Houlton, Maine

Houlton, Maine

Infobox Settlement
name = Houlton
settlement_type=Town
official_name = Town of Houlton
nickname =
motto =



imagesize =
image_caption =


image_



mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Houlton, Maine


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Maine
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Aroostook
government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 95.2
area_land_km2 = 95.2
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 36.8
area_land_sq_mi = 36.7
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 6476
population_density_km2 = 68.0
population_density_sq_mi = 176.2

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 119
elevation_ft = 390
latd = 46 |latm = 7 |lats = 32 |latNS = N
longd = 67 |longm = 50 |longs = 23 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 04730, 04761
area_code = 207
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 23-33980
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0582525
website =
footnotes =

Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the United States-Canada border, located at coord|46.1256|N|67.8398|W|. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 6,476. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and for being the birthplace of Samantha Smith.

Houlton is the county seat for Aroostook County, and as such its nickname is the "Shire Town" and the Houlton High School sports teams are named "The Shiretowners". The Meduxnekeag River flows through the heart of the town, and the border with the Canadian province of New Brunswick is three miles east of the town's center. Houlton was the home of Ricker College which closed in 1978.

Primary settlement and center of the town is designated as CDP with same name, Houlton.

History

The town was settled by and named for Joseph Houlton, who immigrated from Massachusetts in 1807. In 1828, the U.S. government established a military post, the Hancock barracks, and Houlton was officially incorporated as a town in 1831. In 1839, when the Aroostook War flared up, Houlton was manned by three companies of the 1st Artillery Regiment under Major R. M. Kirby. Major Kirby helped to restrain the twelve companies of militia that Maine sent there from starting a shooting war. The post was abandoned in 1847, five years after the Webster-Ashburton Treaty settled the boundary dispute. [cite book |last= Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums |editor=Doris A. Isaacson |title=Maine: A Guide 'Down East' |year=1970 |publisher=Courier-Gazette, Inc. |location=Rockland, Maine | pages = 183-188 ]

Houlton was the location of the first transatlantic [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=houlton+site%3Ansa.gov Radio Intelligence Station] installed by the US Army [http://david-kahn.com/articles-charles-mendelsohn-envy.htm MI-8] Radio Intelligence Service in World War I. The Houlton Radio Intelligence Station intercepted German diplomatic communications primarily from its Nauen high power radio station. The Radio Intelligence Service (R.I.S.) was created during World War I by MI-8 using selected Signal Corps personnel for the sole purpose of supporting strategic intelligence through radio intercept. Houlton was the first unit of its type built by the US intelligence services, and its success helped to lay the foundation for many more US long range radio intercept stations.

On January 7, 1927, AT&T initiated the first transatlantic commercial telephone service; [http://www.smecc.org/general_electric_computers/Houltonrepeater06123partial.jpglinking New York and London] . The AT&T Transoceanic Receiver Station was located at the end of Hand Lane, coord|46.1270|N|67.8841|W|, two miles west of the town center. The massive receiving antenna, [http://www.smecc.org//general_electric_computers/HoultonTelephone2.jpgover three miles long and two miles wide] ; straddled what is now I-95, four miles west of the town center. The receiver station worked with AT&T's massive long wave transmitting facility located at RCA [http://earlyradiohistory.us/1922RCA.htm Radio Central] in Rocky Point, New York. The receiver station received the longwave telephone signal from the British General Post Office Rugby transmitting station near [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/rugby_radio/index.shtml Rugby, England] .

[http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=13526 Houlton Army Air Base] was established in 1941 immediately adjacent to the Canadian border. Prior to the U.S. entry into the war, planes were flown to the base but U.S. military pilots could not fly the planes directly into Canada -- a member of the British Commonwealth -- because that would violate the official U.S. position of neutrality. Local farmers then used their tractors to tow the planes into Canada, where the Canadians then closed the Woodstock highway so it could be used as a runway by aircraft. The air base closed in July 1944.

[http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2719765 Pilot Officer George Newall Harrison] of the Royal New Zealand Air Force was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery veterans’ plot after the Hudson Bomber he was ferrying to the UK [http://www.mewreckchasers.com/List1.html crashed] 500 yards south of the runway on 5 December 1942. He is one of just a few New Zealand casualties from World War Two to be buried in the USA . Buried next to Harrison is his 19 year old radio operator, [http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2719764 Sergeant Henry Bordewick] from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Both of these Commonwealth War Graves are carefully maintained by the Houlton American Legion post.

