Editing Poland, Maine (section)

==History==
Land was granted by the [[Massachusetts General Court]] in 1765 to officers and soldiers who served with Sir [[William Phips]] in the 1690 [[Battle of Quebec (1690)|Battle of Quebec]]. It replaced a 1736 grant made to them called Bakerstown (now [[Salisbury, New Hampshire]]) which was ruled invalid in 1741 at the separation of [[New Hampshire]] from [[Massachusetts]]. The new plantation was also called Bakerstown (after Captain Thomas Baker), and included present-day Poland, [[Minot, Maine|Minot]], [[Mechanic Falls, Maine|Mechanic Falls]] and the greater part of [[Auburn, Maine|Auburn]].<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/n302 265]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Settled in 1767 by Nathaniel Bailey and Daniel Lane, Bakerstown Plantation would be incorporated as Poland on February 17, 1795. Poland is named after an "ancient melody" of the same name.<ref name="PolandHistory">{{cite web | url=https://www.polandtownoffice.org/historical-society/pages/history-poland-maine | title=History of Poland, Maine | publisher=Town of Poland, Maine | work=polandtownoffice.org | access-date=May 20, 2021}}</ref>

At the beginning, Poland was an [[agriculture|agricultural]] town, with {{convert|600|acre|km2}} of the best land [[farming|farmed]] by the [[Shakers]] who settled at Poland Hill, north of the [[Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village]] in [[New Gloucester, Maine|New Gloucester]]. Called the North Family of Shakers, the village was founded by members who moved from [[Gorham, Maine|Gorham]] in 1819. The village lasted until 1887.<ref>[http://www.shaker.lib.me.us/brochure2.html The Sabbathday Lake Shakers and the Rickers of the Poland Spring Hotel], Shaker.lib.me.us</ref>

Industry was attracted to Poland's [[water power]] sites. In 1859, when the population was 2,660, it had four [[sawmill]]s, a [[gristmill]], a [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]] and a [[carriage]] factory. The [[St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad]] passed through the northeastern corner of the town, spurring development and bringing tourists drawn to its scenic ponds and gentle hills. By 1893, when Mechanic Falls was set off as a separate town, Poland had evolved into a [[Gilded Age]] resort town.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Poland
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/poland-me.htm }}
</ref>

In 1797, The Wentworth Ricker Inn in South Poland opened at the homestead Jabez Ricker, acquired from a 1794 land swap with the Alfred Shaker Village in [[Alfred, Maine|Alfred]]. But when the [[railroad]] replaced [[stagecoach|stage]] travel, patronage declined and the inn closed. Then a grandson, Hiram Ricker, began proclaiming that the [[mineral spring]] on his family's property had cured his [[dyspepsia]]. People began arriving to sample the spring's curative waters, which flow 8 gallons a minute. Reopened in 1861, the inn was enlarged and renamed The Mansion House. But even that property could not handle the crowds of tourists, so in 1875 the family expanded the property, build an extravagant house that was dubbed "Ricker's [[folly]]" due to skepticism that such a large property would be successful.<ref name="History of the Poland Spring House">{{Cite web|url=http://baharris.org/historicpolandspring/PolandSpringHouse/PSH_1.htm|title=The Poland Spring House, South Poland, Maine|website=Baharris.org|access-date=February 1, 2022}}</ref>

On July 4, 1876, the Poland Spring House opened atop Ricker's Hill, an elevation of 800 feet (244 m) [[above sea level]] with magnificent views to the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]]. The hotel would be augmented over the years by architects [[John Calvin Stevens]], Albert Winslow Cobb and Harry Wilkerson. It became a self-contained and exclusive [[spa]], with guards at [[gatehouse]]s instructed to turn away sightseers. With luxurious accommodations for 450 guests, the hotel attracted the rich and famous. Patrons included [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Gen. Benjamin Butler]], [[James G. Blaine|Sen. James G. Blaine]], [[Joan Crawford]], [[Jimmy Durante]], [[Jack Paar]] and [[Robert Goulet]]. But following [[World War II]], the era of grand hotels waned. When the Rickers sold the Poland Spring House, its new owners allowed the sprawling facilities to deteriorate. Apollo Industries purchased the hotel in 1963 and converted it to the largest Women's [[Job Corps]] facility in the United States. The Job Corps dormitory was vacated in 1969, and was destroyed by a spectacular fire on July 3, 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.baharris.org/historicpolandspring/PolandSpringHouse/PSH_1.htm |title=The Poland Spring House |last=Harris |first=Brian |access-date=September 5, 2016 }}</ref>

Today, the water is bottled and sold as [[Poland Spring]] water by [[BlueTriton Brands]].

<gallery>
Image:Looking North at Poland, ME.jpg|View of Poland, looking north, {{circa|1905}}
Image:Residence of Gov. Bert M. Fernald, West Poland, ME.jpg|Home of Gov. Fernald {{circa|1910}}
Image:The Mansion House, South Poland, ME.jpg|The Mansion House in 1915
</gallery>

===1978 P-3 Orion crash===

[[File:Orion.usnavy.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|P-3 Orion similar to the one which fell on Tripp Corner.]]
Poland was the site of one of the last major accidents involving aircraft from Maine's [[Cold War]] air bases. A [[United States Navy]] patrol bomber from [[Naval Air Station Brunswick]] Patrol Squadron 8 ([[VP-8]]) disintegrated over Poland on September 22, 1978. An over-pressurized fuel tank caused the port wing of the [[Lockheed P-3 Orion]] to separate at the outboard engine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vpnavy.com/vp8_mishap.html|title=VP-8 Mishap|publisher=U.S.Navy Patrol Squadrons|access-date=January 21, 2012}}</ref> The detached wing sheared off part of the tail; and aerodynamic forces caused the remaining engines and starboard wing to detach from the fuselage. Debris rained down over a wide area near the Tripp Corner intersection on Route 11 shortly after noon. No homes were hit, but an explosive fuel-air fire following impact broke some windows. There were no survivors from the plane's eight-man crew.<ref>{{cite web|title=The ultimate sacrifice; wreck sites a reminder of military plane disasters|url=http://www.sunjournal.com/oxford-hills/story/907518|publisher=Lewiston Sun Journal|access-date=March 17, 2013|author=M. Dirk M. Dirk|date=January 20, 2012}}</ref>