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Welcome to the Villages of Piscataquis County website. Our audio driving tour highlights the history and cultural heritage that make our region unique. Please join us for two-hour tours encompassing an East Loop and West Loop through the region. The entire tour spans 134 miles and guides travelers to our beautiful Villages signs at key points along your route. The audio also provides information about sights along the tour, as well as music performed by local artists.
index.html
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The Villages of Piscataquis County Audio Tour guides you through 15 villages along 134 miles of roadway. The tour is divided into an East Loop and a West Loop, each taking approximately two hours. This project began as the class project of the Penquis Leadership Institute Class of 2006. This ambitious group of volunteers wanted to go beyond simply designing the tour for class. They have worked ever since to implement the design, which will eventually include about 30 Villages signs throughout the tour.
Our-Map.html
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The East Loop tour guides visitors through the communities of Dover-Foxcroft, Sebec, Barnard, Williamsburg Plantation, Brownville, Brownville Junction, Milo, Atkinson and East Dover. While this sounds like a lot of territory, the entire eastern loop is less than 49 miles in length. Some of these villages are tiny and take only a minute or two to drive though. However, the history and heritage of each is very rich. Visitors will learn about the early settlers of Piscataquis County, why settlements grew up around the region’s many rivers, some facts about local wildlife, information about the area’s railroads and much more.
East-Loop.html
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The West Loop tour guides visitors through the communities of Dover-Foxcroft, Guilford, Abbot, Monson, Greenville, Greenville Junction, Shirley, Blanchard, Elliotsville, Willimantic and Sangerville. The entire loop is less than 85 miles in length, and the scenery and rich history and cultural heritage of the region make it well worth the trip. Visitors will pass by the county’s only covered bridge (and hear the tale of how the former bridge washed downstream to Dover-Foxcroft during the big Flood of 1987), and learn about the area’s textile and wood products manufacturers; a teenage entrepreneur who founded a business empire in Abbot; slate quarries and the Finnish folk who moved here to work them and much more. This loop takes visitors past Lake Hebron, Spectacle Pond and Moosehead Lake. Sightings of deer, moose and eagles are a distinct possibility.
West-Loop.html
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The Villages of Piscataquis County Audio Tour is the result of a Penquis Leadership Institute Calls of 2006 project. Not content to simply turn in a design at the end of class, a group of volunteer PLI students has continued to work on creation of an actual audio CD for each loop of the tour, providing travelers with guidance to Villages signs while also entertaining them with stories and songs along the way. This website and supporting print materials are also the result of that PLI 2006 class project.
Volunteers have had much to do. Funding must be secured for each sign, and wording worked out with local historians. Advertising must be sold to support print materials. Eventually, the entire package will come together, including the capacity for visitors to download the audio tour directly from our website. Be sure to check back often to see what new ground we’ve covered.
About-Us.html
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Local History: Nearly every village in our region has a historical society rich with genealogy information, historical artifacts and information about the cultural heritage of each specific township. Abbot Historical Society, Barnard Historical Society,Blanchard Preservation Society, Brownville Historical Society, Parish House Museum, Dexter Historical Society, Abbott Museum, Abbott Mill, Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society, Guilford Historical Society,
Milo Historical Society, Monson Historical Society, Moosehead Historical Society, Sangerville Historical Society, Old Mill House Museum, Sebec Historical Society,
Local-History.html
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Bernice Abbott
Abbott, born 1898, deceases 1991, was a photographer best known for her black and white photographs of New York City and 1930s-era urban design. Abbott owned a home in the tiny town of Blanchard, where she once entertained her friend Jaqueline Kennedy Onasis.
Bert’s Bees
This wildly popular creator of preservative-free soaps, lotions, hair care products, cosmetics, lip balms and other products had its humble beginnings in the former Edes Building (since torn down) in Guilford.
