Byron, Maine
| Byron, Maine | |
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| Town | |
Coos Canyon, in the center of Byron
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 Byron, Maine
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| Coordinates: 44°43′37″N 70°38′52″W / 44.72694°N 70.64778°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Oxford |
| Incorporated | 1833 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 52.56 sq mi (136.13 km2) |
| • Land | 51.81 sq mi (134.19 km2) |
| • Water | 0.75 sq mi (1.94 km2) |
| Elevation | 948 ft (289 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 145 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 144 |
| • Density | 2.8/sq mi (1.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 04275 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | 23-09550 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582381 |
Byron is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 145 at the 2010 census. Home to Coos Canyon on the Swift River, Byron includes the village of Houghton.
It was settled as Township No. 8, then incorporated on January 24, 1833 as Byron, named for the English poet Lord Byron. Nicknamed Hop City, agriculture was the principal occupation. Crops included wheat, corn, potatoes and oats. Lumbering was extensive in winter, with two sawmills operating. The Rumford Falls & Rangeley Lakes Railroad was completed in 1896, carrying freight, tourists and "rusticators" from Rumford up the Swift River valley through Byron and Houghton to Mooselookmeguntic Lake.
The Swift River is a popular place to either pan for gold or swim at Coos Canyon, a 32-foot (10 meter) high gorge where the water depth occasionally exceeds 20 feet (6 meters). Just down river from the gorge is a small local beach, called Toby's Beach. And a 20-foot ledge, popular during the summer, for daring jumpers.
There is a beautiful camping area off state route 17, across from Coos Canyon.
In March 2013, the town sought to require all homes in the town to possess at least one firearm, not unlike Kennesaw, Georgia's similar 1982-origin local ordnance.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 52.56 square miles (136.13 km2), of which, 51.81 square miles (134.19 km2) of it is land and 0.75 square miles (1.94 km2) is water. Set on either side of a narrow, uneven intervale in the Western Maine Mountains, Byron is drained by the Swift River.
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