Historical United States Census totals for Piscataquis County, Maine

This article shows U.S. Census totals for Piscataquis County, Maine, broken down by municipality, from 1900 to 2000.

There are two types of incorporated municipalities in Maine, towns and cities. The tables in the New England Historical U.S. Census Totals series differentiate between towns and cities; however, there have never been any cities in Piscataquis County.

Most areas of New England are entirely divided into incorporated municipalities, with no unincorporated territory. In the three northern New England states, however, some unincorporated territory does exist, generally in areas that are very sparsely populated. Maine contains significantly more unincorporated territory than the other states, with the bulk of it in interior and northern counties, including Piscataquis County.

Some unincorporated territory in Maine is organized into a third type of town-level municipality unique to Maine, called a plantation (considered to be “organized”, but not incorporated), while some is entirely unorganized. Due to the large extent of unorganized territory in Piscataquis County, separate sections with detailed historical census totals for such areas follows the main tables below. For any census, adding up the totals for each town-level municipality, including any plantations or unorganized entities, should yield the county total.

For more information on the New England municipal system, see New England town.

Corporate changes since 1900

1900

County Total: 16,949

Unincorporated territory reported 1,066 residents. This consisted of 529 residents in organized plantations, and 537 residents in unorganized territory.

1910

County Total: 19,887

Unincorporated territory reported 1,422 residents. This consisted of 574 residents in organized plantations, and 848 residents in unorganized territory.

1920

County Total: 20,554

Unincorporated territory reported 2,604 residents. This consisted of 659 residents in organized plantations, and 1,945 residents in unorganized territory.

1930

County Total: 18,231

Unincorporated territory reported 618 residents. This consisted of 315 residents in organized plantations, and 303 residents in unorganized territory.

1940

County Total: 18,467

Unincorporated territory reported 867 residents. This consisted of 307 residents in organized plantations, and 560 residents in unorganized territory.

1950

County Total: 18,617

Unincorporated territory reported 1,148 residents. This consisted of 163 residents in organized plantations, and 985 residents in unorganized territory.

1960

County Total: 17,379

Unincorporated territory reported 698 residents. This consisted of 138 residents in organized plantations, and 560 residents in unorganized territory.

1970

County Total: 16,285

Unincorporated territory reported 526 residents. This consisted of 129 residents in organized plantations, and 397 residents in unorganized territory.

1980

County Total: 17,634

Unincorporated territory reported 576 residents. This consisted of 162 residents in organized plantations, and 414 residents in unorganized territory.

1990

County Total: 18,653

Unincorporated territory reported 720 residents. This consisted of 36 residents in organized plantations, and 684 residents in unorganized territory.

2000

County Total: 17,235

Unincorporated territory reported 895 residents. This consisted of 52 residents in organized plantations, and 843 residents in unorganized territory:

Plantations

As of 1900, Piscataquis County contained five plantations: Barnard, Bowerbank, Elliotsville, Lake View and Kingsbury. Four had been incorporated as towns in the 19th century, but had disincorporated and changed to a plantation form of government prior to 1900. The only one of the five that had never been a town is Lake View.

Only two plantations remain today, Lake View and Kingsbury. Bowerbank re-incorporated as a town in 1907. The other two surrendered their organization and reverted to unorganized territory in the early 1980s: Barnard (1982) and Elliotsville (1983). Four other plantations have also existed at some point since 1900:

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Unorganized Territory

Like all of Maine's interior counties, Piscataquis County contains a significant amount of unorganized territory. Most of it is in the northern and central parts of the county, in areas which are very sparsely populated. Historically, only about the southern third of the county (roughly, south of Moosehead Lake) has been incorporated or organized. The northern edge of the organized part of the county followed Shirley, Greenville, Elliotsville, and a line running along the northern edge of Bowerbank, Barnard, Williamsburg, Brownville and Lake View. All territory south of that line was historically organized, with all but Lake View once incorporated as towns (Note that Barnard, Elliotsville and Kingsbury were all towns at one time but had changed to plantations prior to 1900). North of that line, the entire county has historically been unorganized, with only a few minor exceptions. From 1921 to 1933 the isolated community of Chesuncook, to the northeast of Moosehead Lake, was organized as a plantation. Beaver Cover Plantation was established in 1975 from previously unorganized territory at the southeast corner of Moosehead Lake, adjacent to Greenville (“Gore A”, also known as TA2R13 & TA2R14). Beaver Cover later incorporated as a town.

Most of the northern two-thirds of the county is quite remote and has never had any significant population on more than a transitory basis. The distinction between a “township” and a “gore-like entity”, etc. in Piscataquis County is not always clear, as there are some surveyed townships labeled as “grants”. There are at least seventy townships in the county which have never been organized, however, along with some additional gore-like entities. Some islands in Moosehead Lake are not part of any larger unorganized entity, but constitute their own.

