Dixfield, Maine

This article is about the town. For the census-designated place comprising the town center only, see Dixfield (CDP), Maine.

Dixfield, Maine
Town
Dixfield town hall and post office
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Oxford County
Area^[1]
• Total	41.69 sq mi (107.98 km²)
• Land	41.27 sq mi (106.89 km²)
• Water	0.42 sq mi (1.09 km²)
Population (2010)^[2]
• Total	2,550
• Estimate (2012^[3])	2,515
• Density	61.8/sq mi (23.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)

Dixfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,550 at the 2010 census. The town motto of Dixfield is "The Only One" because it is the only town in the world to claim that name.

History

Weld Street in 1911

The Massachusetts General Court granted the township in 1789 to Colonel Jonathan Holman of Sutton, Massachusetts (now Millbury), an American Revolutionary War veteran, together with 25 others. In 1795, the first permanent settlers arrived with their families—John Marble, Gardner Brown, Amos Trask, Levi Newton, David Torrey and John Gould.^[4] It was called Holmantown Plantation until part of it was incorporated on June 21, 1803 as Dixfield, the 147th town in Maine (the remainder of the plantation would be incorporated in 1818 as Mexico). Dr. Elijah Dix of Boston, a substantial landowner in the area, promised to donate a library for the town if the citizens changed its name from Holmantown to Dixfield. The citizens complied, after which the town received dusty old boxes of medical books printed in German.^[5] Dr. Dix also left his name on Dixmont, where he died while visiting in 1809 and was buried.

With several streams for water power, Dixfield developed into a small mill town. It had sawmills and gristmills. It also produced cheese, carriages, shingles, toothpicks, rakes, wooden boxes, flies and leaders, boots and shoes. Dixfield once had a marble works.^[6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.69 square miles (107.98 km²), of which, 41.27 square miles (106.89 km²) of it is land and 0.42 square miles (1.09 km²) is water.^[1] Dixfield is drained by Newton Brook, the Webb River and the Androscoggin River. U.S. Route 2 passes through the town.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	403		—
1820	595		47.6%
1830	889		49.4%
1840	1,169		31.5%
1850	1,180		0.9%
1860	1,181		0.1%
1870	1,049		−11.2%
1880	913		−13.0%
1890	988		8.2%
1900	1,052		6.5%
1910	1,056		0.4%
1920	1,134		7.4%
1930	1,521		34.1%
1940	1,790		17.7%
1950	2,022		13.0%
1960	2,323		14.9%
1970	2,188		−5.8%
1980	2,389		9.2%
1990	2,574		7.7%
2000	2,514		−2.3%
2010	2,550		1.4%
Est. 2014	2,487	^[7]	−2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8]

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 2,550 people, 1,044 households, and 722 families residing in the town. The population density was 61.8 inhabitants per square mile (23.9/km²). There were 1,180 housing units at an average density of 28.6 per square mile (11.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.9% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.

There were 1,044 households of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.8% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.84.

The median age in the town was 41.9 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 29.7% were from 45 to 64; and 15.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 2,514 people, 1,011 households, and 721 families residing in the town. The population density was 61.0 people per square mile (23.6/km²). There were 1,118 housing units at an average density of 27.1 per square mile (10.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.29% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 1,011 households out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 25.9% 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 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,563, and the median income for a family was $41,979. Males had a median income of $36,413 versus $21,563 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,684. About 8.0% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

Dixfield Historical Society & Museum
Mainely Critters Wildlife Museum
The Bridge That's Never Finished

Education

The town has two schools, TW Kelly Middle School and the Dirigo High School. The mascot is the cougar and the school color is blue. The middle school consists of grades 6–8 and the high school consists of grades 9–12.

It is currently part of RSU10.^[10]

Notable people

Sebastian Streeter Marble, US congressman
Gideon Ellis Newman, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Mace Greenleaf stage and screen actor

References

1 2 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
↑ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts. pp. 107–108.
↑ Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Doris A. Isaacson, ed. Maine: A Guide 'Down East'. Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc. pp. 284–285.
↑ Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Dixfield, Boston: Russell
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
↑ "Dixfield Schools". Town of Dixfield. Retrieved 2012-05-06.

External links

Municipalities and communities of Oxford County, Maine, United States

County seat: Paris

Towns	Andover Bethel Brownfield Buckfield Byron Canton Denmark Dixfield Fryeburg Gilead Greenwood Hanover Hartford Hebron Hiram Lovell Mexico Newry Norway Otisfield Oxford Paris Peru Porter Roxbury Rumford Stoneham Stow Sumner Sweden Upton Waterford West Paris Woodstock

Plantations	Lincoln Plantation Magalloway Plantation

Unorganized territories	Milton North Oxford South Oxford

CDPs	Dixfield Fryeburg Mexico Norway Oxford Rumford South Paris

Other villages	Center Lovell Dickvale Kezar Falls North Waterford Waterford Flat

Androscoggin River watershed

Tributaries	Alder River Bear River Cathance River Chickwolnepy Stream Clear Stream Concord River Cupsuptic River Dead Cambridge River Dead Diamond River Dead River (ME) Dead River (NH) Dead River (Sabattus) East Branch Cupsuptic River East Branch Dead Diamond River East Branch Nezinscot River East Branch Pleasant River East Branch Swift River Ellis River First East Branch Magalloway River Kennebago River Little Androscoggin River Little Dead Diamond River Little East Branch Cupsuptic River Little Magalloway River Little River Magalloway River Middle Branch Dead Diamond River Middle Branch Little Magalloway River Mollidgewock Brook Moose Brook Moose River Muddy River Nezinscot River Peabody River Pleasant River Rangeley River Rapid River Rattle River Sabattus River Sanborn River Second East Branch Magalloway River South Branch Little Dead Diamond River South Branch Sunday River Sunday River Swift Cambridge River Swift Diamond River Swift River Third East Branch Magalloway River Webb River West Branch Dead Diamond River West Branch Ellis River West Branch Little Dead Diamond River West Branch Little Magalloway River West Branch Magalloway River West Branch Nezinscot River West Branch Peabody River West Branch Pleasant River West Branch Swift River Wild River

Lakes	Akers Pond Androscoggin Lake Lake Auburn Aziscohos Lake Echo Lake Greenough Pond Kennebago Lake Mooselookmeguntic Lake Parker Pond Parmachenee Lake Pontook Reservoir Range Ponds Rangeley Lake Richardson Lakes Sabattus Pond Thompson Lake Tripp Pond Success Pond Umbagog Lake Webb Lake

Towns	Albany Andover Auburn Berlin Bethel Bowdoin Brunswick Buckfield Byron Cambridge Canton Carthage Chesterville Dixfield Dummer Durham Errol Fayette Gilead Gorham Greene Greenwood Hanover Hartford Hebron Jay Leeds Lewiston Lisbon Livermore Livermore Falls Mechanic Falls Mexico Minot Monmouth Mount Vernon Newry Norway Otisfield Oxford Paris Peru Pittsburg Poland Randolph Rangeley Readfield Roxbury Rumford Sabattus Shelburne Stewartstown Sumner Topsham Turner Upton Vienna Wales Wayne Weld Wentworth's Location West Paris Woodstock

Landmarks	Brown Company Maine Central Railroad Old Speck Mountain Range Ponds State Park Rumford Mill St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad White Mountains

Coordinates: 44°32′13″N 70°27′10″W / 44.53694°N 70.45278°W / 44.53694; -70.45278

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