Patten, Maine

File:Patten ME Bird's eye.jpg

File:Patten Drug Store.jpg

The town was named for Amos Patten,{{cite web| url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2282| title=Profile for Patten, Maine| publisher=ePodunk| access-date=May 4, 2010}}{{cite book|last1=Chadbourne|first1=Ava Harriet|title=Maine Place Names and the Peopling of its Towns|date=1955|publisher=Bond Wheelwright Ci|location=Portland, ME|page=358|isbn=9780870271120 |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001261742|access-date=March 3, 2015}} a resident of Bangor, Maine, who about 1828 purchased Township No. 4, Range 6, as it was then designated, for its vast timber supply.Olsen, Irene. History of Patten Academy, The Trustees of the Patten Academy, 1947, p. 10.{{cite book|last1=Finch|first1=Juanita Bates; Jennifer Bates Ryan, Ed.|title=An Informal History of the Town of Patten, Maine|date= 2013|publisher=Jennifer Bates Ryan|page=2|edition=2nd printing}} In 1829 Amos Patten hired Ira Fish and Eli Kellogg to survey the land. The surveyors soon asked permission to establish their homes in Patten. The town was incorporated on April 16, 1841, and given its present name at that time.{{cite book|title=History of Penobscot County, Maine with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofpenobsc00will_0|year=1882|publisher=Williams, Chase, & Co.|location=Cleveland, OH|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofpenobsc00will_0/page/478 478–481]}} By 1850 the population numbered 470, reaching 704 in 1870, and 716 residents in 1880. The town's infrastructure gradually appeared. In March 1841 the Congregational Church was organized.History of Penobscot County Maine with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Williams, Chase & Co., 1882, p. 479. Within a few years, citizens began agitating for local education. A bill to appoint Trustees of the Patten Academy passed the Maine legislature and was signed by the governor in 1847.Olsen, Irene. History of Patten Academy, The Trustees of the Patten Academy, 1947, p. 11. The Patten Academy opened its doors with 61 students in September 1848, and educated its residents for more than a century.

File:Patten Academy Patten ME.jpg

Two factors explain Patten's comparatively early development, and its position as the major town of the Penobscot panhandle and southwestern Aroostook in the nineteenth century. First, it is the first town beyond the Mount Katahdin range, giving it access to the upper East Branch and lower Allagash River basins, which were leading lumbering areas. Its close proximity to several major rivers and streams allowed abundant water power but did not favor the development of large-scale industry, Small mills and workshops utilized its power during most of the town's history.

Second, it has the best agricultural land in the proximity of those basins. As a result, lumbering stimulated very early development of commerce and farming; and the town early gained the status as the distribution center and cultural nexus of all the towns west of Houlton and north of Lincoln. It is situated at the intersection of Maine Rte. 11 and Maine State Route 159.

The six buildings of the Bradford Farm (1840) in Patten are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and are now occupied by the Bradford House Bed & Breakfast Inn.

Patten lies on the western edge of the Mattawamkeag River system basin, almost at the edge of the East Branch of the Penobscot River's basin. Two major Mattawamkeag tributaries occupy its area: in the north, Fish Stream (formerly known as the "Mattawamkeag West Branch"), and in the south, small feeders of Molunkus Stream. Fish Stream is navigable by very small craft as far as Island Falls, approximately {{convert|10|mi|0}} distance, for about six months of the year. In the early days of lumbering, it was used to drive local cutting downstream, eventually to the mills at Old Town and Bangor.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|38.25|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|38.19|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.06|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.{{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}}

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Patten has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=593620&cityname=Patten%2C+Maine%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Patten, Maine]

{{Weather box

|location = Patten 2, Maine, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1902–1930, 1965–1980, 1985–2017: 820ft (250m)

