Twenty facts about Maine

1. The state of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States.
2. Maine's original capital was Portland, the largest city in Maine, until it was moved to Augusta in 1832 to make it more central within the state.
3. Total Area: 39th among states, 87,389 sq km (33,741 sq mi).
4. Maine is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast.
5. Maine is the only U.S. state to have a name that is one syllable long, and the only state which borders exactly one other state.
6. Maine is the northernmost portion of New England and is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States. It is known for its scenery—its jagged, mostly rocky coastline, its low, rolling mountains, and its heavily forested interior—as well as for its seafood cuisine, especially lobsters and clams.
7. Eastport is the most eastern city in the United States, receiving the first rays of the morning.
8. The original inhabitants of the territory that is now Maine were Algonquian-speaking peoples.
9. The first sawmill in the nation was established near York in 1623.
10. The first English settlement in Maine, the short-lived Popham Colony, was established by the Plymouth Company in 1607.
11. Almost 40 million pounds, 90%, of the nation’s lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine. Maine also produces 99% of all the blueberries in the country.
12. Maine was an exclave of Massachusetts until 1820, when as a result of the growing population and a political agreement regarding slavery, it became the 23rd state on March 15 under the Missouri Compromise.
13. Founded in 1866, Togus became the first Veteran’s Hospital in the U.S.
14. On May 6, 2009, Maine became the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage; however, the law was repealed by voters on November 3, 2009.
15. More than nine-tenths of Maine's total land area is forested, the highest percentage of forest coverage of any state.
16. Maine is an alcoholic beverage control state.
17. York became the nation’s first incorporated city in 1642.
18. Four U.S. Navy ships have been named USS Maine in honor of the state.
19. Maine's coastal waters attract a steadily increasing number of saltwater sports fishing enthusiasts.
20. One of Maine's most important industries, cotton and woolen textiles, emerged in the 1840s in towns along the Androscoggin and Kennebec rivers.