Owls Head, Maine
| Owls Head, Maine | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Glimpse of village and harbor in 1910
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 Location in Knox County and the state of Maine. |
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| Coordinates: 44°3′57″N 69°4′31″W / 44.06583°N 69.07528°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Knox |
| Incorporated | 1921 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 19.61 sq mi (50.79 km2) |
| • Land | 8.88 sq mi (23.00 km2) |
| • Water | 10.73 sq mi (27.79 km2) |
| Elevation | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,580 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 1,578 |
| • Density | 177.9/sq mi (68.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 04854 |
| Area code(s) | 207 |
| FIPS code | 23-56135 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582656 |
Owls Head is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,580 at the 2010 census. A resort and fishing area, the community is home to the Knox County Regional Airport. It includes the village of Ash Point.
When Samuel de Champlain explored Owl's Head in 1605, the Abenaki Indians called it Bedabedec Point, meaning "Cape of the Winds." Mariners would name it for the shape of the promontory, which they thought resembled the head of an owl. First incorporated as part of Thomaston in 1777, and then as part of South Thomaston in 1848, Owls Head was itself set off and incorporated on July 9, 1921. The town is home to both the Owls Head Light Station, a 30-foot (9.1 m) tall granite lighthouse built in 1826 to mark the southern entrance of Rockland Harbor, and to the Owls Head Transportation Museum.
Owls Head was home to an electric trolley line that traveled to Crescent Beach. It was started in 1902, and it ended in the years of 1917-1918, largely due in part to a deadly accident in 1914, in which a train left the tracks killing one woman instantly, and injuring several others.
In August 1940 (around the 13th) the English composer Benjamin Britten completed his Diversions for piano (left hand) and orchestra, Op. 21 while staying at the Owl's Head Inn - coincidentally meeting up with Kurt Weill with whom he got on well. On August 22nd he wrote from Owl's Head to Elizabeth Mayer: "We eventually made Pemaquid Point, but found the place most disappointing -- not on the sea, & full of the most terrible Bostonian old ladies, that we left after one gloomy night. Then we came on here which is a grand spot -- very unpretentious --- but quiet & right on the sea. We can work & there are tennis courts nearby. It is too cold to bathe unfortunately -- but there is plenty else to do...."
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