Bowerbank

From Katahdin

Bowerbank, Maine can be found north of Dover-Foxcroft, the two towns separated by Sebec Lake. By road, however, the distance between the two towns is nearly twenty-five miles. Onawa is but a short distance to the west of Bowerbank, although by road the two communities are more than sixteen miles apart.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Lakes, ponds 2.2 Rivers, streams, brooks 2.3 Wetlands 3 Public places 3.1 Boat launch 3.2 Bowerbank Cemetery 3.3 Peaks-Kenny State Park 3.4 Sebec Lake 4 Culture 4.1 Libraries 4.1.1 Bowerbank Library 4.2 Museums 4.3 Organizations 4.3.1 Bowerbank ATV Club 4.3.2 Bowerbank Volunteer Fire Department 5 Churches 6 Businesses 7 Government 7.1 Elected officials 7.1.1 Board of Selectmen 7.2 Municipal buildings 7.2.1 Town hall 7.2.2 Town hall annex 7.2.3 Fire department/Community center 7.2.4 Town garage 8 Demographics 9 Education 10 Medical 11 Infrastructure 11.1 Railroad 11.2 Roads 12 References 13 External links

History

• Bowerbank history

Geography

Bowerbank is located in the central part of Piscataquis County, on the northern and southern shores of Sebec Lake, roughly twenty miles north of Dover-Foxcroft. Willimantic borders the town on the west, Elliottsville to the northwest, Sebec to the southeast, Guilford to the southwest, and Katahdin Iron Works Township in the northeast. T7R9 NWP is to the north of Bowerbank.

Bowerbank is located north of Dover-Foxcroft, separated by Sebec Lake. Today, only small corner of Bowerbank lies on the Dover-Foxcroft side of the lake, but before Dover and Foxcroft joined to form one town in 1922, the Foxcroft town line came across the northern side of the lake. Bowerbank purchased the land down to the lake from Foxcroft, as well as the land down to the Barnard line from the town of Sebec.

Bowerbank consists of rolling hills, fields and valleys, as well as large wooded areas. About one-third of Bowerbank's soil is suitable for agriculture, and was farmed at one time, especially the southern part of the town. Today, the land is mostly overgrown in woods. The only populated areas are in the southern part of town, near the lake. The shorelines along the banks of the lake are mostly rocky, with few sandy or beach areas.

The highest elevation in town is Birch Mountain, while Mill Brook is its most significant stream.

Lakes, ponds

• Bear Pond (42 acres, maximum depth 48 feet)
• Big Benson Pond (320 acres, maximum depth 83 feet)
• Burden Pond (197 acres, maximum depth 32 feet)
• Buttermilk Pond
• Duck Pond
• First Buttermilk Pond (384 acres, maximum depth 118 feet)
• Little Benson Pond (152 acres, maximum depth 33 feet)
• Little Grapevine Pond
• Mill Brook Pond
• Mud Pond
• Sebec Lake (6,803 acres, maximum depth 155 feet)
• Second Buttermilk Pond (62 acres, maximum depth 18 feet)

Rivers, streams, brooks

• Bear Brook
• Beaver Brook
• Buttermilk Brook
• Caribou Stream
• Grapevine Stream
• Long Bog Brook
• Mill Brook
• Poplar Brook

Wetlands

• House Bog
• Long Bog
• Lyford Swamp

Public places

Boat launch

The town created a fishing boat launch on the shores of Sebec Lake in 2000, located at the end of Landing Road, off the Bowerbank Road. The road culminates in a wide rotary for easy access to trailers. Seasonally, the landing has toiler facilities.

Bowerbank Cemetery

The Bowerbank Cemetery, located on a pie-shaped parcel adjacent to the Bowerbank Road between Clark Cove Road and the Glover Farm Road, is managed by a resident appointed by the Selectmen annually.

Peaks-Kenny State Park

In 1964, Peaks-Kenny State Park was given to the state by Francis C. Peaks, of Dover-Foxcroft. A portion of the park lies in the portion of Bowerbank that is on the south side of Sebec Lake adjacent to Dover-Foxcroft.

Sebec Lake

Over the years, Sebec Lake has played an important role in the life of the town. The shoreline from Granny Crass Cove to the entrance to Buck's Cove is now owned jointly by the Town of Bowerbank and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, with an agreement to keep it "in its natural state." The lake provides a place for swimming, boating and fishing in the summer. In the winter, the frozen lake is used for snowmobiling and ice fishing.

Culture

Libraries

Bowerbank Library

In 2000, Heather Wyman Crozier, a librarian at Foxcroft Academy and longtime Bowerbank resident, began gathering books from her private collection and arranging them in the old Bowerbank School House, which hadn't been used since the 1930s. In 2004, other residents took up her cause, opening the Bowerbank Library, staffed by five resident volunteers.

Since the old school house has no heat or electricity, the library is open from late June to September, four days a week, for three hours each shift. The library has no rules; patrons are asked to sign books out and to return them when they are through, but with no penalties or anyone to call you to chase a book down. The library is a center for social activity while it is open, as a place where people can eat, laugh, talk, or even bring their pets.

The library offers books, books-on-tape, large-print books, videos, reference materials, and an ever-expanding children's section. Books are arranged by subject, rather than by author, the way that you will find a book in a bookstore rather than in conventional library fashion.

