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{{For|the census-designated place|Houlton (CDP), Maine}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Houlton
|settlement_type=[[New England town|Town]]
|official_name =
|nickname = Capital of Aroostook
|motto = Valuing the past, planning for the future
 
<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline =
|imagesize =
|image_caption =
|image_flag =
|image_seal = Houlton_NB_seal.gif
 
<!-- Maps -->
||pushpin_map =Maine
|pushpin_label_position =left
|pushpin_map_caption =Location in the state of Maine
|pushpin_mapsize =
|image_map =
|mapsize =
|map_caption =
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
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<!-- Location -->
|coordinates_display = inline,title
|coordinates_region = US-ME
|subdivision_type = [[List of countries|Country]]
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = [[Political divisions of the United States|State]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Maine]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Maine|County]]
|subdivision_name2 =<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:Aroostook County, Maine seal.png|23px]] -->[[Aroostook County, Maine|Aroostook]]
|government_footnotes =
|government_type =
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<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name ="Gazetteer files"/>
|area_magnitude =
|area_total_km2 = 95.13
Line 58 ⟶ 57:
 
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of = [[2010 United States Census|2010]]
|population_est = 6065
|pop_est_as_of = 2012<ref name="2012 Pop Estimate">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2013-07-06}}</ref>
|population_footnotes = <ref name ="FactFinder"/>
|population_total = 6123
|population_density_km2 = 64.4
|population_density_sq_mi = 166.8
 
<!-- General information -->
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|elevation_m = 119
|elevation_ft = 390
|latd = 46 |latm = 7 |lats = 32 |latNS = N
|longd = 67 |longm = 50 |longs = 23 |longEW = W
 
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
|postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]s
|postal_code = 04730, 04761
|area_code = [[Area code 207|207]]
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|blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info = 0582525
|website = [http://www.houlton-maine.com/ houlton-maine.com]
}}
 
'''Houlton''' is a town in [[Aroostook County, Maine]], on the [[United States – Canada border]], located at {{Coord|46.1256|N|67.8398|W|}}. As of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]], the town population was 6,123. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of [[Interstate 95 in Maine|Interstate 95]] and for being the birthplace of [[Samantha Smith]], a [[goodwill ambassador]] as a child during the [[Cold War]]. The town hosts the annual Houlton Agricultural Fair.
 
Houlton is the county seat for Aroostook County, and as such its nickname is the "Shire Town." The Houlton High School sports teams are named "The Shiretowners." The [[Meduxnekeag River]] flows through the heart of the town, and the border with the Canadian province of [[New Brunswick]] is {{convert|3|mi|km|abbr=on}} east of the town's center. Houlton was the home of [[Ricker College]] which closed in 1978.<ref>[http://www.ricker.net/time.htm Ricker College Timeline]</ref>
 
The primary settlement and center of the town is designated as [[Census-designated place|CDP]] with the same name, [[Houlton (CDP), Maine|Houlton]]. The headquarters of the [[Federally recognized tribe|federally recognized]] [[Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians]] is based here.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/region1/govt/tribes/houltonmaliseet.html "Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians."] ''Region 1: EPA New England.'' Retrieved 30 July 2013.</ref>
 
==History==
[[Image:North Side Market Square, Houlton, ME.jpg|thumb|right|Market Square in 1911]]
The area was occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. In historic times, these were the [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking [[Maliseet people]].
 
Decades after the [[American Revolutionary War]], Anglo-American pioneers Aaron Putnam and Joseph Houlton started a village. They named it for Houlton, who had moved to Maine in 1807 from the more populated part of [[Massachusetts]].<ref>[http://history.rays-place.com/me/houlton-me.htm George J. Varney, ''History of Houlton, Maine,'' Boston 1886]</ref> Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820 and became an independent state.
 
