Menu
- Home
- Search▼
- List▼
- Add▼
- My Relate▼
- Admin▼
ViewsWatchers |
Greenville is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,437 at the 2020 census. The town is centered on the lower end of Moosehead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the state. Greenville is the historic gateway to the north country and a center for outdoor recreation in the area. Greenville High School, with 89 students, was ranked as the third best high school in Maine and one of the top 1,000 in the US in 2010. [edit] History
First called T9 R10 NWP (or Township 9, Range 10, North of the Waldo Patent), the land was granted about 1812 by the Massachusetts General Court to Thornton Academy in Saco. In 1824, Nathaniel Haskell of Westbrook bought the Thornton Academy Grant. With Oliver Young and John Smith, he began clearing trees that summer for farming near Wilson Pond, where the Wilson Stream would provide water power for mills. In 1827, Haskell completed a house, and his family joined him. A sawmill was built on Wilson Stream in 1829, with a gristmill added the following year. In 1835, Henry Gower began clearing land beside Moosehead Lake for what would develop into Greenville village. There he erected the first hotel, a two-story building called The Seboomook House, and the first store. On February 6, 1836, Greenville was incorporated from Haskell Plantation, and named for its green forests. By 1846, Greenville village included two houses, two blacksmith shops and a schoolhouse. On August 10, 1848, the town annexed land from Wilson, the remainder of which was distributed to Shirley and Elliotsville.[1] A small steamboat was launched in 1836 to tow logs, and in 1838 the first large lake steamer began operation. In later years, a succession of steamers by the name of Katahdin plied the waters. The current S/S Katahdin was built in 1914. In July 1884, the Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad (later, the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad) arrived at Greenville Junction. The Canadian Pacific Railway's subsidiary the International Railway of Maine was built through the village in 1888. Tourists were attracted by the region's scenic beauty, hunting and fishing. Consequently, several inns and hotels were built, including the Piscataquis Exchange Hotel, the Squaw Mountain Inn and the Moosehead Inn. Steamboat service was available across Moosehead Lake to the grand Mount Kineo House on a peninsula at Mount Kineo. Today, Greenville remains a popular resort area. [edit] Research Tips
|
||||||||||||||
