Historical United States Census totals for Aroostook County, Maine

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

There are two types of incorporated municipalities in Maine, towns and cities. The tables below differentiate between towns and cities.

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 Aroostook 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. Aroostook County also contains a very small amount of territory that is under the jurisdiction of an Indian reservation, which is considered to be a distinct entity independent from any municipality. Due to the large extent of unincorporated territory in Aroostook County, separate sections with detailed historical census totals for such areas follow the main tables below. For any census, adding up the totals for each town-level municipality, including any plantations and 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: 60,744

Unincorporated territory reported 10,592 residents. This consisted of 9,745 residents in organized plantations, and 847 residents in unorganized territory.

1910

County Total: 74,664

Unincorporated territory reported 12,475 residents. This consisted of 11,390 residents in organized plantations, and 1,085 residents in unorganized territory.

1920

County Total: 81,728

Unincorporated territory reported 9,167 residents. This consisted of 8,096 residents in organized plantations, and 1,071 residents in unorganized territory.

1930

County Total: 87,843

Unincorporated territory reported 8,867 residents. This consisted of 8,023 residents in organized plantations, and 844 residents in unorganized territory.

1940

County Total: 94,436

Unincorporated territory reported 9,723 residents. This consisted of 8,630 residents in organized plantations, and 1,093 residents in unorganized territory.

1950

County Total: 96,039

Unincorporated territory reported 9,272 residents. This consisted of 7,315 residents in organized plantations, and 1,957 residents in unorganized territory.

1960

County Total: 106,064

Unincorporated territory reported 7,579 residents. This consisted of 5,985 residents in organized plantations, and 1,594 residents in unorganized territory.

1970

County Total: 94,078

Unincorporated territory reported 5,327 residents. This consisted of 3,668 residents in organized plantations, and 1,659 residents in unorganized territory. An additional 600 residents lived on Indian reservations.

1980

County Total: 91,344

Unincorporated territory reported 4,532 residents. This consisted of 2,976 residents in organized plantations, and 1,556 residents in unorganized territory.

1990

County Total: 86,936

Unincorporated territory reported 3,136 residents. This consisted of 1,602 residents in organized plantations, and 1,534 residents in unorganized territory.

2000

County Total: 73,938

Unincorporated territory reported 3,024 residents. This consisted of 1,377 residents in organized plantations, and 1,647 residents in unorganized territory. A small portion of Aroostook County was also reported as being within an Indian reservation, but it had no population.

Plantations

As of 1900, Aroostook County contained 32 plantations. Eleven of these remain today. The disposition of the other 21 is as follows:

Winterville Plantation changed its name to Hill in 1903, but changed it back to Winterville in 1907, without ever having been reported in a decennial census under the name Hill.

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Unorganized Territory

Like all of Maine's interior and northern counties, Aroostook County contains a significant amount of unorganized territory. The extent of this territory is far greater in Aroostook County than in any other Maine County. Organized municipalities have existed only in the eastern and northeastern parts of the county, generally in lower-lying areas with access to lakes and rivers (e.g., the valleys of the St. Croix River and its tributaries). The remainder of the county to the west, much of which is quite mountainous and remote, has been left unorganized. Most of this area has historically been very sparsely populated. The bulk of the population that does live in unorganized areas lives close to the areas of the county that are organized.

Historically, only about 40% the county’s land area was incorporated or organized, leaving the remainder unorganized. There are more than a hundred townships in the county which have never been organized, and a number of others which have never advanced beyond the plantation stage. Between 1935 and 1945, a large number of municipalities in Maine dissolved and reverted to unorganized townships. In Aroostook County, this included one community which had been a town (Connor) and one which had not advanced beyond the plantation stage (Silver Ridge). In more recent decades, Aroostook County has lost two additional municipalities. In 1987, the town of Benedicta disincorporated, and in 1990, E Plantation dissolved. Both reverted to unorganized territory.

The areas of Aroostook County that are entirely unorganized cover about 4,000 square miles, with a population of about 1,650. This covers just under 60% of the county’s land area, but includes only about 2.2% of its population. Five unorganized townships have large enough populations to maintain a registrar and clerk to conduct elections for state and federal offices, although they do not have true organized municipal governments: Benedicta, Connor, Cross Lake, Madawaska Lake and Sinclair.

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, five such areas are recognized within Hancock County:

When the Unorganized Territories were first created for the 1970 Census, there were four in Aroostook County. Central Aroostook, South Aroostook and Connor were similar to their present-day state. The fourth, North Aroostook, consisted of what is now both Northwest Aroostook and Square Lake. North Aroostook was divided into the current configuration for the 1980 Census, apparently in recognition of the fact that the areas represented by the two resulting territories are barely contiguous, and that there is a significant difference in population density between them. The former town of Benedicta was added to South Aroostook for the 1990 Census, and the former E Plantation was added to Central Aroostook for the 2000 census, following their dissolution as municipalities.