In 1828 the United States government established [[Hancock Barracks]], a military post, in the area. Houlton officially incorporated as a town in 1831. When the [[Aroostook War]] flared in 1839 over the border with Canada, three companies of the 1st Artillery Regiment manned Hancock Barracks under Major R. M. Kirby. Major Kirby helped to restrain the twelve companies of militia that Maine sent there from starting a shooting war. The [[Webster-Ashburton Treaty]] settled the boundary dispute in 1842, and the Army abandoned Hancock Barracks in 1847.<ref>{{cite book |last= Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums |editor=Doris A. Isaacson |title=Maine: A Guide 'Down East' |year=1970 |publisher=Courier-Gazette, Inc. |location=Rockland, Maine | pages = 183–188 }}</ref>
 
The [[U.S. Army]] installed its first transatlantic<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=houlton+site%3Ansa.gov]</ref> Radio Intelligence Station in Hancock, Maine,<ref>[http://david-kahn.com/articles-charles-mendelsohn-envy.htm MI-8]</ref> during [[World War I]]. The Houlton Radio Intelligence Station intercepted German diplomatic communications, primarily from its [[Nauen Transmitter Station]]. MI-8 created the Radio Intelligence Service, using selected [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|Signal Corps]] personnel for the sole purpose of supporting strategic intelligence through radio intercepts during World War I. The United States intelligence services built Houlton as the first unit of its type, and its success helped to lay the foundation for many more United States long-range radio-intercept stations.
 
On 7 January 1927, [[American Telephone & Telegraph|AT&T]] initiated the first transatlantic commercial telephone service,<ref>[http://www.smecc.org/general_electric_computers/Houltonrepeater06123partial.jpg]</ref> linking New York and London. The AT&T Transoceanic Receiver Station was located at the end of Hand Lane, {{Coord|46.1270|N|67.8841|W|}}, two miles west of the town center. The massive receiving [[antenna (radio)|antenna]],<ref>[http://www.smecc.org//general_electric_computers/HoultonTelephone2.jpg]</ref> over three miles long and two miles wide, straddled what is now [[Interstate 95 in Maine]] four miles west of the center of Houlton. The receiver station worked with the large long-wave transmitting facility of AT&T located at [[RCA]] <ref>[http://earlyradiohistory.us/1922RCA.htm Radio Central]</ref> in [[Rocky Point, New York]]. The receiver station received the [[longwave]] telephone signal from the British General Post Office [[Rugby transmitting station]] near [[Rugby, England]].<ref>[http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/r/rugby_radio/index.shtml]</ref>
 
The US Army established Houlton Army Air Base in 1941 immediately adjacent to the [[Canadian border]].<ref>[http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=13526]</ref> Prior to the United States' entry into [[World War II]], American army pilots flew planes to the base. They could not fly the planes directly into Canada, a member of the [[British Commonwealth]], because that would violate the official United States position of neutrality. Local farmers used their tractors to tow the planes into Canada, where the Canadians closed the Woodstock highway so that aircraft could use it as a runway. The United States entered the war on 7 December 1941, after the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].
 
A [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] pilot, officer George Newall Harrison,<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2719765]</ref> died on 5 December 1942 when he crashed 500 yards south of the runway while ferrying a [[Lockheed Hudson|Hudson Bomber]] to Britain.<ref>[http://www.mewreckchasers.com/List1.html]</ref> Survivors buried his body in the Evergreen Cemetery plot for veterans. Few other [[New Zealand]] casualties from [[World War II]] were buried in the United States of America. His 19-year-old [[radio operator]], Sergeant Henry Bordewick],<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2719764]</ref> also died and was buried there; he was from [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada. The [[American Legion]] post in Houlton maintains both these [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Commonwealth War Graves]].
 
Houlton Army Air Base closed in July 1944. In 1944, the Army adapted a major part of the Houlton Army Air Base for use as [[prisoner of war]] internment in [[Camp Houlton]]. At its peak, the [[internment camp]] held 3,700 German prisoners of war. Forcing prisoners of war to work violated the Geneva Convention; however, they could volunteer to work. Camp Houlton provided laborers for local farms to harvest [[peas]], pick [[potato]]es, and do other labor. For security reasons, the government did not allow every prisoner of war to work on the farms. Most prisoners selected to work did not want to harm their captors or cause trouble. Many farmers came to consider the prisoners of war who worked their fields as good laborers rather than enemy soldiers. They paid the prisoners $1/day in [[scrip]], which the prisoners could spend at the post exchange, the base store, to buy [[toiletries]], [[tobacco]], [[chocolate]], or [[beer]]. After the prisoners [[repatriate]]d, the Army closed Camp Houlton in 1946. The site was redeveloped as [[Houlton International Airport]].
 
