Dover-Foxcroft, Maine | ||
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Town | ||
Union Square c. 1906
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Nickname(s): The Heart of Maine | ||
Location in Piscataquis County and the state of Maine. |
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Coordinates: 45°11′10″N 69°13′13″W / 45.18611°N 69.22028°WCoordinates: 45°11′10″N 69°13′13″W / 45.18611°N 69.22028°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Maine | |
County | Piscataquis | |
Incorporated | 1812 (Foxcroft) 1822 (Dover) |
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Merger | March 11, 1922 | |
Area | ||
• Total | 71.18 sq mi (184.36 km2) | |
• Land | 67.81 sq mi (175.63 km2) | |
• Water | 3.37 sq mi (8.73 km2) | |
Elevation | 371 ft (113 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 4,213 | |
• Estimate (2012) | 4,135 | |
• Density | 62.1/sq mi (24.0/km2) | |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 04426 | |
Area code(s) | 207 | |
FIPS code | 23-18195 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0582445 | |
Website | dover-foxcroft.org |
Dover-Foxcroft is the largest town in, and the seat of, Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,213 at the 2010 census. Dover-Foxcroft is home to the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival, an annual one-day event which takes place in late June each year. It started in 2009 to honor the whoopie pie. The whoopie pie became the official state treat of Maine in 2013. The 2012 festival brought 5,000 people to the town while the 2014 event brought in more than 7,500 attendees.
It was originally two towns, Dover and Foxcroft, separated by the Piscataquis River (Dover is on the south side, Foxcroft on the north).
Dover was purchased from Massachusetts by Boston merchants Charles Vaughan and John Merrick, both of whom had emigrated from England. It was first permanently settled in 1803 by Eli Towne from Temple, New Hampshire, then incorporated on January 19, 1822. Agriculture was the principal early occupation, producing potatoes, corn and grain.
Originally known as T5 R7 NWP, Foxcroft was one of five towns conveyed by Massachusetts in 1796 to Bowdoin College. It was purchased from the college in 1800 by Joseph E. Foxcroft of New Gloucester and settled by John, Eleazer and Seth Spaulding in 1806, when they built the first mill. It was dubbed Spauldingtown until February 29, 1812, when it was incorporated as Foxcroft, taking its proprietor's name.
The Piscataquis River offered water power sites for mills. In 1859 the population of Dover was 2,500 and industries included four sawmills, shingle and clapboard manufacturers, one gristmill, two tanneries, two carriage makers, and a woolen factory.