South Thomaston, Maine
South Thomaston, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 44°2′0″N 69°7′56″W / 44.03333, -69.13222
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Knox
Incorporated	1848
Area
- Total	17.5 sq mi (45.3 km²)
- Land	10.9 sq mi (28.3 km²)
- Water	6.5 sq mi (17.0 km²)
Elevation	49 ft (15 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,416
- Density	129.4/sq mi (50.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	04858
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-72585
GNIS feature ID	0582739

South Thomaston is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,416 at the 2000 census. A fishing and resort area, the town includes the village of Spruce Head.

History

Abenaki Indians called it Wessaweskeag, meaning "tidal creek" or "salt creek," a reference to what is now known as the Weskeag River. Thomas Lefebvre from Quebec, Canada owned a huge tract of land at the Weskeag River, where his stay began in 1704. He built a large gristmill, with a house on the shoreline. Although he would eventually return to Quebec, the area retained his name -- Thomas' Town. But the adjacent St. George River was the uneasy dividing line between land controlled by New England and New France. Permanent settlement would be delayed by the French and Indian Wars, which ended with the 1763 Treaty of Paris.

In 1767, Wessaweskeag was settled by Elisha Snow, who built a sawmill operated by tide power. In 1773, Joseph Coombs arrived and built another sawmill nearby, and together they built a gristmill. The village of South Thomaston grew around the mills, which would include 3 granite polishing machines to process stone cut from the town's numerous quarries. On July 28, 1848, South Thomaston was set off from Thomaston and incorporated as a separate town. Owl's Head would be set off from a portion of South Thomaston on July 9, 1921.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.5 square miles (45.3 km²), of which, 10.9 square miles (28.3 km²) of it is land and 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²) of it (37.45%) is water. South Thomaston is located on the Weskeag River inlet.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,416 people, 594 households, and 421 families residing in the town. The population density was 129.4 people per square mile (50.0/km²). There were 804 housing units at an average density of 73.5/sq mi (28.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.02% White, 0.35% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.35% Asian, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.28% of the population. 26.7% were of English, 12.4% Irish, 11.6% American, 6.9% Finnish, 6.5% German and 5.2% Scottish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 594 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,594, and the median income for a family was $50,294. Males had a median income of $35,208 versus $25,213 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,303. About 5.0% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

Site of interest

• Wessaweskeag Historical Society

References

• History of South Thomaston, Maine (1886)

External links

• Town of South Thomaston, Maine
• South Thomaston Public Library

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Coordinates: 44°03′05″N, 69°07′40″W