[[Image:Cary Library, Houlton, ME.jpg|thumb|right|Cary Library, a [[Carnegie library]] designed by [[John Calvin Stevens]]]]
 
==Geography and climate==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|36.73|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|36.71|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.02|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name ="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/gazetteer2010.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-12-16}}</ref> Houlton is drained by the [[Meduxnekeag River]].
 
[[Interstate 95 in Maine|Interstate 95]] has its northernmost two exits in Houlton. The [[Houlton/Woodstock Border Crossing]], located to the east of downtown Houlton, marks the northern terminus of Interstate 95. The town is also crossed by [[U.S. Route 1 in Maine|U.S. Route 1]] and [[U.S. Route 2 in Maine|U.S. Route 2]], which have a brief concurrency in the center of town.
 
Typically for Maine, Houlton has a [[humid continental climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Dfb'') with cold and snowy winters typically featuring forty-six nights – comparable to [[Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo]] – below {{convert|0|F|C|1|disp=or}} and eighty-three days failing to reach freezing, plus warm summers. The coldest month between 1971 and 2000 was January 1994 with a mean temperature of {{convert|0.7|F|C|disp=or}}, though data from nearby stations suggest the Januaries of 1920 and 1925 were equally cold.<ref>[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]; [http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/17/01/tavg/1/01/1895-2015?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1895&lastbaseyear=1976&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1976&lasttrendyear=2015&filter=true&filterType=binomial Maine Climate division 1 January Average Temperature]</ref> Snow depth typically reaches {{convert|14|in|m|2|disp=or}} in February, and has been as high as {{convert|71|in|m|2|disp=or}} at the close of January, 1998.
 
{{Weather box |imperial first = Y
|location = Houlton, Maine (1981–2010 normals)
|single line = y
|Jan high F = 22.3
|Feb high F = 26.5
|Mar high F = 36.1
|Apr high F = 49.9
|May high F = 63.8
|Jun high F = 72.5
|Jul high F = 77.6
|Aug high F = 75.9
|Sep high F = 66.9
|Oct high F = 53.9
|Nov high F = 40.8
|Dec high F = 28.6
|year high F = 51.2
|Jan low F = 0.9
|Feb low F = 3.6
|Mar low F = 15.0
|Apr low F = 28.3
|May low F = 38.5
|Jun low F = 47.8
|Jul low F = 53.8
|Aug low F = 51.6
|Sep low F = 43.2
|Oct low F = 33.0
|Nov low F = 24.4
|Dec low F = 10.3
|year low F = 29.2
|Jan record high F = 58
|Feb record high F = 62
|Mar record high F = 79
|Apr record high F = 86
|May record high F = 96
|Jun record high F = 97
|Jul record high F = 97
|Aug record high F = 99
|Sep record high F = 93
|Oct record high F = 82
|Nov record high F = 71
|Dec record high F = 59
|year record high F= 99
|Jan record low F = −41
|Feb record low F = −36
|Mar record low F = −31
|Apr record low F = −6
|May record low F = 18
|Jun record low F = 28
|Jul record low F = 32
|Aug record low F = 30
|Sep record low F = 20
|Oct record low F = 10
|Nov record low F = −14
|Dec record low F = −34
|year record low F= −41
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.74
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.10
|Mar precipitation inch = 2.66
|Apr precipitation inch = 2.79
|May precipitation inch = 3.40
|Jun precipitation inch = 3.71
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.71
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.78
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.35
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.84
|Nov precipitation inch = 4.06
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.35
|year precipitation inch=39.48
|Jan snow inch = 21.3
|Feb snow inch = 16.0
|Mar snow inch = 17.2
|Apr snow inch = 5.5
|May snow inch = .1
|Jun snow inch = 0
|Jul snow inch = 0
|Aug snow inch = 0
|Sep snow inch = .1
|Oct snow inch = .8
|Nov snow inch = 7.3
|Dec snow inch = 15.6
|year snow inch= 83.8
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan precipitation days = 11.9
|Feb precipitation days = 9.9
|Mar precipitation days = 11.6
|Apr precipitation days = 11.9
|May precipitation days = 13.0
|Jun precipitation days = 12.8
|Jul precipitation days = 13.0
|Aug precipitation days = 11.5
|Sep precipitation days = 10.3
|Oct precipitation days = 12.7
|Nov precipitation days = 12.3
|Dec precipitation days = 12.8
|year precipitation days=143.6
|Jan snow days = 9.3
|Feb snow days = 7.8
|Mar snow days = 6.9
|Apr snow days = 2.7
|May snow days = 0
|Jun snow days = 0
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = .1
|Oct snow days = .5
|Nov snow days = 2.8
|Dec snow days = 7.9
|year snow days=38.0
|source 1 = NOAA (extremes 1948–present)<ref name = NOAA >
{{cite web
|url = http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=car
|title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
|publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
|accessdate = 2013-06-03}}</ref>
|date=March 2011}}
 