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 53

|Feb record high F = 65

|Mar record high F = 78

|Apr record high F = 88

|May record high F = 96

|Jun record high F = 100

|Jul record high F = 100

|Aug record high F = 98

|Sep record high F = 93

|Oct record high F = 86

|Nov record high F = 70

|Dec record high F = 59

|year record high F =

|Jan high F = 22.1

|Feb high F = 25.4

|Mar high F = 34.5

|Apr high F = 47.8

|May high F = 62.2

|Jun high F = 71.7

|Jul high F = 76.1

|Aug high F = 75.2

|Sep high F = 67.1

|Oct high F = 53.5

|Nov high F = 40.6

|Dec high F = 28.8

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 12.7

|Feb mean F = 15.6

|Mar mean F = 25.1

|Apr mean F = 38.2

|May mean F = 51.2

|Jun mean F = 60.4

|Jul mean F = 65.7

|Aug mean F = 64.3

|Sep mean F = 56.3

|Oct mean F = 44.1

|Nov mean F = 32.7

|Dec mean F = 20.9

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 3.3

|Feb low F = 5.9

|Mar low F = 15.6

|Apr low F = 28.6

|May low F = 40.2

|Jun low F = 49.2

|Jul low F = 55.2

|Aug low F = 53.5

|Sep low F = 45.4

|Oct low F = 34.8

|Nov low F = 24.9

|Dec low F = 13.0

|year low F =

|Jan record low F = −35

|Feb record low F = −36

|Mar record low F = −28

|Apr record low F = -3

|May record low F = 18

|Jun record low F = 21

|Jul record low F = 34

|Aug record low F = 29

|Sep record low F = 20

|Oct record low F = 10

|Nov record low F = −11

|Dec record low F = −35

|year record low F =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.28

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.57

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.07

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.85

|May precipitation inch = 4.02

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.81

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.08

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.99

|Sep precipitation inch = 4.02

|Oct precipitation inch = 4.27

|Nov precipitation inch = 4.38

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.69

|year precipitation inch =

|source 1 = NOAA (precipitation 1981–2010)

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00176594&format=pdf

|title = Patten 2, Maine 1991–2020 Monthly Normals

|access-date = March 13, 2024

}}

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00176594&format=pdf

|title = Patten 2, Maine 1981–2010 Monthly Normals

|access-date = March 13, 2024

}}

|source 2 = XMACIS2

{{cite web

|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = xmACIS

|access-date = March 13, 2024

}}

}}

{{US Census population

|1850= 470

|1860= 639

|1870= 704

|1880= 716

|1890= 936

|1900= 1172

|1910= 1406

|1920= 1498

|1930= 1278

|1940= 1548

|1950= 1536

|1960= 1312

|1970= 1266

|1980= 1368

|1990= 1256

|2000= 1111

|2010= 1017

|2020= 881

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{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}}

}}

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the town was $26,900, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $27,656 versus $15,987 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,384. About 12.4% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

As of the census{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 16, 2012}} of 2010, there were 1,017 people, 447 households, and 283 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|26.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 565 housing units at an average density of {{convert|14.8|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the town was 98.9% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Asian, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.1% of the population.

There were 447 households, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.73.

The median age in the town was 47.6 years. 19.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.9% were from 25 to 44; 31.7% were from 45 to 64; and 22.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

• Gladys George (1900–1954), stage and film actress
• Lore Alford Rogers (1875–1975), dairy scientist and bacteriologist
• Lou Rogers (Annie L. Rogers) (1879–1952) cartoonist and writer

{{reflist}}

{{Coord|45|59|47|N|68|26|46|W|type:city_region:US-ME|display=title}}

{{Wikivoyage|Patten}}

• Benjamin, Charles Henry (1929). [Patten, Maine] A Hill Town in New England. Altadena, CA. Charles Henry Benjamin.
• Brown, Lynn Olsen. (2009). Alice, Frankenstein and Saturday Night Beans: A Young Girl's Memory of Bradford Farm. Houlton, ME: Lynn Olsen Brown.
• Finch, Juanita Bates. (2013). An Informal History of the Town of Patten, Maine. Edited by Jennifer Bates Ryan. Westfield, ME: Jennifer Bates Ryan. Originally published in the Millinocket Journal, 1950.
• Olsen, Irene. (1947). History of Patten Academy. Patten, ME: The Trustees of the Patten Academy.

• [http://www.katahdinlodge7photos.blogspot.com/ Katahdin Lodge and Camps of Patten, Maine in 1969], Northern Maine Adventures photo album
• [http://www.lumbermensmuseum.org/ Patten Lumbermens Museum]
• [http://www.uvec.org/ Upper Valley Economic Council]
• [http://www.veterans-memorial.lib.me.us/pattenlinks.html Patten Area Links], from Veterans Memorial Library
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20171231061503/http://www.katahdincam.com/ Mt. Katahdin Webcam] in Patten

{{Penobscot County, Maine}}

{{Penobscot River}}

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Category:Towns in Penobscot County, Maine

Category:Towns in Maine