Deer Isle, Maine

Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,975 at the 2010 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries.

Deer Isle, Maine
Town
Mill Creek and Town Hall in 1907
Motto(s):  "Welcome To Our Beautiful Island"
Deer Isle Show map of Maine Deer Isle Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 44°13′29″N 68°40′37″W
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Hancock
Incorporated	1789
Villages	Deer Isle Eggemoggin Little Deer Isle Mountainville North Deer Isle Reach South Deer Isle Sunset Sunshine
Area [1]
• Total	123.67 sq mi (320.30 km^2)
• Land	29.72 sq mi (76.97 km^2)
• Water	93.95 sq mi (243.33 km^2)
Elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2010)[2]
• Total	1,975
• Estimate  (2012[3])	1,975
• Density	66.5/sq mi (25.7/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	04627
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-17145
GNIS feature ID	0582437

History

The town was incorporated in 1789, at which time it included the islands of Little Deer Isle, Deer Isle, and Isle au Haut.[4] Deer were abundant on these islands, hence the name.[5] In 1868 Isle au Haut became a separate town. In 1897, the southern third of Deer Isle incorporated as the town of Stonington.[6]

In the 19th century, the granite industry flourished on Deer Isle where its quarries supplied granite for structures such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, the US Naval Academy, the Manhattan Bridge and at President John F. Kennedy's tomb at Arlington National Cemetery.[7]

In John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, Deer Isle was a stopping point for the author after the insistence of his literary agent that he visit the cottage of Eleanor Brace, at Dunham's Point. Steinbeck wrote, "One doesn't have to be sensitive to feel the strangeness of Deer Isle".[8]

It was Deer Isle that musician Dan Fogelberg and his wife Jean chose for their final home, and where he died in 2007. This isle was the home town of the dock that was the inspiration for the painter Fairfield Porter. Many small private islands can be found in the waters surrounding Deer Isle. Cabot Lyford, a Maine sculptor, utilized seven tons of Deer Isle granite to carve one of his best known pieces, "Life Force."[9] "Life Force," which depicts dolphins jumping from the water, stands outside the Regency Hotel in Portland, Maine.[9]

Geography

The town of Deer Isle is one of two communities on the island of Deer Isle, the other being Stonington. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 123.67 square miles (320.30 km²), of which 29.72 square miles (76.97 km²) is land and 93.95 square miles (243.33 km²) is water.[1]

Deer Isle is separated from the mainland by Eggemoggin Reach and may be reached by car via a narrow 1939 suspension bridge bearing the island's name.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	682		—
1800	1,094		60.4%
1810	1,507		37.8%
1820	1,842		22.2%
1830	2,228		21.0%
1840	2,841		27.5%
1850	3,037		6.9%
1860	3,590		18.2%
1870	3,414		−4.9%
1880	3,266		−4.3%
1890	3,422		4.8%
1900	2,047		−40.2%
1910	1,946		−4.9%
1920	1,718		−11.7%
1930	1,266		−26.3%
1940	1,303		2.9%
1950	1,234		−5.3%
1960	1,129		−8.5%
1970	1,211		7.3%
1980	1,492		23.2%
1990	1,829		22.6%
2000	1,876		2.6%
2010	1,975		5.3%
Est. 2014	1,965	[10]	−0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

2010 census

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 1,975 people, 929 households, and 533 families living in the town. The population density was 66.5 inhabitants per square mile (25.7/km²). There were 1,936 housing units at an average density of 65.1 per square mile (25.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.1% White, 0.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 929 households, of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.6% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.61.

The median age in the town was 51.6 years. 16.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 28.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

2000 census

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 1,876 people, 781 households, and 523 families living in the town. The population density was 63.2 people per square mile (24.4/km²). There were 1,575 housing units at an average density of 53.0 per square mile (20.5/km²), and the racial makeup of the town was 98.61% White; 0.16% African American; 0.11% Native American; 0.21% Asian; and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.37% of the population.

There were 781 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.5% of the population under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $40,714. Males had a median income of $27,008 versus $19,052 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,875. About 5.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Deer Isle Bridge

• Gerald Warner Brace (1901–1978), writer, professor, sailor and boat builder
• Dan Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007), singer and songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist
• Buckminster Fuller (July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983), architect and inventor[13]
• Robert McCloskey (September 15, 1914 – June 30, 2003), author and illustrator of children's books
• Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), early urban planner and landscape architect[14]
• Anica Mrose Rissi, author and writer brought up in Deer Isle.[15]
• Salome Sellers (January 1, 1800 – January 9, 1909), last living person born in the 18th century
• Cynthia Voigt (1942–), young adults book author[16]

Cultural references

• John Steinbeck describes his visit to Deer Isle in the 1962 novel, Travels with Charley.
• Deer Isle is mentioned in Part II, Chapter 8, of Don DeLillo's 1977 novel entitled Players.
• Deer Isle also was used in Ken Burns' documentary The Civil War as a metaphorical microcosm of a typical Union township during the war. Its Confederate counterpart was the town of Clarksville, Tennessee. Throughout the series, the two towns are used to show both the similarities and the differences of everyday life during the years of civil war. The series mentions that fishing decreased during the war as men went off to fight in the war, while women saved lint and other strategic materials, and that relatives were afraid to go to the local post office where casualty lists were posted.
• Deer Isle was used a filming location in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face as the fictional town of Cranesport, Maine.

References

1. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
3. "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
4. Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts: A.J. Coolidge. pp. 103–104. coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.
5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 102.
6. Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Doris A. Isaacson (ed.). Maine: A Guide 'Down East'. Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc. pp. 347–349.
7. Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Deer Isle, Boston: Russell
8. John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America, Part Two, 1962
9. Keyes, Bob (2016-01-23). "Maine sculptor Cabot Lyford dies at 90". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
13. "Snapshot: Deer Isle". Smithsonian Magazine. 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
14. "Snapshot: Deer Isle". Smithsonian Magazine. 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
15. "A Girl's Best Friend" (PDF). Ellsworth American. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
16. "Award-winning author Cynthia Voigt reflects on her career". The Ellsworth American. 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2019-09-29.

External links

• Town of Deer Isle, Maine
• Chase Emerson Memorial Library
• Deer Isle - Stonington Chamber of Commerce
• Maine's Hidden Treasure, a photo-essay by Thomas R. & Deborah A. Fletcher
• The Island Ad-Vantages, a local newspaper
• Island Heritage Trust, a local land trust
• Aerial photograph of Deer Isle, ca. 1935, from the Maine Memory Network