In 1944 a major part of the air base was made into Camp Houlton, a Prisoner of War (POW) internment camp. At its peak, 3,700 German POWs were imprisoned at the camp. It was a violation of the Geneva Convention to force POWs to work; however, they could volunteer to work. Camp Houlton provided laborers for local farms to harvest peas, pick potatoes and other work. Not all POWs were allowed to work on the farms for security reasons. Most of those who were selected to work had no interest in harming their captors or causing trouble. Many farmers came to see the POWs who worked their fields as good laborers rather than enemy soldiers. The prisoners were paid a dollar a day in scrip that they could spend at the post exchange, the base store, for toiletries, tobacco, chocolate, and even beer. The base was closed in 1946 after the prisoners were repatriated. The site is now the home of Houlton International Airport.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.8 square miles (95.2 km²), of which, 36.8 square miles (95.2 km²) of it is land and 0.0 square miles (0.0 km²) of it (0.03%) is water.

The Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing, located just east of Houlton, marks the northern terminus of Interstate 95.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,476 people, 2,677 households, and 1,654 families residing in the town. The population density was 176.2 people per square mile (68.0/km²). There were 2,994 housing units at an average density of 31.5 persons/km² (81.5 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 94.19% White, 0.29% African American, 4.23% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,677 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 11.0% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 38.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,212, and the median income for a family was $34,812. Males had a median income of $27,623 versus $20,991 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,007. 17.7% of the population and 13.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 21.0% are under the age of 18 and 15.8% are 65 or older.

Famous people

*Ralph Botting - a former Major League Baseball player with the California Angels
*Marcus Davis - a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter and a UFC Veteran
*William Dufris - born William Duffy, February 1, 1958 - the original voice of Bob the Builder in North America
*Happy Iott - a former Major League Baseball player with the Cleveland Naps
*Alton Kelley - psychedelic poster artist
*General Henry Clay Merriam-Born November 13, 1837 in Houlton, Me. Entered service at Houlton. Awarded Medal of Honor June 28, 1894 for "conspicuous gallantry at Fort Blakeley, Alabama on April 9, 1865. Died November 18, 1912. Buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
*Samantha Smith - an American schoolgirl from Houlton, Maine who became famous in the Cold War-era United States and Soviet Union after writing a letter in 1982 to the Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Yuri Andropov, and receiving a reply from Andropov which included a personal invitation to visit the Soviet Union, which Smith accepted.

References

External links

* [http://www.houlton.com/ Houlton Online]
* [http://www.greaterhoulton.com/ Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.sad29.k12.me.us/HighSchool.html Houlton High School Home Page]
* [http://www.hometownlocator.com/City/Houlton-Maine.cfm Houlton Community Profile]
* [http://www.ghca.com Greater Houlton Christian Academy]
* [http://www.smecc.org/general_electric_computers/HoultonTelephone2.jpgMap of the AT&T Transoceanic Telephone Receiver Station in Houlton]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraketchup/sets/72157603887816328/ Photographs of Houlton Army Air Base]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Houlton (Maine) — Houlton Spitzname: Shire Town …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Houlton (Maine) — Houlton Pueblo de los Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Houlton — Spitzname: Shire Town …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Maine locations by per capita income — Maine has the thirty fourth highest per capita income in the United States of America. In 2000, the state s average personal per capita income was $19,533.[citation needed] By 2003, that figure had risen to $28,831.[citation needed] Maine… …   Wikipedia

  • Houlton International Airport — Infobox Airport name = Houlton International Airport nativename = nativename a = nativename r = image width = caption = IATA = HUL ICAO = KHUL FAA = HUL type = Public owner = operator = Town of Houlton city served = location = Houlton, Maine… …   Wikipedia

  • Houlton (CDP), Maine — Infobox Settlement official name = Houlton, Maine settlement type = CDP nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image |pushpin pushpin label position =left pushpin map caption =Location within the state of Maine pushpin mapsize = |mapsize …   Wikipedia

  • Maine Superior Court — The Maine Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in the Maine state court system. All state jury trials are held in the Superior Court. The court is located in each of Maine s 16 counties (with two locations in Aroostook… …   Wikipedia

  • Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing — The Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing, also known as Woodstock Road Border Crossing is a border crossing on the Canada United States border, east of Houlton, Maine and west of Woodstock, New Brunswick. The border crossing marks the northern… …   Wikipedia

  • Houlton (condado de Aroostook, Maine) — Houlton Lugar designado por el censo de los Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Maine State Police — Abbreviation MSP Patch of the Maine State Police. Motto …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”