Museums

The Bowerbank Library serves a dual purpose as repository for town artifacts.

Organizations

Bowerbank ATV Club

Organized in 2004, the Bowerbank ATV Club provides a recreational outlet for all-terrain vehicles to pursue opportunities for development and maintenance of local trail systems. The group is involved in negotiating agreements with local landowners to provide access to land for ATV use.

Bowerbank Volunteer Fire Department

The Bowerbank VFD was founded in 2003. Made up strictly of volunteers, the department is served by a volunteer chief and staff. At the time that the town completed its comprehensive plan, there were sixteen volunteers reporting directly to the chief. Fire suppression services are supplemented through a mutual aid agreement with the towns of Sebec and Milo, with Dover-Foxcroft providing coverage on the south side of the lake through a contractual agreement.

Bowerbank VFD equipment:

• 1977 Ford 400 GPM Forestry/Pumper
• 1986 Ford 250 GPM Mini Pumper/Rescue
• 1967 American LaFrance 1000 GPM Pumper

Churches

While Bowerbank once had a Baptist church, there are no functioning churches within the town at this time.

Businesses

According to the 2000 census, no resident of Bowerbank worked in town. Businesses in Bowerbank are limited to home and self-employed individuals, which provide a portion of the town's economy. These businesses are primarily focused on providing services to Bowerbank's summer and seasonal visitors, so individuals make a living by doing several jobs, rather than working for one employer year-round.

Government

Bowerbank has a Selectmen/Town Meeting form of government, with the day-to-day operations of the town managed by a part-time clerk whose office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays, or by appointment. The Board of Selectmen is comprised of three members, each serving a staggered three-year term, with elections held at the town meeting on the last Saturday in June. The Selectmen generally meet on the second and fourth Monday of each month, or as needed.

Elected officials

Board of Selectmen

• James Gustafson, Chair
• Kerry Israels
• Michael Watters

Municipal buildings

Town hall

The Bowerbank town hall is located at 650 Bowerbank Road, and houses the offices of the town administration, as well as the town records. The town hall building was originally the community Grange Hall.

• Contact information
  • Address: 650 Bowerbank Road; PO Box 107; Sebec, Maine 04481
  • Phone: 207.564.7207
  • Email: jbgus@midmaine.com

Town hall annex

The Bowerbank town hall annex is in a building previously used as a post office, abandoned when the regional postmaster consolidated mail delivery, closing the local office in 1950. The building sat dormant in the back field of the property locally known as the William Glover Farm. In 2000, the building was donated by relatives of the Glovers who still own the property today. It was disassembled and moved from the farm to its current location adjacent to the town hall and fire department on the Bowerbank Road.

Fire department/Community center

Located at 648 Bowerbank Road, the fire department and community center is a 4,200 square-foot structure built in 2004. It has three large bays and a smaller bay, with office and meeting space, as well as a kitchen, in the rear of the facility.

Town garage

The town garage is located at 475 Bowerbank Road, on the east side of town. The structure houses Bowerbank's 1978 Case backhoe and its newly acquired Ford Econoline

Demographics

In 1840, the first year for which we have population records for the Town of Bowerbank, there were 165 people living in the community. By 1850, its population had peaked at 173. In the following century, Bowerbank's population saw a steady decline, to a low of 17 people in 1960, not changing much through the 1970s and 1980s; but by 1990, its population had grown to 72, and by the time of the last census, in 2000, there were 123 people living in Bowerbank.

Bowerbank has just over three hundred housing units, more than 80% of which are used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use, its seasonal population growing to just more than nine hundred people.

Education

There are no operating schools in Bowerbank today. Education is provided to the community through tuition arrangements with local school districts, which are overseen by the Bowerbank School Committee. Residents are free to choose which school their children attend, but public transportation is provided only to those attending MSAD #68 or Foxcroft Academy.

Medical

There are no healthcare facilities in Bowerbank. The nearest hospital is Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft. Emergency services are provided through the Mayo Ambulance, with the Bowerbank VFD providing first response services.

Infrastructure

Railroad

The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway owns the 4.7 miles of rail that goes through Bowerbank, carrying freight, mostly forest products. There are no terminals or changeovers located within the town.

Roads

• Amo Drive
• Back Neighborhood Road
• Beaver Brook Road
• Bowerbank Road
• Clark Cove Road
• Dow Road
• Earley's South Camp Road
• Edgewater Road
• Flag Cole Road
• Glover Farm Road
• Hilltop Road
• Inlet Road
• Landing Road
• Lodge Road
• Loon Road
• Lord Road
• Mill Brook Road
• Moore Road
• North Road
• Ostrom Road
• Patterson Road
• Peterson Road
• Phege Island Road
• Picked Cove Road
• Pine Knoll Road
• Rams Island Road
• Rock Ledge Road
• Sandy Beach Road
• Shore Road North
• Sousa Road
• Southview Road
• Spring Brook Road

References

• Bowerbank Comprehensive Plan
• DeLorme, "The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer", 28th Edition, 2005 ISBN 0-89933-282-X
• DeLorme, "Maine Fishing Depth Maps: Lakes & Ponds by County", 2002 ISBN 0-89933-350-8
• Arrow, "Maine Street Atlas: 133 Cities & Towns", 1997 ISBN 1-55751-515-8

External links

• Three Rivers Community: Bowerbank
• Wikipedia