Bangor, Maine, United States of America

Bangor is a city located in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 31,473. It is the county seat of Penobscot County. It is the major commercial center for eastern, central and northern Maine.

In the 19th century, Bangor was a center of the timber and logging business and at one point late in the century was said to be the richest city per capita in the world. Many of the timber barons of the time lived in elaborate Victorian houses that still stand on West Broadway. The city is home to author Stephen King, who lives in one of those ornate houses. It is noteworthy for its large number of substantial old churches, as well as its imposing canopy of shade trees. It was once known as "The Queen City of the East." The shorter Queen City appellation is still used by some local clubs, organizations, events and businesses. The University of Maine is nearby.

Apocryphal name origin

In 1791, settlers from the area decided to incorporate into a town. The Reverend Seth Noble promoted the name Sunbury, and went to Boston with the settler's petition (at the time, Maine was part of Massachusetts). Noble was whistling a hymn written by William Tans'ur called Bangor when the Boston official asked him what he wanted the town's name to be. Noble, thinking that the official was asking him the name of the hymn, replied "Bangor". To many people, this story seems extremely unlikely.

Bangor Geography

Bangor is located at 44°48'39" North, 68°46'59" West (44.810870, -68.783012).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 90.0 km² (34.7 mi²). 89.2 km² (34.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.86% water.

Bangor Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 31,473 people, 13,713 households, and 7,185 families residing in the city. The population density is 352.7/km² (913.7/mi²). There are 14,587 housing units at an average density of 163.5/km² (423.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 94.96% White, 1.02% African American, 0.98% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 1.05% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 13,713 households out of which 26.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% are married couples living together, 12.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% are non-families. 37.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.12 and the average family size is 2.81.

In the city the population is spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $29,740, and the median income for a family is $42,047. Males have a median income of $32,314 versus $23,759 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,295. 16.6% of the population and 11.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 16.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Culture

The Bangor Public Library, founded in 1830, has a collection of over 500,000 volumes. The Maine Discovery Museum is a major children's museum founded in 2001 and located in the downtown area.

There are several performing arts venues and groups in the Bangor area. The Bangor Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1896, is the oldest continually operating symphony orchestra in the United States. The Penobscot Theater Company is a professional theater company based in the historic Bangor Opera House. The Maine Center for the Arts, located at the nearby University of Maine, hosts a wide variety of touring performing artists and events.

Bangor also boasts the country's oldest garden cemetery, the Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Events

The Bangor State Fair, held starting the last Friday of each July, for more than 150 years, is one of the country's oldest fairs, featuring agricultural exhibits, carnival attractions, and live performances.

In 2002, 2003, and 2004, Bangor was the host of the National Folk Festival. In August, 2005, the newly created American Folk Festival began as an annual event on the city's waterfront.

Media

The largest circulation daily newspaper in Maine, the Bangor Daily News, is published in the city. Bangor has more than a dozen radio stations and seven television stations, including WLBZ 2 (NBC), WABI 5 (CBS), WVII 7 (ABC), and WFVX 22 (Fox). WMEB 12, licensed to Orono, is the area's PBS member station.

Sports and recreation

The Eastern Maine High School Basketball Tournament is held each February at the Bangor Auditorium drawing fans from central, eastern and northern Maine. The nearby University of Maine fields major college sports teams in football, ice hockey, baseball, and men's and women's basketball. Bangor has also been home to two minor league baseball teams in the past decade, the Bangor Blue Ox (1995-1998) and the Bangor Lumberjacks (2003-2004) both affiliated with the Northeast League.

Bangor Raceway offers live harness racing and features a casino.

Nearby parks, forests and waterways support a wide variety of outdoor activities including hiking, sailing, canoeing, hunting, fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling.

Transportation

Bangor is located along I-95, US 1, and US 2. I-395 branches from I-95 and runs to the east.

Bus transit throughout Bangor is offered by the Bangor Area Transit system while air travel is available at Bangor International Airport.

Famous Bangorians

Bangor is the hometown of Hannibal Hamlin, who served as Abraham Lincoln's vice president, and of William Cohen, U.S. Senator and Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton. Chuck Peddle , who developed the MOS 6502 microprocessor in 1975, was born in Bangor in 1937. The well-known painter and Bohemian character Waldo Peirce was born in Bangor and lived there for a number of years.

Also residing there is Stephen King, the prolific and internationally popular author best known for his horror-themed stories, novels, and movies. His wife, Tabitha Spruce-King, is also a well-known writer and lives with him. They donate a substantial amount of money to local libraries and hospitals and have funded a baseball stadium, Mansfield Stadium, and the Beth Pancoe Pool, both adjacent to Hayford Park, for the citizens, especially the children, of the city to use.

King's fictional town, Derry, Maine, shares many points of correspondence with Bangor -- e.g., the rivers, the Standpipe, the hospital -- but is always referred to as separate from Bangor.

External links

• City of Bangor
• Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau - Tourism Information
• Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce
• Eastern Maine Development Corporation - Business Development & Relocation

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bangor,_Maine".