Editing Monmouth, Maine (section)

==History==
Part of the Plymouth Patent, it was first settled as Freetown in 1776–1777 by families from [[Brunswick, Maine|Brunswick]]. It would also be called Bloomingborough and Wales before being incorporated by the [[Massachusetts General Court]] on January 20, 1792, as Monmouth,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.city-data.com/city/Monmouth-Maine.html |title= Monmouth, Maine|publisher= City-Data.com |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> after [[Monmouth Battlefield State Park|Monmouth]], [[New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2237|title= Profile for Monmouth, Maine, ME|publisher= ePodunk |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> The name was suggested by landowner [[Henry Dearborn|General Henry Dearborn]], who had fought in the [[Battle of Monmouth]] on June 28, 1778.<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| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n246 212]–215| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Monmouth was considered one of the best [[agriculture|agricultural]] towns in the state, producing [[hay]], [[apple]]s and [[potato]]es, in addition to [[beef cattle]] and [[dairy products]].<ref>[http://history.rays-place.com/me/monmouth-me.htm George J. Varney, ''History of Monmouth, Maine;'' Boston, Massachusetts 1886]</ref> It also had excellent sites for [[watermill]]s. By 1859, when the population was 1,925, it had two factories for making boot-webbing and binding, a [[shovel]] and [[Hoe (tool)|hoe]] factory, a [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]], a [[machine shop]]s, some mechanic shops, some [[wood turning]] shops, a [[sleigh]] and [[carriage]] factory, some [[boot]] and [[shoemaking|shoe]] shops, a [[carpet]] factory, and a [[window sash|sash]], [[window shutter|blind]] and [[door]] factory. In 1849, the [[Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad|Androscoggin & Kennebec Railroad]] (later part of the [[Maine Central Railroad]]) opened to the town.<ref name="Coolidge"/>