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==History== The [[Abenaki]] people called it ''Pannawambskek,'' meaning "where the ledges spread out," referring to rapids and drops in the river bed. The [[French people|French]] established a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] Catholic [[mission (Christian)|mission]] here in the 1680s. Nearly a century later after Great Britain took over French territory following its victory in the [[Seven Years' War]], the area was settled by [[English people|English]] pioneers in 1774. The name Old Town derives from "Indian Old Town", which was the English name for the largest [[Penobscot people|Penobscot]] Indian village, now known as [[Penobscot Indian Island Reservation|Indian Island]]. Located within the city limits but on its own island in the [[Penobscot River]], the reservation is the current and historical home of the Penobscot Nation.<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/n275 240]β241| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859. }}</ref> In 1820, when the present city was set off from neighboring [[Orono, Maine|Orono]] (named for a Penobscot [[sachem]]), it was given the name Old Town because it contained the Penobscot village. Over time, the Penobscot village ceased to be called Old Town, and the name migrated to the much newer American settlement across the river.<ref>{{Citation | last = Varney | first = George J. | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Old Town | place = Boston | publisher = Russell | year = 1886 | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/oldtown-me.htm }} </ref> Old Town may be best known for [[Old Town Canoe Co.]], a major manufacturer of [[canoe]]s and [[kayak]]s, which has been based in the city for more than 100 years. The city's location along a series of rapids in the Penobscot River, near the [[head of tide]] just downstream in [[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]], made it an ideal location in the 1800s to marshal the water power for mills to process [[lumber]] from the millions of [[Board foot|board feet]] of [[spruce]] and [[pine]] [[log driving|logs floated]] annually down the Penobscot.<ref>[http://www.old-town.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={BC121D7D-165C-4179-847D-A883A57F7976} Old Town's Rich Heritage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901202635/http://www.old-town.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BBC121D7D-165C-4179-847D-A883A57F7976%7D |date=2007-09-01 }}, Old Town website</ref> Today many residents work for the [[University of Maine]] in Orono and the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, the two largest employers in the area. Old Town is home to the [[Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited]]-owned [[Old Town paper mill]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Steve |date=2023-03-29 |title=High Electricity, Fiber Costs Shutter Old Town Mill |url=https://www.themainewire.com/2023/03/high-electricity-fiber-costs-shutter-old-town-mill/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602050537/https://www.themainewire.com/2023/03/high-electricity-fiber-costs-shutter-old-town-mill/ |archive-date=2023-06-02 |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=The Maine Wire |language=en-US}}</ref> The city of Old Town includes Treat-Webster Island (a.k.a. "French Island"), a predominantly residential neighborhood located on a small [[island]] in the middle of the Penobscot River. French Island is the intermediate land mass between [[Milford, Maine|Milford]] and Old Town; it is connected on either side by a bridge. <gallery> File:Old Toll Bridge, Old Town, ME.jpg|Old toll bridge in 1907 File:Carnegie Library, Old Town, ME.jpg|Public Library in 1909 File:City Hall, Old Town, ME.jpg|City Hall in 1914 </gallery>
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