Carthage, Maine facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carthage, Maine
Town
Carthage Historical Society building
Carthage, Maine Location in Maine Show map of Maine Carthage, Maine Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Franklin
Incorporated	1826
Villages	Carthage Berry Mills Tainter Corner
Area
• Total	33.46 sq mi (86.66 km2)
• Land	33.33 sq mi (86.32 km2)
• Water	0.13 sq mi (0.34 km2)
Elevation	719 ft (219 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	509
• Density	15/sq mi (5.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-10915
GNIS feature ID	0582393

Carthage is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 509 at the 2020 census.

History

First known as Plantation No. 4, Abbott's Purchase, it was part of a large tract of land bought in 1815 by Jacob Abbott of Wilton, New Hampshire from Jonathan Phillips of Boston, who had purchased an even larger tract from the state of Massachusetts about 1790. Plantation No. 4 was noted for extensive forests of pine and valuable formations of limestone. In 1804, William Bowley and his family from Bristol, New Hampshire settled in Plantation No. 4, and with his brother Oliver and father Gideon, built the first sawmill at what was called Bowley's Mills on the Webb River at the foot of Webb Lake. They built a gristmill the following year.

The town was incorporated on February 20, 1826, and named after Carthage, the ancient Mediterranean city in what is today Tunisia in North Africa. In 1849, land was set off to form a new Plantation No. 4. By 1880, when the population was 507, Carthage had farms, two sawmills, a gristmill and a limestone quarry.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.46 square miles (86.66 km²), of which 33.33 square miles (86.32 km²) is land and 0.13 square miles (0.34 km²) is water. Carthage is drained by the Webb River, which meanders south from Webb Lake to join the Androscoggin River. The town is situated in a valley between ranges of foothills and mountains.

The town is served by Maine State Route 142. It borders the towns of Weld to the north, Perkins Plantation, Plantation No. 4, Wilton and Temple to the east, and Mexico and Dixfield to the south in Oxford County.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 560 people, 223 households, and 144 families living in the town. The population density was 16.8 inhabitants per square mile (6.5/km²). There were 346 housing units at an average density of 10.4 per square mile (4.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.1% White, 0.4% Asian, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population.

There were 223 households, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.4% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median age in the town was 44.2 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 35.8% were from 45 to 64; and 12.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 53.6% male and 46.4% female.

Site of interest

• Carthage Historical Society & Museum

Notable person

• Hiram Pitt Bennet, Congressional delegate from the Territory of Colorado and Colorado Secretary of State

See also

In Spanish: Carthage (Maine) para niños