Facts about Maine

Maine also has three Constitutional Officers (the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, and the State Attorney General) and one Statutory Officer (the State Auditor).

Maine was much fought over by the French and English during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

The highest court of the state is the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

A number of English settlements were established along the coast of Maine in the 1620s, although the rugged climate, deprivations and Indian attacks wiped out many of them over the years.

Maine is also the home of The Jackson Laboratory, the world's largest non-profit mammalian genetic research facility and the world's largest supplier of genetically purebred mice.

Maine's original capital was Portland until 1832, when it was moved to Augusta.

Many smaller airports are scattered throughout Maine, only serving general aviation traffic.

Maine has fewer days of thunderstorms than any other state east of the Rockies, with most of the state averaging less than 20 days of thunderstorms a year.

The coastal areas of southern Maine, near the mouth of the Sagadahoc (Kennebec), first became the Province of Maine in a 1622 land patent.

Some of the larger companies that maintain headquarters in Maine include Fairchild Semiconductor in South Portland; IDEXX Laboratories, in Westbrook; Unum, in Portland; L.L.

Maine has an income tax structure containing 4 brackets, which range from 2 percent to 8.5 percent of personal income.

Only four of Maine's sixteen counties are entirely incorporated, although a few others are nearly so, and most of the unincorporated area is in the vast and sparsely populated Great North Woods of Maine.

Along the rock-bound coast of Maine are lighthouses, sandy beaches, quiet fishing villages and thousands of offshore islands, including the Isles of Shoals, shared with New Hampshire.

Maine has few large companies that maintain headquarters in the state, traditionally in the pulp and paper industry.

The first European settlement in Maine was started in 1604 by a French group that included explorer Samuel de Champlain.

Whatever the origin, the name was fixed in 1665 when the King's Commissioners ordered that the "Province of Maine" be entered from then on in official records.

Maine is the most sparsely populated state east of the Mississippi River.

The executive branch is responsible for the execution of the laws created by the Legislature and is headed by the Governor of Maine.

In 1968, Hubert Humphrey became just the second Democrat in half a century to carry Maine thanks to the presence of his running mate, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie.

Tourism and outdoor recreation play a major and increasingly important role in Maine's economy.

Winters are cold and snowy throughout the state, and are especially severe in the northern parts of Maine.

The locally organized Maine Green Independent Party also elected John Eder to the office of State Representative in the Maine House of Representatives, the highest elected Green official nationwide.

Maine has a humid continental climate (Kцppen climate classification Dfb), with warm (although generally not hot), humid summers.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Maine's total gross state product for 2003 was US$41 billion.

Maine is both the northernmost state in New England and the largest, accounting for nearly half the region's entire land area.

Located on the Kennebec River at the head of tide, it is home to the University of Maine at Augusta.

Augusta is the capital of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for the state.

Jagged rocks and cliffs and thousands of bays and inlets add to the rugged beauty of Maine's coast.

The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples including the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscots.

Commercial sellers of blueberries, a Maine staple, must keep records of their transactions and pay the state 1.5 cents per pound ($1.50 per 100 pounds) of the fruit sold each season.

The State of Maine is a state in the northernmost portion of the New England region of the Northeastern United States.

Maine ports play a key role in national transportation.

The first European settlement in Maine was in 1604 by a French party.

The legislative branch is the Maine Legislature, a bicameral body composed of the Maine House of Representatives, with 151 members, and the Maine Senate, with 35 members.

There continues to be much interest in the origin of the name of Maine, as there is not a definitive answer.

Maine's Moosehead Lake is the largest lake in New England (Lake Champlain being partially in New York).

Millions of people have enjoyed this coastal scenery at Maine's Acadia National Park, the only national park in New England.

Maine's industrial outputs consist chiefly of paper, lumber and wood products, electronic equipment, leather products, food products, textiles, and bio-technology.

Maine is occasionally affected by hurricanes and tropical storms; by the time they reach the state, though, many have become extratropical.

Maine has passenger jet service at its two largest airports, the Portland International Jetport in Portland, and the Bangor International Airport in Bangor.

