	Albany Andover Auburn Berlin Bethel Bowdoin Brunswick Buckfield Byron Cambridge Canton Carthage Chesterville Dixfield Dummer Durham Errol Fayette Gilead Gorham Greene Greenwood Hanover Hartford Hebron Jay Leeds Lewiston Lisbon Livermore Livermore Falls Mechanic Falls Mexico Minot Monmouth Mount Vernon Newry Norway Otisfield Oxford Paris Peru Pittsburg Poland Randolph Rangeley Readfield Roxbury Rumford Sabattus Shelburne Stewartstown Sumner Topsham Turner Upton Vienna Wales Wayne Weld Wentworth's Location West Paris Woodstock

Landmarks	Brown Company Maine Central Railroad Old Speck Mountain Range Ponds State Park Rumford Mill St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad White Mountains

Presumpscot River Watershed

Tributaries	Bear River Chute River Crooked River East Branch Piscataqua River Little River Muddy River North Branch Little River Northwest River Piscataqua River Pleasant River Songo River Sticky River Tenny River

Lakes	Brandy Pond Crescent Lake Crystal Lake Highland Lake (Bridgton) Highland Lake (Windham) Keoka Lake Little Sebago Lake Long Lake Panther Pond Peabody Pond Pleasant Lake Sebago Lake Thomas Pond Trickey Pond

Towns	Albany Bridgton Casco Cumberland Falmouth Frye Island Gorham Gray Harrison Naples Norway Otisfield Portland Raymond Sebago Standish Sweden Waterford Westbrook Windham

Landmarks	Babb's Bridge Bridgton and Saco River Railroad Cumberland and Oxford Canal Oriental Powder Company Roosevelt Trail S. D. Warren Paper Mill Sebago Lake State Park Songo Lock

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