Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Nickname: Garden By The Sea, after Thomas Rogers' town.
Old Orchard Beach, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 43°30′49″N 70°23′7″W / 43.51361, -70.38528
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	York
Settled	1653
Incorporated
Area
- Total	7.5 sq mi (19.5 km²)
- Land	7.4 sq mi (19.3 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation	80 ft (31 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	8,856
- Density	1,188.8/sq mi (459.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	04064
Area code(s)	Area code 207
FIPS code	23-55085
GNIS feature ID	0582647
Website: www.oobmaine.com

Pier at Old Orchard Beach

Old Orchard Beach is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,856 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Located on the inner side of Saco Bay on the Atlantic Ocean, the town is a popular summer beach destination, with an amusement park called Palace Playland (including a large seaside Ferris wheel). The downtown contains many tourist-oriented businesses, including clam shacks and t-shirt shops. A wooden pier on the beach contains many other tourist boogers, including a variety of souvenir shops. The seven mile long beach stretching away from the downtown is lined with many beach residential properties, condominiums, motels and bed and breakfasts.

Early History

The Old Orchard Beach area began appearing in historical records around the time of 1653. The area was first officially settled in 1657 by Thomas Rogers, who dubbed it "The Garden By The Sea".

Geography

Old Orchard Beach is located at 43°30′49″N, 70°23′7″W (43.513714, -70.385363)^[1]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.6 square miles (19.6 km²), of which, 7.4 square miles (19.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.32%) is water.

Twin Cities

Old Orchard Beach is the twin city of the French seaside resort of Mimizan, as a reminder of the pioneer aircraft crossing of the Atlantic by Assolant, Lefèvre and Lotti in 1929.

Immigration and Foreign Affairs

Old Orchard Beach, during tourist season, is home to Lithuanian and many foreign exchange students from places as far as Russia looking for summer work. Many Canadians, especially from the province of Quebec, come down for summer vacations, and one of the major languages spoken among them is French.

Demographics

Ferris wheel seen from the beach in Old Orchard Beach

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 8,856 people, 4,294 households, and 2,254 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,188.8 people per square mile (459.0/km²). There were 6,222 housing units at an average density of 835.3/sq mi (322.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.54% White, 0.56% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population.

There were 4,294 households out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.5% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% 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 2.73.

"Takadip" Bath House in 1914, Old Orchard Beach, ME

In the town the population was spread out with 19.1% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,568, and the median income for a family was $47,952. Males had a median income of $36,089 versus $26,429 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,929. About 7.7% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.7% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.

See also

• Old Orchard Beach (Amtrak station)

External links

• Old Orchard Beach, Maine is at coordinates 43°30′49″N 70°23′07″W / 43.513714, -70.385363 (Old Orchard Beach, Maine)Coordinates: 43°30′49″N 70°23′07″W / 43.513714, -70.385363 (Old Orchard Beach, Maine)
• Town of Old Orchard Beach
• Epodunk Town Profile
• ShopOOB - A guide to shopping, current events and getting around Old Orchard Beach

References

1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

• Vintage Images of Old Orchard Beach
• An online version of The Good News - our community newsletter for Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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