==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1820= 115
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|2000= 6476
|2010= 6123
|estyear=2014
|estimate=5946
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2014/SUB-EST2014.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|footnote=<center>U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref></center>
}}
{{See also|Houlton (CDP), Maine}}
 
===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="FactFinder">{{cite web|title=American FactFinder|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-12-16}}</ref> of 2010, there were 6,123 people, 2,556 households, and 1,563 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was {{convert|166.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 2,822 housing units at an average density of {{convert|76.9|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the town was 91.0% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.7% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 5.8% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.5% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.4% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.7% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.1% of the population.
 
There were 2,556 households of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% 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 2.87.
 
The median age in the town was 43.2 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.6% were from 45 to 64; and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.4% male and 53.6% female.
 
===2000 census===
As of the [[census]] of 2000, there were 6,476 people, 2,677 households, and 1,654 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 176.2 people per square mile (68.0/km²). There were 2,994 housing units at an average density of 31.5 persons/km² (81.5 persons/sq&nbsp;mi). The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|racial]] makeup of the town was 94.19% White, 0.29% [[African American]], 4.23% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], 0.48% [[Asia]]n, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.43% of the population were [[Hispanic]] or [[Latino]] of any race.
 
There were 1,677 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.0% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 38.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94.
 
In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.
 
The median income for a household in the town was $26,212, and the median income for a family was $34,812. Males had a median income of $27,623 versus $20,991 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,007. 17.7% of the population and 13.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 21.0% are under the age of 18 and 15.8% are 65 or older.
 
==Sites of interest==
* [[Amazeen House]], built in 1882 and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]
* [[Aroostook County Courthouse and Jail]]
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* [[Cary Library]]
* [[Edward L. Cleveland House]]
* [[Unitarian Church of Houlton]]
* [[Walter P. Mansur House]]
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-->
 
* [[Ralph Botting]], pitcher for the [[California Angels]]
* [[Michael E. Carpenter]], [[Maine Attorney General]] and state legislator
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* [[Stan Hindman]], defensive lineman for the [[San Francisco 49ers]]
* [[Debra Lee Hovey]], Connecticut State Representative
* [[Happy Iott]], Major League Baseball outfielder
* [[Alton Kelley]], psychedelic poster artist
* [[Lester D. Mallory]], diplomat
* [[Henry Clay Merriam]] (1837–1912), Civil War-era general, awarded the Medal of Honor
* [[Bern Porter]] (1911-2004), artist, writer, and scientist.
* [[Samantha Smith]], schoolgirl; known for meeting with head of the USSR [[Yuri Andropov]]
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
 
==External links==
* [http://www.houlton-maine.com/ Town of Houlton, Maine]
* [http://www.cary.lib.me.us/ Cary Library]
* [http://www.houltonfair.com/ Houlton Agricultural Fair]
* [http://www.greaterhoulton.com/ Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.sad29.k12.me.us/HighSchool.html Houlton High School Home Page]
* [http://www.ghca.com Greater Houlton Christian Academy]
* [http://www.smecc.org/general_electric_computers/HoultonTelephone2.jpg Map of the AT&T Transoceanic Telephone Receiver Station in Houlton]
* [http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=13211 Photograph of Main Street, Houlton, in 1865] from the [http://www.mainememory.net/ Maine Memory Network]
* [http://www.maine.gov/local/aroostook/houlton/ Maine.gov -- Houlton, Maine]
 
{{Aroostook County, Maine}}
 
[[Category:Houlton, Maine| ]]
[[Category:County seats in Maine]]
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