This is sponsored by
Santorineos Simple Solutions, a small, private,
one-man company servicing the Union, Maine area residents and helping them with Computer,
Hardware, Software and Internet operations. We provide our visitors with news &
stories from around the world in subjects we think that might interest them. Most of what
we post can be found elsewhere on the web, but here we try to offer you a "single-portal",
home page that will be your starting point in your web surfing. You will notice an
always-on-top menu of the most sought-out websites for Mainers, but we are always open to
suggestions. If there is a website or more that you would like included in our menu, all
you need to do is send us an
e-mail and we'll
incorporate it as soon as possible.
As we said above, we are located in the town of Union, in Knox county Maine,
10 miles from the coast. You know you are in Union, because our streets and
places use bird feeders as road signs, like the one on top of this page. Union
is a small, rural, primarily agricultural community, between the towns of
Augusta, Camden and Rockland. We may be a small town but we are very rich in
history, tradition, values and good New England fellowship. Union was
immortalized in Ben Ames Williams' novel
Come Spring.
The first white settlers arrived in September or October of 1772. With the names Anderson, Malcolm and Crawford, they were of natives of Scotland and called their bachelor logging camp "Sterlingtown" after the Scottish town of Stirling. In the spring of 1774 Dr. John Taylor of Lunenburg, Massachusetts entered into negotiations with the heirs of the Waldo patent on purchasing the entire gore of unappropriated land belonging to the patent. Accompanied by John and Phineas Butler, he landed near the mouth of the Crawford river on
Monday July 18, 1774. Around July 18 every year, Unionites celebrate their Founders
Day with a parade, (a weekend celebration on the Common) and the
projection of a silent movie at the Old Town House, closing on Sunday with an
open-air worship on the Common.
Something typical of New England towns is the "commons", a central area shared by
residents and guests alike. Used to be animals too, but other than a few dogs, you don't
see many 4-legged critters on the Common nowadays. Union is very proud to have THE OLDEST
"Commons" in Maine (pictured on our Header) and it
November 7, 2007.
Our
Union Historical Society owns and maintains two local buildings,
both registered at the National Registry of Historic Buildings. We host the annual
Blueberry Festival (Union Fair) and the
Antiques
Festival.
Our
Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage is thought as one of the best
agricultural museums in Maine, also housing the only
Moxie Bottle house
in existence, and one of the two extant
One-Horse Shays in
the country (the other resides in the Smithsonian).
We would be amiss if we forget the lakes & ponds of Union, providing camping,
fishing, boating and all types of outdoors recreation, including ice fishing.
You will notice that we change our format occasionally. There are two reasons
for that. One, we are trying not to be boring, and two, we always try to have
something new and interesting for you. Take for example our menu included on
top of our page. That has about any link that we imagined you may find useful.
We list area Museums, Historical Societies, Government buildings, Libraries, Theaters,
News media and many other things. Again, let us do the work for you. Tell us a
link you would find useful, and you'll have it. It's as simple as that.
Clicking on any dividing line will take you to the top of the page where you can access
the menu. Clicking on most images shows you a larger picture.
This website works closely with the Town Office, the Union Historical Society,
the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, the Vose Library (soon to be moving to
its brand new facility across the street from the old one), the Thompson Community
Center, the Union Area Chamber of Commerce, the People's United Methodist Church,
the Union Yellow School Museum, the Church of the Nazarene, the Senior Citizens
Club, the Central Maine Bird Fanciers and many more.
Union
