Bangor, Maine

Bangor is a city in Penobscot County, Maine. It covers 34.7 sq mi (90 sq km) and has a population of 35,000 people (2011 estimate). It is the third most populous city in the state. Bangor is located on the Penobscot |River, about 30 miles from Penobscot Bay.

Maine State House, Augusta
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BangorME_Downtown.jpg
Author: Yassie


The earliest European to sight the Bangor area was probably Portuguese explorer Esteban Gómez in 1524. However the area was only settled in the mid 18th century, beginning with French missionaries. It was later transferred to British-American control, and the town itself was established in 1759.

The settlement was originally called Condeskeag. In 1791, the people of the Condeskeag settlement wanted to have it incorporated as a town, so they sent their representative, Rev. Seth Nobel to Boston with the petition to have it named Sunbury. Instead, Rev. Noble registered the town as Bangor, after the hymn by William Tansur, which was his favorite song.

Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mthope.jpg
Author: Svetlana Miljkovic


Bangor developed from its position as a lumber port, even calling itself the lumber capital of the world. During the 19th century there were many sawmills in the town as well as in the surrounding area. It also had a busy shipbuilding industry, particularly during the California Gold Rush.

Due to influence from the Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor became a center for anti-slavery politics in the run-up to the American Civil War. However, while Maine became the first state to prohibit the sale of alcohol, Bangor managed to flout it, with a look-the-other-way attitude of the local law enforcers.

Lower Main Street, Bangor
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lower_Main_Street,_Bangor,_Maine.jpg
Author: Skoopy


Today Bangor is a small American town. Its downtown underwant urban renewal in the 1990s, after wanton demolition of earlier buildings now considered a planning mistake.

Visiting Bangor

Bangor International Airport receives flights from major cities including Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis St Paul, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

Places of Interest in Bangor

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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