Tremont is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is located on the southwestern side of Mount Desert Island, known to locals as "the quietside."

Tremont includes the villages of Bass Harbor (or McKinley), Bernard, Gotts Island, Seal Cove and West Tremont. Part of Acadia National Park lies within the town. Bass Harbor is the terminal for the Swan's Island ferry and the Frenchboro ferry.

History

Settled in 1762, it was incorporated on June 3, 1848 as Mansel, the name given the island by John Winthrop's company of emigrants to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. It was soon renamed Tremont, which means "three mountains" in French. By 1880, when the population was 2,011, the town had a sawmill, shipyard, gristmill, shingle mill and brickyard. Fishing and fish curing were the principal industries. Today, tourism is important to the economy.

Notable residents

• John F. Bickford, Medal of Honor recipient
• Elaine Guthrie Lorillard, musician
• Eleanor Mayo, writer, politician
• Ruth Moore, writer

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 52.4 square miles (135.7 km²), of which, 16.9 square miles (43.7 km²) of it is land and 35.5 square miles (92.0 km²) of it (67.84%) is water. Located on southwestern Mount Desert Island, Tremont is beside Blue Hill Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

The town is crossed by state routes 102 and 102A. It borders the towns of Mount Desert to the north and Southwest Harbor to the east.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,529 people, 662 households, and 436 families residing in the town. The population density was 90.7 people per square mile (35.0/km²). There were 1,075 housing units at an average density of 63.8/sq mi (24.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.04% White, 0.33% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population.

There were 662 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.76.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,750, and the median income for a family was $43,472. Males had a median income of $28,026 versus $21,835 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,420. About 5.0% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

• Acadia National Park
• Bass Harbor Head Light
• Ketterlinus Nature Preserve
• Seal Cove Auto Museum
• Ship Island Group Preserve
• Tremont Historical Society

References

• History of Tremont, Maine (1886)
• Maine.gov -- Tremont, Maine

External links

• Town of Tremont, Maine
• Tremont School
• Southwest Harbor / Tremont Chamber of Commerce