Bangor, Maine
This is the chief town of Penobscot county. It lies in N. lat. 44° 47' 50"., W. long. 68° 47'. It lies 66 miles E.N.E. from Augusta, 120 N.E. by E. from Portland, 230 N.E. from Boston, Mass., 115 S. from Eastport, and 675 N.E. from Washington. The first settlement in this place, by the whites, was made in the winter of 1769–1770. In 1772, the Plantation, Kenduskeag, as it was then called, consisted of twelve families. In 1790 the population of Bangor was 169; in 1800, 277; in 1810, 850; in 1820, 1,221; in 1830, 2,868, and in 1837, 9,201. This place is situated at the head of navigation on the west side of Penobscot river, 30 miles N. by E. from Belfast bay, 60 to Matawamkeag Point, 120 to Houlton, and about 60 miles from the open sea. The compact part of the population reside on both sides of Kenduskeag stream, about 190 yards in width at its mouth, over which are three bridges, and on which, at the feet of the falls, about a mile from the city, are numerous mills. The bridge across the Penobscot, 100 rods above the mouth of the Kenduskeag, is about 440 yards in length. It cost $50,000. The basin at and below the mouth of the Kenduskeag, where the shipping lie to receive their cargoes, is 90 rods in width, and affords good anchorage. The tide generally rises about 17 feet. Ship building is extensively pursued at this place; but commerce in lumber, of all the various kinds in use, is the principal occupation of the inhabitants. An immense amount of that article is annually rafted down the rivers, and transported to almost all parts of the world. Bangor is the greatest depot for lumber on the continent of America.