Between 1935 and 1945, a large number of municipalities in Maine dissolved and reverted to unorganized townships. In Piscataquis County, this included three communities which had historically been towns (Williamsburg, Medford and Orneville). Since that time, Piscataquis County has both gained and lost municipalities. In 1951, the town of Blanchard disincorporated; Blanchard subsequently maintained a plantation form of government until the 1980s, when it was one of three plantations in the county that dissolved and reverted to unorganized territory (the others were Barnard and Elliotsville). On the other hand, the former town of Medford re-incorporated as a town in 1967, and the new municipality of Beaver Cove was later created from previously unorganized territory.

The areas of Piscataquis County that are entirely unorganized cover about 3,100 square miles (8,000 km2), with a population of about 850 people. This covers about three-quarters of the county’s land area, but includes only about 5% of its population. Two unorganized townships have a large enough population to maintain a registrar and clerk to conduct elections for state and federal offices, although they do not have true organized municipal governments. One is the former town of Orneville. The other is the unnamed township designated as T1R9 (this township is not close to the populated areas of the county, but is along the border with Penobscot County, not far from Millinocket). Two similar entities have also been formed by groups of multiple unorganized townships banding together: “Greenville Townships”, and the “Unorganized Townships of Big Moose, Harford’s Point, Lily Bay, Little Moose Township, TAR10/12”.

Over the years, the U.S. Census Bureau has used different methods to compile data for unorganized territory in Maine. From 1900 to 1950, data was tabulated for each individual unorganized entity. In 1960, a single catch-all “Unorganized Territory” listing was provided for each Maine county, generally with no further breakdown. Since 1970, the Census has grouped contiguous areas in each county into one or more “unorganized territories”. As of the 2000 Census, four such areas are recognized within Piscataquis County:

When the Unorganized Territories were first created for the 1970 Census, there were just two in Piscataquis County: North Piscataquis and Southeast Piscataquis. Southeast Piscataquis was the same as it is currently (Orneville Township). North Piscataquis was all other unorganized territory in the county, (including the present-day town of Beaver Cove, which was unorganized at the time). For the 1980 Census, North Somerset was broken up into Northeast Somerset and Northwest Somerset. Blanchard Unorganized Territory was added for the 1990 Census, after Blanchard Plantation surrendered its organization and reverted to unorganized territory.

The listings below provide population figures for 1) all unincorporated territory, including plantations; 2) organized plantations, for which breakouts are available in the main tables above; and 3) unorganized territory, with any available breakouts provided.

1900

All unincorporated territory 1,066

Organized plantations 529

Unorganized territory 537

1910

All unincorporated territory 1,422

Organized plantations 574

Unorganized territory 848

1920

All unincorporated territory 2,604

Organized plantations 659

Unorganized territory 1,945

1930

All unincorporated territory 618

Organized plantations 315

Unorganized territory 303

1940

All unincorporated territory 867

Organized plantations 307

Unorganized territory 560

1950

All unincorporated territory 1,148

Organized plantations 163

Unorganized territory 985

1960

All unincorporated territory 698

Organized plantations 138

Unorganized territory 560

The 1960 Census reported all unorganized territory in Piscataquis County under a single catch-all listing. No breakdown is available.

1970

All unincorporated territory 526

Organized plantations 129

Unorganized territory 397

Starting with the 1970 Census, the unorganized territory in Piscataquis County was broken into groups of contiguous territory. Two such entities were recognized in 1970.

1980

All unincorporated territory 576

Organized plantations 162

Unorganized territory 414

For the 1980 Census, the former North Piscataquis Unorganized Territory was broken into two entities, for a total of three recognized within the county.

1990

All unincorporated territory 720

Organized plantations 36

Unorganized territory 684

A fourth Unorganized Territory was added for 1990, reflecting the dissolution of the former Blanchard Plantation (Blanchard got its own listing because it does not border any other unorganized territory within Piscataquis County).

2000

All unincorporated territory 895

Organized plantations 52

Unorganized territory 843

Note: the unorganized townships in Piscataquis County are on three different grids:

In 1999, the Maine state legislature officially changed the name of Big Squaw Township (T2R6) to Big Moose Township, and Little Squaw Township (T3R5) to Moosehead Junction Township. In 2003, the legislature officially named T5R9 NWP, which had not previously had a generally used name, as Ebemee Township.

Notes

Unorganized Islands

The censuses from 1900 through 1950 contain listings for islands in Moosehead Lake which were unorganized, but treated as distinct from any larger unorganzied entity. These listings are as follows:

In the 1960 Census, these islands were presumably included under the catch-all listing for unorganized territory; since 1970, they have presumably fallen under North Piscataquis Unorganized Territory and its successors.

1900 Census

In the 1900 Census, Big Squaw (T2R6) and Little Squaw (T3R5) Townships were combined in a single listing, as “Squaw Mountain Township”.

1940 Census

The 1940 Census reported Medford as an unorganized township. Even though Medford did not permanently dissolve its municipal government until 1945, this was not in error. While Medford adopted a plantation form of government following its disincorporation as a town, there was apparently a lag between the time it disincorporated as a town and the time it became a plantation. The 1940 Census fell within this interim period when Medford was technically, if only briefly, an unorganized township.

See also

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