An Investigation of the Origin of Place Names of Towns in Penobscot County, Maine

A study was made of the origin of place names of towns in Penobscot County, Maine. Each of the sixty-one town names is taken up in chronological order. A list of the previous designations of each town, beginning with the survey designation, is included and an attempt has been made to find the origin of these wherever possible as well as the name used today. In many cases the dates of the first settlements, names of early settlers, and brief outlines of the towns’ histories have been included, particularly if these had any bearing upon the origin of the names. The study has been divided into three periods (roughly including about one-third of the towns in each division). Towns were named for the following reasons: after early settlers, after proprietors of the townships, as geographical descriptions or for outstanding traits, after Indian names, after classical and Biblical names, after towns the settlers had come from, after political figures, after land agents, after famous people, and for foreign places