Pownal, Maine is one of my favorite places to go because of its peaceful appearance and sprawling farmland. You won’t find anything bustling or city-like in Pownal, and thank goodness for that! I think it’s important to not only know our history but to keep it alive and thriving if we can without commercializing it.
The town of Pownal,
Maine was
first settled in 1680 and incorporated in 1808.
Back in the early 1800s, Maine was not
a state and was still a territory of Massachusetts, and Pownal was named after Governor
Thomas Pownall of Massachusetts. The First
Parish Church
and its cemetery were placed right in Pownal Center. In 1834, a town hearse was procured, and a
house to keep it was erected right near the cemetery. This house still stands to this day, with a
tiny little padlock on it. It must have
been quite something back then to have your very own hearse house! I’ll bet not every town had one. Right next to it is the old graveyard, not
the only one in Pownal.
 |
| The 1834 Hearse House in Pownal, Maine. |
Life has continued on in a very uncomplicated
way for those still living in Pownal,
Maine. The population as of 2010 was 1,474 people,
down 17 people since the year 2000.
There are a few commercial establishments and businesses clustered in
the center of the town. When I say a
few, I mean a few. The rest of the town
is residential homes and farmhouses widely spaced from one another.
Bradbury Mountain
State Park is in Pownal
as well as the old cattle pound I mentioned the other day. It’s one of the largest old pounds in the
state, which indicates that Pownal was an important commercial center at one
point. The eastern branches of the Royal River
near Pownal supported two sawmills, a grist mill, and a carriage factory. How’s that for a bustling old town?!
