Winslow, Maine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Country	United States
Winslow, Maine
Location in the state of Maine
State	Maine
Counties	Kennebec County
Government
- Town Manager	Edward Gagnon
Area
- City	38.7 sq mi (100.2 km²)
- Land	36.8 sq mi (95.3 km²)
- Water	1.9 sq mi (4.9 km²)
Population (2000)
- City	7,743
- Density	210.1/sq mi (81.1/km²)
Website: http://www.winslowmaine.org

The Winslow Congregational Church on Lithgow Street

Winslow is a small residential community built along the banks of Maine's Kennebec River. The town sprung up around the protective Fort Halifax which was built in 1754. It was named in honor of General John Winslow. Winslow is located in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,743 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Downtown
3 Demographics
4 History
5 Historical Landmarks
6 Notable Residents
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Winslow is located where the Sebasticook River flows into the Kennebec River in Central Maine 44°32′32″N, 69°36′18″W (44.542428, -69.605101).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 100.3 km² (38.7 mi²). 95.4 km² (36.8 mi²) of it is land and 4.8 km² (1.9 mi²) of it (4.83%) is water.

[edit] Downtown

Downtown Winslow is centered around the merging of two rivers, the Kennebec and the Sebasticook. There is a small grocery store and Fort Halifax Park, a public park that extends onto the pininsula between the rivers. This park is the home of Maine's largest fireworks display on July 4. In the park sits a blockhouse, a small part of fort Halifax. The remainder of the fort was slowly dismanteled in previous years and the blockhouse itself was swept away in the great flood of 1987, which was caused by an ice jam. It was later restored. Winslow is not self sufficiant in that it does not have any specialty or large stores. Most winslow residents rely on the stores and restaurants of neighboring Waterville, Maine.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,743 people, 3,268 households, and 2,212 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 81.1/km² (210.1/mi²). There were 3,591 housing units at an average density of 37.6/km² (97.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.05% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population.

There were 3,268 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,580, and the median income for a family was $46,725. Males had a median income of $37,116 versus $25,429 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $18,501. About 3.7% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Settlers arrived in Winslow in the early 1700s and built their homes around the protective Fort Halifax on the confluence of the Sebasticook and Kennebec Rivers which provided a major route to transport food, goods, and more settlers. The Winslow Fort Halifax Blockhouse, formerly the nation's oldest wooden structure of its type, was freshly rebuilt after the original was swept down the Kennebec River by raging flood waters on April 1, 1987. Benedict Arnold followed the Kennebec River north, stopping at Fort Halifax in Winslow on his ill-fated attempt to invade Canada in 1775. Thousands and thousands of Irish and French Canadians used the Old Canada Road (now a scenic byway) section of Route 201 during the 19th century to find seasonal or project employment and later to make the Kennebec Valley region their home. Modern Winslow developed around the Hollingsworth and Whitney paper mill located along the Kennebec River, which shut down in the late 1990s.