Harold Alfond
Alfond, born 1914, deceased 2007, not only founded the Dexter Shoe Company, with manufacturing plants in Dexter and Milo, but he is also credited with inventing the idea of the factory outlet store. Dexter Shoe has since relocated, but Alfond left behind the Alfond Arena at the University of Maine in Orono, a scholarship that makes all Maine newborns eligible for a $500 grant for college and several other philanthropic ventures.
Kennedy Memorial
This famous family resting place in Arlington National Cemetery features slate from Monson. The first piece was commissioned by Jaqueline Kennedy as a gravestone for her slain husband, former President John F. Kennedy. More Monson slate has been commissioned for the memorial since that time.
Maine’s Tallest Mountain: Mount Katahdin, located within Baxter State Park, is Maine’s tallest peak.
Maine’s Largest Lake: Moosehead Lake in Greenville is the largest lake within one state’s borders anywhere east of the Mississippi.
McKusick Twins
Victor McKusick, MD, born 1921, deceased 2008, was a native of Parkman. McKusick was a university professor of Medical Genetics at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also widely acknowledged as the father of genetic medicine, and was a recipient of many honors, including the National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush.
Vincent McKusick, born 1921, attended the same one-room schoolhouse as his twin during the first eight years of their education. Vincent began practicing law in 1952. In 1977, he was appointed Chief Justine of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He served in that capacity for more than 14 years.
Myron Avery
Avery, born 1899, deceased 1952, was a Lubec native. He is known as the first 2,000 Miler of the Appalachian Trail. After his death, a mountaintop on the AT was renamed “Avery Peak” in his honor. The AT runs through Monson, where the “100 Mile Wilderness” winds from Route 15 in Monson to the terminus of the AT near Mount Katahdin. This is the longest unsupported stretch along the entire 2,100-mile trail.
Percival Baxter
Baxter, born 1876, deceased 1969, served as Governor of Maine from 1921 to 1925. He is perhaps best known for his generous and forward-thinking donation of 202,064 acres of land to the state that became Baxter State Park. He requested that the land remain forever wild.
Ricky Craven
Craven, born in 1966 in Newburgh, has become a top competitor on the NASCAR circuit. Craven raced his first full season in 1990 in the NASCAR Busch Series. He went on to win NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and to join the prestigious NASCAR Winston Cup Series. In 1998, Craven founded the Ricky Craven Snowmobile Ride for Charity, held in Greenville where his family owns a home. Craven’s efforts have raised more than one million dollars for numerous charitable organizations.
Local-Claims-to-Fame.html
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Stories of Piscataquis
Stories-of-Piscataquis.html
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More Piscataquis Information
More-Piscataquis-Information.html
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Photos of the Villages of Piscataquis County
Photos.html
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Coloring Pages
Coloring-Pages.html
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Maine Animals
Maine-Animals-Coloring-Page.html
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Maine Appalachian Trail Coloring Page
Maine-Appalachian-Trail-Coloring-Page.html
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Maine Awasos Bear Coloring Page
Maine-Awasos-Bear-Coloring-Page.html
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Maine Peaceful Place Coloring Page
Maine-Peaceful-Place-Coloring-Page.html
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Hear samples of some voices and music on the East & West Loop of the driving tour of The Villages of Piscataquis County
Voice-Samples.html
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Your Downloadable East Loop MP3 Order - The Villages of Piscataquis County
Buy-East-Loop-MP3-Download.html
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Your Downloadable East Loop CD Order - The Villages of Piscataquis County
Buy-East-Loop-CD-Download.html
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East Loop Driving Instructions
East-Loop-Driving-Instructions.html
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Village Music Credits: Music Credits
All finger picking solo guitar by Jim Gallant jimgallant.com
Vocal songs and flat picking instrumentals by
Sid Stutzman and Doughty Hill doughtyhill.com
Doughty Hill features the talents of Sid, Sunny, and Tracy Stutzman along with
Brian Smith, Ron Hall, and Craig Stutzman
Village-Music-Credits.html
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Download-or-Order-Issue.html
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Regional Calendar
Regional-Calendar.html
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Supporters.html
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Updates.html
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Committee.html
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sitemap-page-order.html
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