'''ANSON'''
is a
town in
Somerset County,
Maine,
United States. The population was 2,583 at the
2000 census. It includes the villages of Anson and
North Anson.
HISTORY
This was once territory of the
Norridgewock Abenaki Indians. It was first settled in 1772 as Plantation Number One in what would become Somerset County on March 1, 1809.
General Benedict Arnold and his troops passed through Anson village in 1775 on their way up the
Kennebec River to the ill-fated
Battle of Quebec. The town was incorporated on March 1, 1798 as Anson, named after
Lord George Anson. On March 20, 1845, North Anson was set off as a separate town, although on March 13, 1855, it reunited with Anson.
[Interwiki: Cite book » last = Coolidge | first = Austin J.| coauthors = John B. Mansfield | title = A History and Description of New England| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| page = 32| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&dq=A%20History%20and%20Description%20of%20New%20England%20Coolidge%20Mansfield&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q&f=false]
Category: File - :January 16 2010 anson maine 477.jpg|thumb||Looking across the falls at downtown Anson, showing the town hall at left.
With much rich
alluvial soil, Anson became an
agricultural town.
Water power sites around the Carrabassett River helped North Anson develop into a small
mill town. In 1859, it had two
tanneries. It had two
sawmills and three boot and shoe factories in 1886, when the town produced
boots,
shoes,
leather,
bricks,
lumber,
flour and
wool rolls. By 1876, North Anson was the northern terminus of the Somerset Railroad, which began at
Oakland in 1872. As
Madison grew into an industrial center with large
paper mills, Anson became a residential district for its mill workers.
[Interwiki: Citation » ]
| last = Varney
| first = George J.
| title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Anson
| place = Boston
| publisher = Russell
| year = 1886
| url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/anson-me.htm
As of June 14, 2007, the abandoned
Pan Am Railways spur was reopened, and the first train ran the length of the line for the first time in twenty years!
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsMj5YM5aGQ]
GEOGRAPHY
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of Interwiki: convert » 48.4|sqmi, of which Interwiki: convert » 47.5|sqmi is land and Interwiki: convert » 0.9|sqmi, or 1.80%, is water. Anson is drained by Mill Stream, Gilbert Brook,
Lemon Stream, the
Carrabassett River and the
Kennebec River.
The town is crossed by U. S. 201A and state routes
16, 43, 148 and 234. It borders the towns of
Starks to the south,
Industry and
New Vineyard to the west,
New Portland and
Embden to the north, and (across the Kennebec River)
Madison to the east.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Category: File - :Madison Mills & Bird's-eye View of Anson, ME.jpg|thumb|left|Madison mills and a bird's-eye view of Anson c. 1906
Interwiki: see also » Anson (CDP), Maine
As of the
censusInterwiki: GR » 2 of 2000, there were 2,583 people, 1,031 households, and 700 families residing in the town. The
population density was 54.4 people per square mile (21.0/km²). There were 1,193 housing units at an average density of 25.1 per square mile (9.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.34%
White, 0.08%
Black or
African American, 0.50%
Native American, 0.04%
Asian, and 1.05% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population.
There were 1,031 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were
married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% 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 2.95.
Category: File - :Madison Street, North Anson, ME.jpg|thumb|right|Madison Street in 1909
In the town the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $26,088, and the median income for a family was $30,888. Males had a median income of $24,335 versus $18,194 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $12,691. About 12.1% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.
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