Editing Alna, Maine (section)

==History==
[[Image:Alna ME DSC 0009.jpg|thumb|left|[[Pulpit]] at the Alna Meeting House]]
Originally a part of old Pownalborough, the town was settled around 1760 and incorporated in 1794 by the [[Massachusetts General Court]] as New Milford. But residents did not like the name, so it was changed in 1811 to '''Alna''', [[Latin language|Latin]] for [[alder]], the tree which grows in profusion along the banks of the [[Sheepscot River]].<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge  | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n57 29]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Alna was the site of the first [[fish hatchery]] in Maine, started shortly after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Between 1895 and 1933, the [[narrow gauge]] [[Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway|Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway]] operated three stations in the town: Head Tide, Alna Center, and Sheepscot. The latter now serves as the base of operations for a [[heritage railway]] in town.<ref>[http://www.wwfry.org/ WW&F Railway History]</ref>

In 2024, The Alna Store, at the intersection of Dock Road and Alna Road ([[Maine State Route 218]]), was voted by ''[[The New York Times]]'' one of America's Best Restaurants 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-09-24 |title=The Restaurant List 2024 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/dining/best-restaurants-america.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20240927&instance_id=135403&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=49641182&segment_id=178992&te=1&user_id=bf1c94dde1c08706707a0d0d4af313bd#the-alna-store |access-date=2024-09-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-24 |title=The Alna Store makes the New York Times’ 2024 list of the country's best restaurants |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2024/09/24/the-alna-store-makes-the-new-york-times-2024-list-of-the-countrys-best-restaurants/ |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Press Herald}}</ref>