Deer Isle, Maine

Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2020 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries.

History
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Caleb Hardie is the founder of Stonington All the early explorers encountered the natives. Their experiences surely varied, but most often fell in line with the prevailing attitudes of European superiority — Martin Pring having taken five Indian captives back to England as "oddities." Edith Spofford-Watts provided us a few more objective details of the earliest inhabitants. She highlights state archeological finds that have estimated human habitation dating to 11,000 B.C., writing of possible descendents called the "Red Paint People" due to their use of ochres in burial traditions. Digs have shown them to be an advanced race of adept toolmakers who made the area home from 8,000 B.C. to within a few millennia of Christ’s birth. Ample evidence of thriving sedentary communities that engaged in trade have been unearthed, the frequent discovery of clamshell heaps confirming an obvious reliance on the sea. These long periods of general cultural knowledge begin to come more clear, more refined by the time of Norse and later European exploration. By the 16th century, Deer Isle was the heart of the Eastern Abeneki, an Algonquin-speaking people composed of a multitude of sub-tribes — such as the regional Penobscot and Tarrantine. But fratricidal conflict was prevalent and the native population had been "greatly depleted by the forays and massacres of long Indian wars" by the time of the first whites, according to Spofford-Watts. Those who were left were ill-equipped to resist the white man, and the diseases he brought. A The first permanent white settlers of Deer Isle were William Eaton and his wife Meribah. They arrived in 1762 at the head of a number of pioneers (among them descendants of Scots Covenantor George Gray, who was a Battle of Dunbar (September 3, 1650) prisoner of war and Durham Cathedral survivor. Gray's grandson Joshua Gray relocated to Sedgewick and Deer Isle, Maine, after defending Fort Pownall during the French and Indian War in the 1760s. Records show over a dozen men – including Eaton – petitioned the state of Massachusetts [which laid claim to and governed the lands of Maine until 1820] for land titles as early as August of that year. As mentioned, wild game... mostly deer... was abundant. The settlers named their new home for the thriving herds. but it would be the harvest of the ever present sea that would always be the predominant provider. The Eatons and others, such as Jonathan Greenlaw, a man of importance among the early settlers, put up their dwellings along the shores to take advantage of the sea. The first settlers lined North and Little Deer Isles along "the Reach." Only after the lands to the north were claimed did new settlers begin to move into the interior and southern reaches of the islands. As is requisite of local history narratives, Hosmer provides us a testament to the hardships of these settlers’ daily lives:

"Rustic log cabins with thatched or bark roofs containing a stone fireplace, sometimes a cellar, sometimes just a dirt floor, was the standard dwelling. The plentiful banks of clams and the profusion of fish, gathered with hand-drawn lines from dugouts on the many inlets, bays and straits, were the staple. These were augmented by game hunted on the interior of the islands, herring and smelt caught from the numerous clear freshwater sources inland, and waterfowl. "Duck-driving," the driving of large flocks during molting season, when the birds were unable to fly, across the southern bays towards waiting hunters at a pre-arranged inlet was a popular sport that yielded sustaining quantities of meat. On land area was being cleared for dairy cattle and freeranging sheep. Sheep’s wool, along with the flax plant, produced the fiber required for use in "spinning" clothing and blankets. Corn was the staple vegetable. It was supplemented by wild nuts, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and planted apple trees. Whale oil was used in lanterns, seaweed used for fertilizer, the ingenuity of relying on available resources evident … The settlements slowly became grounded communities. The first child was born to the Timothy Billings family in May of 1764, beginning a long lineage that can still be found in the many modern-day descendents of original settlers." --> The town was incorporated in 1789, at which time it included the islands of Little Deer Isle, Deer Isle, and Isle au Haut. Deer were abundant on these islands, hence the name. In 1868 Isle au Haut became a separate town. In 1897, the southern third of Deer Isle incorporated as the town of Stonington.

In the 19th century, the granite industry flourished on Deer Isle where its quarries supplied granite for structures such as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, the US Naval Academy, the Manhattan Bridge, and President John F. Kennedy's tomb at Arlington National Cemetery.

In John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, Deer Isle was a stopping point for the author after the insistence of his literary agent that he visit the cottage of Eleanor Brace, at Dunham's Point. Steinbeck wrote, "One doesn't have to be sensitive to feel the strangeness of Deer Isle".

It was Deer Isle that musician Dan Fogelberg and his wife Jean chose for their final home, and where he died in 2007. This isle was the home town of the dock that was the inspiration for the painter Fairfield Porter. Many small private islands can be found in the waters surrounding Deer Isle. Cabot Lyford, a Maine sculptor, used seven tons of Deer Isle granite to carve one of his best known pieces, Life Force. The sculpture, which depicts dolphins jumping from the water, stands outside the Regency Hotel in Portland.

Geography
The town of Deer Isle is one of two communities on the island of Deer Isle, the other being Stonington. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 123.67 sqmi, of which 29.72 sqmi is land and 93.95 sqmi is water.

Deer Isle is separated from the mainland by Eggemoggin Reach and may be reached by car via a narrow 1939 suspension bridge bearing the island's name.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,975 people, 929 households, and 533 families living in the town. The population density was 66.5 PD/sqmi. There were 1,936 housing units at an average density of 65.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 98.1% White, 0.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 929 households, of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.6% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% 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 2.61.

The median age in the town was 51.6 years. 16.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 28.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,876 people, 781 households, and 523 families living in the town. The population density was 63.2 PD/sqmi. There were 1,575 housing units at an average density of 53.0 /sqmi, and the racial makeup of the town was 98.61% White; 0.16% African American; 0.11% Native American; 0.21% Asian; and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.37% of the population.

There were 781 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.5% of the population under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $40,714. Males had a median income of $27,008 versus $19,052 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,875. About 5.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people



 * Gerald Warner Brace (1901–1978), writer, professor, sailor and boat builder
 * Holly Eaton, politician and resident of Deer Isle
 * Dan Fogelberg (1951–2007), singer and songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist
 * Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), architect and inventor
 * Robert McCloskey (1914–2003), author and illustrator of children's books
 * Francis Sumner Merritt (1913–2000), painter, co-founder and first director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
 * Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), early urban planner and landscape architect
 * Ronald Hayes Pearson (1924–1996), designer, jeweler, and metalsmith
 * Thomas E. Ricks (born 1955), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who specializes in the military and national security issues
 * Anica Mrose Rissi, author and writer brought up in Deer Isle
 * Salome Sellers (1800–1909), last known and documented living person born in the 18th century
 * Cynthia Voigt (born 1942), young adults book author

Cultural references

 * John Steinbeck describes his visit to Deer Isle in the 1962 novel, Travels with Charley.
 * Deer Isle is mentioned in Part II, Chapter 8, of Don DeLillo's 1977 novel Players.
 * Deer Isle is heavily referenced in Ken Burns' docuseries The Civil War. Stories from the town are used to illustrate the impact the American Civil War had on places across the United States, even towns like Deer Isle which were far away from most of the war's battles. 21 residents of Deer Isle were killed fighting in the war.
 * Anica Mrose Rissi's 2023 middle grade novel Wishing Season is set on Deer Isle.