Editing Deer Isle, Maine

{{Short description| Town in the state of Maine, United States}}
{{redirect|Deer Isle|other uses|Deer Island (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date = October 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Deer Isle, Maine
|settlement_type          = [[New England town|Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = "Welcome To Our Beautiful Island"

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Mill Creek and Town Hall, Deer Isle, ME.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Mill Creek and Town Hall in 1907
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map              = Maine#USA
|pushpin_label            = Deer Isle
|pushpin_label_position   = bottom<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
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|pushpin_mapsize          =
|image_map                =  
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|map_caption              = 
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|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = State
|subdivision_name1        = [[Maine]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Maine|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Hancock County, Maine|Hancock]]
|parts_type               = Villages
|parts                    = Deer&nbsp;Isle<br>Eggemoggin<br>[[Little Deer Isle, Maine|Little&nbsp;Deer&nbsp;Isle]]<br>Mountainville<br>North&nbsp;Deer&nbsp;Isle<br>Reach<br>South&nbsp;Deer&nbsp;Isle<br>[[Sunset, Maine|Sunset]]<br>Sunshine
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = Incorporated
|established_date         = 1789

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           =<ref name ="Gazetteer files"/>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 320.30
|area_land_km2            = 76.97
|area_water_km2           = 243.33
|area_total_sq_mi         = 123.67
|area_land_sq_mi          = 29.72
|area_water_sq_mi         = 93.95

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_total         = 2194
|population_density_km2   = 28.5
|population_density_sq_mi =

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 0
|elevation_ft             = 0
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|13|29|N|68|40|37|W|region:US-ME|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 04627 (Deer Isle)<br/>04650 ([[Little Deer Isle, Maine|Little Deer Isle]])<br/>04683 ([[Sunset, Maine|Sunset]])
|area_code                = [[Area code 207|207]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 23-17145
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0582437
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
}}
'''Deer Isle''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Hancock County, Maine|Hancock County]], [[Maine]], United States. The population was 2,194 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0600000US2300917145|title=Census - Geography Profile: Deer Isle town, Hancock County, Maine|access-date=January 18, 2022}}</ref> Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the [[Haystack Mountain School of Crafts]], [[Stonington Opera House]], and the town's many art galleries.

==History==
{{copyvio}}
<!--These three paragraphs are copyvios of http://www.inheritage.org/almanack/c_deer_02.html, now no longer on the internet as a separate site but accessible from https://web.archive.org/web/20060923055028/http://www.inheritage.org/almanack/c_deer_02.html (text has to be highlighted to be read). They should be rewritten substantially and sourced, as they have useful information.

Caleb Hardie is the founder of Stonington All the early explorers encountered the natives. Their experiences surely varied, but most often fell in line with the prevailing attitudes of European superiority — Martin Pring having taken five Indian captives back to England as "oddities." Edith Spofford-Watts provided us a few more objective details of the earliest inhabitants. She highlights state archeological finds that have estimated human habitation dating to 11,000 B.C., writing of possible descendents called the "Red Paint People" due to their use of ochres in burial traditions. Digs have shown them to be an advanced race of adept toolmakers who made the area home from 8,000 B.C. to within a few millennia of Christ’s birth. Ample evidence of thriving sedentary communities that engaged in trade have been unearthed, the frequent discovery of clamshell heaps confirming an obvious reliance on the sea. These long periods of general cultural knowledge begin to come more clear, more refined by the time of Norse and later European exploration. By the 16th century, Deer Isle was the heart of the Eastern Abeneki, an Algonquin-speaking people composed of a multitude of sub-tribes — such as the regional Penobscot and Tarrantine. But fratricidal conflict was prevalent and the native population had been "greatly depleted by the forays and massacres of long Indian wars" by the time of the first whites, according to Spofford-Watts. Those who were left were ill-equipped to resist the white man, and the diseases he brought.
A
The first permanent white settlers of Deer Isle were William Eaton and his wife Meribah. They arrived in 1762 at the head of a number of pioneers (among them descendants of Scots Covenantor George Gray, who was a [[Battle of Dunbar]] (September 3, 1650) prisoner of war and [[Durham Cathedral]] survivor. Gray's grandson Joshua Gray relocated to Sedgewick and Deer Isle, Maine, after defending Fort Pownall during the [[French and Indian War]] in the 1760s. Records show over a dozen men – including Eaton – petitioned the state of Massachusetts [which laid claim to and governed the lands of Maine until 1820] for land titles as early as August of that year. As mentioned, wild game... mostly deer... was abundant. The settlers named their new home for the thriving herds. but it would be the harvest of the ever present sea that would always be the predominant provider. The Eatons and others, such as Jonathan Greenlaw, a man of importance among the early settlers, put up their dwellings along the shores to take advantage of the sea. The first settlers lined North and Little Deer Isles along "the Reach." Only after the lands to the north were claimed did new settlers begin to move into the interior and southern reaches of the islands. As is requisite of local history narratives, Hosmer provides us a testament to the hardships of these settlers’ daily lives:

