Bethel:

Bethel, a community of nearly 2,500, was founded in 1774 as Sudbury Canada after the original grantees from Sudbury, Massachusetts, who fought in the campaign the conquer Canada in 1690. It is one of the oldest villages in Western Maine and was incorporated June 10, 1796. Bethel is a comfortable blend of farming, forestry, education, the arts, small family businesses, and four season tourism which includes skiing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, skating, ice fishing, fishing, hunting, swimming, boating, water skiing, picnicking, hiking, mountain biking, leaf peeping, and so many more activities too numerous to list!

Bethel Town Office:
www.bethelmaine.org
info@bethelmaine.org
Main Street, PO Box 1660
Bethel, ME 04217
(207) 824-2669

Bethel Public Library
5 Broad Street
Bethel, ME 04217
(207) 824-2520


Andover:

Andover, first settled in 1789 by Ezekiel Merrill, a revolutionary war veteran, and incorporated on June 23, 1804 as East Andover from East Andover Plantation, but, adopted its current name on June 13, 1820. Throughout the 19th century, farming, small-scale lumbering and home-based industries characterized the local economy. Since the Civil War and to date, it has become a popular destination for sportsmen and vacationers attracted to the nearby Richardson Lakes region. It is the site of the Telstar communications satellite ground station (the region's high school bears the satellite's name); Telstar I was launched July 10, 1962. Andover was also the location of the movie "Myth of Fingerprints".

Andover Town Office:
www.andovermaine.com
andovermaine@megalink.net
PO Box 219
Andover, ME 04261
(207) 392-3302

Andover Public Library
46 Church Street
Andover, ME 04216
(207) 392-4841

Hanover:

A small town first settled in 1774, Hanover has recently experienced home and vacation property development as a more rapid pace than previously seen. A former mill town and farming community, many of Hanover's residents are "summer folk", who enjoy time spent at the picturesque Howard Pond.

Hanover Town Office:
www.rivervalleychamber.com
hanover@midmaine.com
PO Box 70
Hanover, ME 04237
(207) 364-8200


Woodstock:

Woodstock was incorporated on February 7, 1815 from Dummer and Gorham Academy Grants.

Built about 1916, a substantial two-story, lakeside summer cottage Dreamhome was constructed by William Ellery and his wife Bessie. It was the centerpiece of a 125 acre estate bordering Lake Christopher and comprising several other cottages and outbuildings. The structure is a prime example of fine non-coastal summer residences in Maine's lakeshore interior.

Woodstock's major village is Bryant Pond, named from the adjacent water body. It gained brief fame as the last telephone exchange in Maine to give up a human operator in favor of automation.

South Woodstock is home to the small South Woodstock Meetinghouse and is the site of an old mill pond and mill on Andrews Brook. The town is served by Maine Route 26 and lies east of Bethel and north of West Paris.

Town of Woodstock:
Bp7ring@megalink.net
26 Monk Avenue
PO Box 317
Woodstock, ME 04219
(207) 665-2668

Whitman Memorial Library
28 South Main Street
Bryant Pond, ME 04219
(207) 665-2505

Greenwood:

Greenwood was first settled in 1802 and incorporated on February 2, 1816 from the former Phillips Academy Grant. Located just east of Bethel on Maine Route 26, the Village of Locke Mills in the Town of Greenwood lies on the shore of Round Pond which is linked to North Pond and South Pond. It is the settlement nearest the Mt. Abram ski area. The smaller Village of Greenwood City is accessible from West Paris on Maine Route 219, which ends at the village and the shore of Hicks Pond.

Town of Greenwood:
kimsparks@adelphia.net
Bird Hill Road
PO Box 180
Greenwood, ME 04255
(207) 875-2773


Gilead:

The small town of Gilead was settled in 1780 and incorporated on June 23, 1804 from Peabody's Grant. Gilead welcomes the Androscoggin River as it enters from New Hampshire. Located just north of the Maine segment of the White Mountains National Forest, it has spectacular views of the Presidential Range. Located on U.S. Route 2 as it enters the state and runs along the river, the town lies just west of Bethel.

Town of Gilead:
gileadto@megalink.net
14 Depot Street
Gilead, ME 04217
(207) 836-2115

Upton:

Upton was incorporated on February 9, 1860 from Letter B Plantation. This small community borders New Hampshire and Umagog Lake that straddles the two states and is the source of the Androscoggin River. Upton is far from other sizable Maine towns on Maine Route 26 as it ends at the New Hampshire border. The area was the setting for Louise Dickinson Rich's 1942 account of life in the wilderness: We Took to the Woods.

Town of Upton:
1825 East ?B? Hill Road
Upton, ME 04261
(207) 533-2131

Newry:

Newry was incorporated on June 15, 1805 from Bostwick Plantation. In 1837 it annexed land from Andover Surplus West and township A2. Settled in 1781, Newry, on Maine Route 26, is the Maine gateway to the hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail, of Grafton Township. Grafton Notch State Park features the Notch formed by Old Spec Mountain and Bald Mountain. In the Notch, Screw Auger Falls has worn deep holes into solid rock by the swirling water of the Bear River. The Step Falls Preserve, on Route 26, was the first preserve of the Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy; with 24 acres of cascades and pools which drop 200 feet in a quarter-mile. Newry is also home to Sunday River Ski Resort, a popular and ever growing New England get away recently purchased by Boyne Resorts. With the installation of the first 6-person Chondola (4 chair plus gondola) system in the Northeast, Boyne plans to move Sunday River toward a four season resort.

Newry Town Office:
www.newrymaine.com
lpowers@megalink.net
422 Bear River Road
Newry, ME 04261
(207) 824-3123