Maine Waterpower Mill Hamlets: Frozen in Time or Slowly Melting?

Watermill hamlets are a persistent but somewhat neglected feature of contemporary rural American settlement geography. These landscape features are a promising laboratory for the study of sameness over time and space. We examine the development and decline of minor milling centers in interior Maine. These are relict communities that have lost their original purpose but continue to exist as places with deteriorating housing stock, largely utilized by marginalized populations. Twenty-seven sample hamlets are analyzed to determine how they changed during the past 150 years using an inventory of central place functions, and residents’ perceptions. Our findings suggest waterpower hamlets are promising places for journeys to the past and to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic and environmental challenges facing much of rural America.