"Rustic log cabins with thatched or bark roofs containing a stone fireplace, sometimes a cellar, sometimes just a dirt floor, was the standard dwelling. The plentiful banks of clams and the profusion of fish, gathered with hand-drawn lines from dugouts on the many inlets, bays and straits, were the staple. These were augmented by game hunted on the interior of the islands, herring and smelt caught from the numerous clear freshwater sources inland, and waterfowl. "Duck-driving," the driving of large flocks during molting season, when the birds were unable to fly, across the southern bays towards waiting hunters at a pre-arranged inlet was a popular sport that yielded sustaining quantities of meat. On land area was being cleared for dairy cattle and freeranging sheep. Sheep’s wool, along with the flax plant, produced the fiber required for use in "spinning" clothing and blankets. Corn was the staple vegetable. It was supplemented by wild nuts, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and planted apple trees. Whale oil was used in lanterns, seaweed used for fertilizer, the ingenuity of relying on available resources evident … The settlements slowly became grounded communities. The first child was born to the Timothy Billings family in May of 1764, beginning a long lineage that can still be found in the many modern-day descendents of original settlers."
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The town was incorporated in 1789, at which time it included the islands of [[Little Deer Isle]], [[Deer Isle (island)|Deer Isle]], and [[Isle au Haut, Maine|Isle au Haut]].<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/n137 103]–104| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref> Deer were abundant on these islands, hence the name.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n101 102]}}</ref> In 1868 Isle au Haut became a separate town. In 1897, the southern third of Deer Isle incorporated as the town of [[Stonington, Maine|Stonington]].<ref name="MAGDE">{{cite book |last= Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums |editor=Doris A. Isaacson |title=Maine: A Guide 'Down East' |year=1970 |publisher=Courier-Gazette, Inc. |location=Rockland, Me | pages = 347–349 }}</ref>

In the 19th century, the granite industry flourished on Deer Isle where its quarries supplied granite for structures such as the [[Boston]] [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]], the [[Smithsonian Institution]], the [[US Naval Academy]], the [[Manhattan Bridge]], and President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s [[John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame|tomb]] at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Deer Isle
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/deer-isle-me.htm
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120709203849/http://history.rays-place.com/me/deer-isle-me.htm
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = July 9, 2012
  }}</ref>

In 1931, Frederick Low Olmstead caught attention in New York newspapers when he filed a civil claim against the Astor family falsely alleging Deer Island had belonged to his ancestor Cotton Mather Olmstead in 1705 when Captain Kidd had come ashore, and the island was later allegedly sold to a man curiously named Jacques Cartier working for [[John Jacob Astor]].<ref name="chests"/> In this fantastical tale, Cartier discovered Kidd's treasure in 1892 beneath a rock with a cross on the island, leading Astor to secretly sell it all. These claims sparked ongoing rumors of Kidd's treasure on the island,<ref name="chests">Wilkins, Harold Tom. "Treasure hunting; the treasure-hunter's own book of land caches and bullion wrecks", 1973</ref> even though it seemed publications were widely contradicting each other whether this was the Deer Island in southern New Brunswick, near Penobscot Maine or off Boston Massachusetts.<ref name="lds"/><ref name="chest"/><ref>Simpson, Dorothy, "The Maine islands, in story and legend", 1960</ref> even catching the attention of the [[Mormon Church]] which held it may be related to revelations received by their prophet [[Joseph Smith]].<ref name="lds">Carmack, Noel A. "Joseph Smith, Captain Kidd Lore, and Treasure-Seeking in New York and New England during the Early Republic", https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V46N03_412b.pdf</ref>

In [[John Steinbeck]]'s ''[[Travels with Charley]]'', Deer Isle was a stopping point for the author after the insistence of his literary agent that he visit the cottage of Eleanor Brace, at Dunham's Point. Steinbeck wrote, "One doesn't have to be sensitive to feel the strangeness of Deer Isle".<ref>John Steinbeck, ''[[Travels with Charley|Travels with Charley: In Search of America]]'', Part Two, 1962</ref>

It was Deer Isle that musician [[Dan Fogelberg]] and his wife Jean chose for their final home, and where he died in 2007. This isle was the home town of the dock that was the inspiration for the painter [[Fairfield Porter]]. Many small private islands can be found in the waters surrounding Deer Isle. [[Cabot Lyford]], a Maine sculptor, used seven tons of Deer Isle granite to carve one of his best known pieces, ''Life Force''.<ref name=ppherald>{{cite news|first=Bob|last=Keyes |title=Maine sculptor Cabot Lyford dies at 90 |url=http://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/23/maine-sculptor-cabot-lyford-dies-at-age-90/ |work=[[Portland Press Herald]] |date=January 23, 2016 |access-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref> The sculpture, which depicts dolphins jumping from the water, stands outside the Regency Hotel in [[Portland, Maine|Portland]].<ref name=ppherald/>

==Geography==
The town of Deer Isle is one of two communities on the [[Deer Isle (island)|island of Deer Isle]], the other being [[Stonington, Maine|Stonington]]. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|123.67|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|29.72|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|93.95|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name ="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/gazetteer2010.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 16, 2012}}</ref>

Deer Isle is separated from the mainland by Eggemoggin Reach and may be reached by car via a narrow 1939 suspension bridge bearing the [[Deer Isle Bridge|island's name]].