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 10,592

Organized plantations 9,745

Unorganized territory 847

1910

All unincorporated territory 12,475

Organized plantations 11,390

Unorganized territory 1,085

1920

All unincorporated territory 9,167

Organized plantations 8,096

Unorganized territory 1,071

1930

All unincorporated territory 8,867

Organized plantations 8,023

Unorganized territory 844

1940

All unincorporated territory 9,723

Organized plantations 8,630

Unorganized territory 1,093

1950

All unincorporated territory 9,272

Organized plantations 7,315

Unorganized territory 1,957

1960

All unincorporated territory 7,570

Organized plantations 5,985

Unorganized territory 1,594

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

1970

All unincorporated territory 5,327

Organized plantations 3,668

Unorganized territory 1,659

1980

All unincorporated territory 4,532

Organized plantations 2,976

Unorganized territory 1,556

1990

All unincorporated territory 3,136

Organized plantations 1,602

Unorganized territory 1,534

2000

All unincorporated territory 3,024

Organized plantations 1,377

Unorganized territory 1,647

Virtually all of the unorganized territory in Aroostook County is on the WELS (west of the Easterly Line of the State) grid. As its name suggests, the baseline for this grid is the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, along Aroostook County’s eastern edge. In places, it has up to 20 numbered rows, arranged from north to south, and up to 17 numbered ranges, arranged from east to west. A row “A” and “B” also exist in some areas to the south of row 1. Some townships in the southeastern part of the grid do not line up precisely with the townships to their west, and were assigned range letters rather than numbers; some such townships in range two remain unorganized (e.g., TDR2; the former E Plantation was originally TER2). Many of the WELS townships in Aroostook County are identified only by their row and range numbers and have never developed informal township names.

All of the original townships in the first range are presently organized. The second through sixth ranges contain a mixture of organized and unorganized territory. The seventh through eleventh ranges only contain organized territory in the last few rows to the north, near the Saint John River, but are otherwise unorganized. No territory in Aroostook County in any range beyond the eleventh has ever been organized.

In 2005, the Maine state legislature officially changed the name of Guerette Township (T2R6) to Cross Lake Township, and officially named T11R14, which had not previously had a generally used name, as Clayton Lake Township.

Indian Reservations

Maine contains three federally recognized Indian reservations. One of these, the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, includes a very small amount of territory in Aroostook County. Maine currently treats Indian reservations as distinct entities, not part of any organized municipality or unorganized entity. This has not always been the case in the past; at one time, present-day reservation land was regarded as part of the municipalities or unorganized entities within which it is geographically located.

The main body of the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation is adjacent to the Penobscot River at Old Town, in Penobscot County. The reservation also has jurisdiction over the channel of the Penobscot River for some distance to the north. For a short distance near Aroostook County’s southwest corner, the Penobscot River forms the boundary between Penobscot and Aroostook counties. A very small portion of river channel at this location, under the jurisdiction of the reservation, lies within Aroostook County. The portion of the reservation that extends into Aroostook County measures less than a quarter of a square mile.

It is unclear how long the river channel has been considered part of the reservation. The Penobscot Indian Island Reservation has been considered a distinct entity since the 1950 Census, but the portion of the reservation within Aroostook County first appeared in the 2000 Census. The portion within Aroostook County is entirely water (not land) and did not report any population in the 2000 Census.

Notes

1960 Census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1960 census totals subsequent to their initial release. When it did so, however, it appears to have updated municipal totals only, not overall county totals or state totals, even though in most cases changing municipal totals should have caused county and state totals to change. The 1960 total for Aroostook County was originally reported as 106,064; and for the town of Stockholm, 649. The total for Stockholm was later revised to that shown in the list above (492). This should have caused the county total to change as well (to 105,907), but subsequent census publications have continued to list the county total as it was originally reported (106,064). As a result, in the list above, the municipal totals for 1960 do not add to the county total. The 1960 state total for Maine that appears in various Census materials (969,265) likewise reflects the original 1960 total for Aroostook County, and does not take into account the revision made to the population of Stockholm.

1970 Census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1970 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 1970 total for Aroostook County was originally reported as 92,463, and for the town of Limestone, 8,745. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above.

1980 Census

The Census Bureau made a number of revisions to 1980 census totals subsequent to their initial release. The 1980 total for Aroostook County was originally reported as 91,331, and for the town of Ashland, 1,865. The totals were later revised to those shown in the list above.

The 1970 Census reports show Westmanland as a plantation, changing to a town for the 1980 Census. No date or explanation is provided. The author of this article has been unable to locate any source with a date of incorporation for Westmanland. Until information to the contrary is discovered, this article assumes that Westmanland became a town between the 1970 and 1980 censuses.

1990 Census

The 1980 Census reports show Hammond as a plantation, changing to a town for the 1990 Census. No date or explanation is provided. The author of this article has been unable to locate any source with a date of incorporation for Hammond. Until information to the contrary is discovered, this article assumes that Hammond became a town between the 1980 and 1990 censuses.

The 1990 Census reports show Wallagrass as a plantation, changing to a town for the 2000 Census. The 2000 Census reports state that Wallagrass “changed legal description from plantation to a town”, but no date is provided. The author of this article was able to locate two sources containing a year of incorporation for Wallagrass, one of which indicated 1979, and one of which indicated 1986. It is possible that the 1979 date could refer to a legislative act which was not effective until 1980. It is also possible that the note in the 1990 Census reports is referring to a change which took place before 1990 but was missed in the 1990 reports. Until information to the contrary is discovered, this article assumes the most likely scenario is that Wallagrass became a town between the 1980 and 1990 censuses, and that it was shown as a plantation in 1990 in error.

See also

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