Eustis is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Franklin County,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, United States. The population was 641 at the 2020 census. Eustis, which includes the village of Stratton, is a popular recreation area.

History

Benedict Arnold and his troops passed through the area on October 19, 1775, on their way up the North Branch of the Dead River to fight in the ill-fated Battle of Quebec. Eustis was first called Township No. 1 of Range 4, West of Bingham's Kennebec Purchase. The original settler was Caleb Stevens from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, who brought his wife and nine children. About 1831, the northern half of the township was purchased from the state of Maine by two men, one of whom was Charles L. Eustis of Lewiston. That same year he built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

. In 1840, the township was organized as Hanover Plantation, which about 1850 became part of the larger Jackson Plantation. On March 30, 1857, however, the township was set off and organized as Eustis Plantation, named after its early proprietor. Then on February 18, 1871, with a population of 342, it was officially incorporated as a town.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water. Eustis is drained by the Dead River.

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Eustis has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Eustis, Maine
/ref>

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 618 people, 313 households, and 179 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 822 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, and 0.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.5% of the population. There were 313 households, of which 19.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.8% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.47. The median age in the town was 49.4 years. 14.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.6% were from 25 to 44; 37.3% were from 45 to 64; and 23.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 52.8% male and 47.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 685 people, 302 households, and 170 families living in the town. The

was 17.5 people per square mile (6.8/km²). There were 747 housing units at an average density of 19.1 per square mile (7.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.47%

, 0.44%

, 2.04% Native American, 0.15% Asian, and 1.90% from two or more races. There were 302 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 32.1% 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 2.27 and the average family size was 2.90. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,000, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $27,614 versus $21,111 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,274. About 7.7% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

Bigelow Preserve Bigelow Mountain Preserve is a state-owned nature preserve in the western part of the U.S. state of Maine. Located in the village of Stratton within Eustis, Franklin County, Maine, the preserve was created in 1976 in order to stop a proposed de ...

Dead River Area Historical Society
* Flagstaff Lake

References

External links

Town of Eustis, Maine

Stratton Public Library

Arnold Trail Snowmobile Club
{{Coord, 45, 13, 02, N, 70, 28, 42, W, type:city_region:US-ME, display=title Towns in Franklin County, Maine