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 682
|1800= 1094
|1810= 1507
|1820= 1842
|1830= 2228
|1840= 2841
|1850= 3037
|1860= 3590
|1870= 3414
|1880= 3266
|1890= 3422
|1900= 2047
|1910= 1946
|1920= 1718
|1930= 1266
|1940= 1303
|1950= 1234
|1960= 1129
|1970= 1211
|1980= 1492
|1990= 1829
|2000= 1876
|2010= 1975
|2020= 2194
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2015 }}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the census<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 16, 2012}}</ref> of 2010, there were 1,975 people, 929 households, and 533 families living in the town. The population density was {{convert|66.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 1,936 housing units at an average density of {{convert|65.1|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the town was 98.1% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.2% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.5% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.2% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 1.0% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] people of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 929 households, of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.6% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.61.

The median age in the town was 51.6 years. 16.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 28.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

===2000 census===
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 1,876 people, 781 households, and 523 families living in the town. The population density was {{convert|63.2|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,575 housing units at an average density of {{convert|53.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}, and the racial makeup of the town was 98.61% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]]; 0.16% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]]; 0.11% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]; 0.21% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]; and 0.91% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] people of any race were 0.37% of the population.

There were 781 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.5% of the population under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,826, and the median income for a family was $40,714. Males had a median income of $27,008 versus $19,052 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,875. About 5.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

== Notable people ==
[[File:Deer Isle Bridge, view looking Northeast.jpg|thumb|right|[[Deer Isle Bridge]]]]
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· The article must mention how they are associated with Deer Isle, whether born, raised, or residing.
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* [[Gerald Warner Brace]] (1901–1978), writer, professor, sailor and boat builder
* [[Holly Eaton]], politician and resident of Deer Isle<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holly Eaton |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Holly_Eaton |access-date=December 24, 2023 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Dan Fogelberg]] (1951–2007), singer and songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist
* [[Buckminster Fuller]] (1895–1983), architect and inventor<ref name="Snapshot: Deer Isle">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/snapshot-deer-isle-49731064/|title=Snapshot: Deer Isle|date=May 17, 2008|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=April 21, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Robert McCloskey]] (1914–2003), author and illustrator of children's books
*[[Francis Sumner Merritt]] (1913–2000), painter, co-founder and first director of [[Haystack Mountain School of Crafts]]
* [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] (1822–1903), early urban planner and landscape architect<ref name="Snapshot: Deer Isle"/>
*[[Ronald Hayes Pearson]] (1924–1996), designer, jeweler, and metalsmith<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Ronald Hayes Pearson|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artist/ronald-hayes-pearson-3730|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929034221/https://americanart.si.edu/artist/ronald-hayes-pearson-3730 |archive-date=September 29, 2017 |access-date=February 12, 2021|website=Smithsonian American Art Museum|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Thomas E. Ricks (journalist)|Thomas E. Ricks]] (born 1955), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who specializes in the military and national security issues
* [[Anica Mrose Rissi]], author and writer brought up in Deer Isle<ref>{{cite web|url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52ee5fa6e4b0ecd2401d99fa/t/56a05d2422482e8e62f86634/1453350181423/AnnaBanana+in+EllsworthAmerican+7.2.2015.pdf|title=A Girl's Best Friend|work=Ellsworth American|access-date=August 16, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Salome Sellers]] (1800–1909), last known and documented living person born in the 18th century
* [[Cynthia Voigt]] (born 1942), young adults book author<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ellsworthamerican.com/living/arts-a-living/award-winning-author-cynthia-voigt-reflects-on-her-career/|title=Award-winning author Cynthia Voigt reflects on her career|date=December 28, 2015|website=The Ellsworth American|language=en-US|access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref>

==Cultural references==

*[[John Steinbeck]] describes his visit to Deer Isle in the 1962 novel, ''[[Travels with Charley]]''. 
*Deer Isle is mentioned in Part II, Chapter 8, of [[Don DeLillo]]'s 1977 novel ''[[Players (DeLillo novel)|Players]]''.
*Deer Isle is heavily referenced in Ken Burns' docuseries ''[[The Civil War (miniseries)|The Civil War]]''. Stories from the town are used to illustrate the impact the [[American Civil War]] had on places across the United States, even towns like Deer Isle which were far away from most of the war's battles. 21 residents of Deer Isle were killed fighting in the war.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.maine.gov/civilwar/monuments/deerisle.html | title=Maine's Civil War Monuments }}</ref>
*[[Anica Mrose Rissi]]'s 2023 middle grade novel ''Wishing Season'' is set on Deer Isle.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anica-mrose-rissi/wishing-season-rissi/ |title=WISHING SEASON {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.deerislemaine.com/ Deer Isle – Stonington Chamber of Commerce]

{{Hancock County, Maine}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Hancock County, Maine]]
[[Category:Towns in Maine]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Maine]]
[[Category:Deer Isle, Maine| ]]