Rangeley, Maine

Rangeley is a town in Franklin County, Maine, USA. The population was 1,168 at the 2010 census. Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a resort area. The town includes the villages of Oquossoc, Haines Landing and South Rangeley.HistoryIt is named after an Englishman, Squire James Rangeley, who inherited a 31000acre tract bought from Massachusetts in 1796 by his father. He arrived in 1825 to establish an estate based on the English system of landlord and tenants, also giving extensive land to settlers. He built a sawmill, a gristmill, a two-story mansion, and a ten-mile (16 km) road to connect his property with the rest of the world. Rangeley resided here for 15 years, then sold the property and moved to Portland.Farms produced hay, wheat, oats, barley and potatoes, with cattle grazing the hills. Logging became a principal industry, with booms of logs towed by steamboat across the Rangeley lakes, then guided down rivers in log drives. On March 29, 1855, the town of Rangeley was set off and incorporated from a portion of Rangeley Plantation. By 1870, the population was 313. In 1886, it had twenty dwellings, two hotels, two stores and a post office. Industries included a carriage shop, two blacksmith shops, a boat builder's shop, a sawmill and a shoe shop.