Editing Lubec, Maine (section)

==History==

Located on a [[peninsula]] overlooking an ice-free harbor, the town was first settled about 1775. Originally part of [[Eastport, Maine|Eastport]], it was set off and incorporated on June 21, 1811, and named for [[Lübeck]], Germany.<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/n235 201]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ|quote=coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.}}</ref> Following the [[War of 1812]], Lubec was the site of considerable [[smuggling]] trade in [[gypsum]], although principal industries remained [[agriculture]] and [[fisheries]]. By 1859, there was a [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]], three [[gristmill]]s and nine [[sawmill]]s; by 1886, there were also two [[shipyard]]s, three [[boatbuilder]]s and three [[sailmaker]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Varney|first=George J.|title=Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Lubec|place=Boston|publisher=Russell|year=1886|url=http://history.rays-place.com/me/lubec-me.htm}}</ref>

{{anchor|Swindle}}<!--anchor is target of [[Prescott Jernegan]]-->From 1897 to 1898, the town was the site of a swindle in the sale of stock in the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company, the brainchild of Reverend Prescott Jernegan and Charles Fisher of [[Martha's Vineyard]].<ref name="klondike">[https://lubec.mainememory.net/page/960/display.html Klondike: Lubec's Gold from Sea Water Hoax]</ref> Jernegan claimed to have developed a method of using "accumulators" to get gold from sea water, and bought an old grist mill to turn it into a factory. The scheme attracted an abundance of investors, who were all too eager to funnel money into the company after being promised astronomical returns. In the summer of 1898, work was suspended without explanation. Jernegan and Smith vanished, and the fraud was gleefully exposed by newspapers across New England.<ref name="klondike" />

Lubec reached its population peak in the 1910s and 1920s, hovering a little above 3,300.  Since then, the population has generally been in a gradual but steady decline. As of 2020, its population had fallen to 1,237.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
Image:General View of Lubec, ME.jpg|General view {{circa|1910}}
Image:Soldiers' Monument, Lubec, ME.jpg|War monument in 1908
Image:Bank Square, Lubec, ME.jpg|Bank Square {{circa|1908}}
Image:LUBEC, LOOKING WEST FROM CAMPOBELLO ISLAND. SMOKE IS FROM MC CURDY'S PACKING PLANT WHERE HERRING IS SMOKED - NARA - 550322.jpg|Lubec in 1973
</gallery>