Western Maine aquifers and springs are a major source of bottled water.

Seasonal passenger excursions between Brunswick and Rockland are operated by the Maine Eastern Railroad, which leases the state-owned Rockland Branch rail corridor.

The University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System are independent bodies, governed by boards of trustees, even though the state Department of Education retains limited oversight.

Maine's constitution required the establishment of public schools, supported by local towns.

In 2001, Portland, Maine's largest city, surpassed Boston as New England's busiest port (by tonnage), due to its ability to handle large tankers.

Maine is well known for its dramatic ocean scenery, with almost 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of shoreline.

The French named the entire area, including what later became the state of Maine, Acadia.

Franco-Mainers tended to settle in rural northern Maine (particularly Aroostook County) and the industrial cities of inland Maine (especially Lewiston) whereas much of the midcoast and downeast sections remain strongly Anglo.

The first English settlement in Maine was established by the Plymouth Company at Popham in 1607, the same year as the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.

Maine also has three Native American Reservations: Indian Island, Indian Township Reservation, and Pleasant Point Indian Reservation.

Maine's state government is composed of three co-equal branches—the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as outlined in the Maine Constitution.

The Greater Portland metropolitan area is the most densely populated with nearly 20 percent of Maine's population.

Eastern Maine north of the Kennebec River was more sparsely settled and was known as the Territory of Sagadahock.

Maine also has the distinction of being the only state to border just one other state (New Hampshire to the west).

The Maine legislature in 2002 adopted a resolution establishing Franco-American Day which stated that the state was named after the ancient French province of Maine.

Interstate 95 runs through Maine, as well as its easterly branch I-295.

The 2000 Census reported 92.25 percent of Maine residents age 5 and older speak English at home.

American and British forces contended for Maine's territory during the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

All real and tangible personal property located in the state of Maine is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute.

Maine's original capital was Portland until 1832, when it was moved to Augusta.

Naval Air Station Brunswick is also in Maine, and serves as a large support base for the U.S. Navy.

Maine is a popular tourist destination in the summer months.

Maine's Portland International Jetport was recently expanded, providing the state with increased air traffic.

A citizen of Maine is known as a "Mainer," though they sometimes affectionately refer to one another as "Mainiacs."

Many summer visitors establish an alternate secondary residence in Maine and then depart for their primary residence in the off-season.

The Unorganized Territory of Maine consists of over 400 townships (towns are incorporated, townships are unincorporated), plus many coastal islands that do not lie within any municipal bounds.

The territory of Maine was confirmed as part of Massachusetts when the United States was formed, although the final border with the British was not established until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

Maine is second only to New Hampshire in the percentage of French Americans among United States.

Maine is both the northernmost state in New England and the largest, accounting for nearly half the region's entire land area.

Maine's general sales tax rate is 5 percent.

The mean population center of Maine is in Kennebec County, in or near the town of Mount Vernon.

Among Maine's public and private institutions are, in addition to the University of Maine system, Bowdoin College, Colby College, and the University of Southern Maine.

At 33,215 square miles (86,027 sq km), Maine is thiry-ninth of the 50 states in area.

Maine has had two independent governors recently (James B. Longley, 1975–1979 and Angus King, 1995–2003).

Maine is occasionally affected by hurricanes and tropical storms; by the time they reach the state, though, many have become extratropical.

Maine state politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, are noted for having more moderate views than many in the national wings of their respective parties.

The UT land area is slightly over one half the entire area of the State of Maine.

In 2001, Portland, Maine's largest city, surpassed Boston as New England's busiest port (by tonnage), due to its ability to handle large tankers.

Tornadoes are rare in Maine with the state averaging less than two a year, mostly occurring in the southern part of the state.

Maine's agricultural outputs include poultry, eggs, dairy products, cattle, wild blueberries, apples, maple syrup, and maple sugar.

The coastal areas of southern Maine, near the mouth of the Sagadahoc (Kennebec), first became the Province of Maine in a 1622 land patent.

Maine is second only to New Hampshire in the percentage of French Americans among United States.