Dover-Foxcroft, Maine Facts for Kids

Dover was purchased from Massachusetts by Boston merchants Charles Vaughan and John Merrick, both of whom had emigrated from England. It was first permanently settled in 1803 by Eli Towne from Temple, New Hampshire, then incorporated on January 19, 1822. Agriculture was the principal early occupation, producing potatoes, corn and grain.

Originally known as T5 R7 NWP, Foxcroft was one of five towns conveyed by Massachusetts in 1796 to Bowdoin College. It was purchased from the college in 1800 by Joseph E. Foxcroft of New Gloucester and settled by John, Eleazer and Seth Spaulding in 1806, when they built the first mill. It was dubbed Spauldingtown until February 29, 1812, when it was incorporated as Foxcroft, taking its proprietor's name.

The Piscataquis River offered water power sites for mills. In 1859 the population of Dover was 2,500 and industries included four sawmills, shingle and clapboard manufacturers, one gristmill, two tanneries, two carriage makers, and a woolen factory.

By 1859, the population of Foxcroft was 1,045, industries included two sawmills, one shingle mill, one carding machine, one carriage builder, one chair manufacturer, one tannery, one fork maker, two pail makers, one machinist, and a sash, door and blind factory. In 1866 the Hughes & Son Piano Mfg. Co. was established and ran until closed in 1921. (source: Pierce Piano Atlas 11th ed. ISBN 0-911138-04-8) On March 1, 1922, the two towns merged into a single town.

The American Woolen Company Foxcroft Mill is an historic district of industrial buildings added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 2012. It contains buildings built between 1841 and 1944.

Blethen House c. 1910
Lincoln Street c. 1905
High water in 1909

In 2014, the American Pizzeria Appreciation Society named Dover-Foxcroft "Pizza Town USA 2014." This honor was based on the town's relative concentration of pizza restaurants. According to APAS, Dover-Foxcroft has more pizza restaurants per citizen than any other municipality in the United States. The Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society believes that by 2025, per capita pizza restaurants will exceed the historical mill to citizen ratio, which reached its maximum value in 1937.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 71.18 square miles (184.36 km²), of which, 67.81 square miles (175.63 km²) of it is land and 3.37 square miles (8.73 km²) is water. Dover-Foxcroft is drained by the Piscataquis River.

The town is crossed by state routes 6, 7, 15, 16 and 153; and is the commercial center of the county.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Dover-Foxcroft has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	1,042	—
1840	1,597	53.3%
1850	1,927	20.7%
1860	1,970	2.2%
1870	1,983	0.7%
1880	1,687	−14.9%
1890	1,942	15.1%
1900	1,889	−2.7%
1910	2,091	10.7%
1920	1,979	−5.4%
1930	3,750	89.5%
1940	4,015	7.1%
1950	4,218	5.1%
1960	4,173	−1.1%
1970	4,178	0.1%
1980	4,323	3.5%
1990	4,657	7.7%
2000	4,211	−9.6%
2010	4,213	0.0%
2020	4,422	5.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,213 people, 1,773 households, and 1,120 families residing in the town. The population density was 62.1 inhabitants per square mile (24.0/km²). There were 2,459 housing units at an average density of 36.3 per square mile (14.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.1% White, 0.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population.

There were 1,773 households, of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.79.

The median age in the town was 45 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 29.8% were from 45 to 64; and 20.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

Education

Dover-Foxcroft is a part of Regional School Unit 68 (RSU68).

RSU 68 provides primary schooling for the town and several surrounding communities at three schools in Dover-Foxcroft: SeDoMoCha Elementary School provides for Pre-K–4th grades and SeDoMoCha Middle School (named for four of the communities that attend: Sebec, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Charleston) provides for grades 5–8.

Foxcroft Academy is a private secondary school that accepts all students from MSAD68 as well as others from across the state. They also have an international program and have 2 dormitories and several boarding houses in town.

Notable people

Corey Beaulieu, lead guitarist for the metal band Trivium
Clarence Blethen, baseball pitcher
Mary Mitchell Birchall, first woman to graduate from a New England college
Alfred Eliab Buck, U.S. Representative from Alabama
Stephen Decatur Carpenter, military officer
Rob Derhak, bass player and vocalist for the jam rock band Moe
Lisa Rowe Fraustino, children's author
Frank E. Guernsey, U.S. Representative from Maine
Laurie G. Lachance, president of Thomas College
Henry Otis Pratt, minister and U.S. Representative from Iowa
Nathaniel S. Robinson, Wisconsin legislator and physician
Ninetta May Runnals (1885–1980), Dean of Women at Colby College
Dave Schwep, director and photographer
Douglas Smith, state legislator
Lillian M. N. Stevens, temperance worker
Henry M. Thompson, Wisconsin legislator and businessperson
Amasa Tracy, military officer
Leroy M. Washburn, Wisconsin legislator

Dover-Foxcroft, Maine facts for kids

Contents

History