Buckfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Buckfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is a member of Maine School Administrative District 39 along with nearby Hartford and Sumner. The population was 1,723 at the 2000 census.
History
It was first settled in 1776 by Benjamin Spaulding from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, a fur trapper. Abijah Buck and Thomas Allen moved here in spring of 1777 with their families. In 1785, the inhabitants procured a survey of the town and purchased it from Massachusetts for 2 shillings per acre. Originally called Bucktown Plantation (or Plantation No. 5), on March 16, 1793 the Massachusetts General Court incorporated it as Buckfield, named for Abijah Buck.
The surface of the town is uneven, but has deep, dark soil that yielded good crops of grain, corn and apples. The east and west branches of the Nezinscot River join at Buckfield Village, supplying water power for mills. Products included lumber, roof shingles, barrel staves, box boards, shovel handles, snow-shovels, handsleds, drag-rakes, brushes, brush blocks, powder-kegs, leather harness, cutting-blocks and men's boots. In 1870, the population of the town was 1,494. The Rumford Falls and Buckfield Railroad passed through the town. Its depot was at Buckfield Village, the business center for the area.
Notable residents
- William Berry, soldier
- John Lewis Childs, horticulturist and politician
- Ray Lamontagne, singer / songwriter
- John Davis Long, governor
- Mark Musashi, martial artist and stuntman/actor
- Virgil D. Parris, congressman
- Thomas Phelps, naval officer
- Charles H. Prince, congressman
- Albion Woodbury Small, sociologist and educator
- Seba Smith, humorist and writer
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.9 square miles (98.1 km²), of which, 37.7 square miles (97.6 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (0.53%) is water. Buckfield is drained by the Nezinscot River, a tributary of the Androscoggin River.
The town is crossed by state routes 117 and 140. It borders the towns of Sumner and Hartford to the north, Turner to the east, Hebron to the south, and Paris to the west and West Paris to the northwest.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,723 people, 668 households, and 476 families residing in the town. The population density was 45.7 people per square mile (17.7/km²). There were 715 housing units at an average density of 19.0/sq mi (7.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 100% Landmarks
Landmarks commonly known to residents of and visitors to Buckfield include:
- Buckfield Junior-Senior High School - students from nearby Hartford and Sumner attend as well
- The Buckfield Inn - a historic bed and breakfast
- Tilton's Market - managed by Everett Tilton, a small-town grocery store, complete with deli counter
- Hart's Pizza - a pizza and sandwich shop formerly known as Charlie's pizza.
- The Buckfield Mall - a gas station and convenience store with a very tongue-in-cheek name
- The Oddfellow Theater - a small theater, run by natives Mike and Kim Miclon. Considering Buckfield's small size, the Oddfellow Theatre features an unusual variety of events, including the humorous Early Evening Show, a monthly feature in the style of The Tonight Show, hosted by Mike Miclon himself. It also shows movies.
- Bennett Quarry - originally opened as a feldspar quarry in the 1920s, has since yielded notable gem deposits including gem tourmaline and large beryl crystals. The "Rose of Maine", a 30 cm wide gem quality morganite beryl was found in this quarry in 1989.
References
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau . http://factfinder.census.gov . Retrieved 2008-01-31 .
Further reading
- History of Buckfield, Maine (1886)
- Historical Sketch of Buckfield, Maine (1889)
- A. J. Coolidge & J. B. Mansfield, A History & Description of New England , 1859; H. O. Houghton & Company; Cambridge, Massachusetts
External links
- Town of Buckfield
- Zadoc Long Free Library
- Maine.gov -- Buckfield, Maine
- School Administrative District 39
- Maine Genealogy: Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine
Coordinates: 44°17′22″N 70°21′55″W / 44.28944°N 70.36528°W / 44.28944;
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