Biddeford

Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. The town is the site of the University of New England and the annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival. First visited by Europeans in 1616, it is theSite of one of the earliest European settlements in the U.S. First incorporated as the Town of Saco in 1653. The city is crossed by Interstate 95, Route 1, and state routes 5, 9, 111, 208 and 208. It has a total area of 5908 square miles (153.2 km²), of which 28.2 square miles of which are covered by water. Situated beside the Little River and the Saco River, Biddefords is drained by the Little and Saco Rivers, and is bordered by the towns of Dayton, Lyman, Kennebunk, and Anderton. It's bordered to the north, east, and south to the Atlantic Ocean to the east, to the west, and the north to the south to east to the towns and cities of Portland, South Portland, and Fortunes Rocks. The last remaining textile company in the city, WestPoint Home, closed. As of 2009, the last remaining mill has been sold and is being redeveloped into housing and new businesses. In 1659, Major William Phillips of Boston became a proprietor, and constructed a garrison and mill at the falls. During King Philip's War in 1675, the town was attacked by Indians.

History

Biddeford is the primary city name, but also Dayton are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Biddeford, Maine. Biddeford was first incorporated as the Town of Saco in 1653. Lumber and fish became the community's chief exports. The mills attracted waves of immigrants, including the Irish, Albanians, and French-Canadians from Quebec. The last log drive down the Saco River was in 1943, with the last log sawed in 1948. As of 2009, the last remaining textile company in the city, WestPoint Home, closed. The name of the town is engraved near the top level of The Pilgrim Monument, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, along with the names of some of the oldest cities and towns in New England. The town was reorganized in 1718 as Biddefords, after Bideford, a town in Devon, England, from which some settlers had emigrated. In 1762, the land northeast of the river was set off as Pepperellborough, which in 1805 was renamed Saco. The first bridge to Saco was built in 1767. The river divides into two falls that drop 40 feet (12 m), providing water power for mills. The developing mill town also had granite quarries and brickyards, in addition to lumber and grain mills. Major textile manufacturing facilities were constructed along the riverbanks in 1845 and 1850. The city was incorporated as a city in 1855. It is located on the banks of the River Swanckadocke, which is a tributary of the Merrimack River.

Geography

Biddeford is situated beside Saco Bay on the Gulf of Maine. It is drained by the Little River and the Saco River. The city is crossed by Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1, and state routes 5, 9, 111, and 208. According to the Köppen climate classification, Biddefords has a humid continental climate, Dfb on climate maps. It has an Atlantic coastline on which the seaside neighborhoods of Hills Beach, Bideford Pool, Fortunes Rocks and Granite Point are located. The island of Timber Island and most of adjacent Timber Point became part of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in December 2011. It also includes Wood Island Light, a lighthouse located about a mile offshore from Biddecord Pool. The town is located in York County, which is the easternmost point in the state of Maine and the most southerly part of York County. It was named after the town of Biddeferord, which was founded in 1788. The name of the town is derived from the name of a Native American tribe, the Biddemores, who lived in the area until the 17th century. The word biddemore means "bewildered" or "wounded" in the local dialect. It means "to have suffered a great deal" in a local dialect, which means that the city has suffered great loss of history and culture in recent times. The current mayor of Bidemores was elected in 2010, the first female mayor in the town's history.

Demographics

At the 2010 census, there were 21,277 people, 8,598 households and 4,972 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 94.8% White, 1.0% African American, 0.5% Native American and 1.7% Asian. There were 10,064 housing units at an average density of 334.5 per square mile (129.2/km²) The city's median household income was $37,164 and the median family income is $44,109. The per capita income for the city is $18,214. About 8.6 percent of families and 13.8 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8percent of those under age 18 and 10.3 percent of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size is 2.84. The median age in theCity was 38.3 years. The city has a population density of 707.1 inhabitants per squaremile (273.0/ km²) and a population growth rate of 1.9 percent over the past 10 years. It has a median age of 36 years and a median population of 7,631 people. It is located on the U.S.-Mexico border and is located near the border of the state of New Mexico. The population grew from 20,942 in the 2000 census to 20,277 in the 2010 Census.

Economy

Biddeford is one of Maine's fastest-growing commercial centers. In recent years, strip malls have developed along the State Route 111 corridor. The city also possesses a wide array of community facilities including public beaches, an ice arena, a full-service YMCA, and one school which has been recently recognized as a National School of Excellence. Telecommunications company GWI.net is headquartered in the city. In late 2006, a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) shopping center known as The Shops at Biddefords Crossing opened, with 20 stores and five restaurants. The North Dam Mill is one example of this movement offering retail stores, art studios, cultural events, and upscale housing. The University of New England, a fast-growing school located along the coast which includes Maine's only medical school, is also located in the town. The town is home to Southern Maine Health Care and the University of. New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, both of which are recognized as National Schools of Excellence in their respective fields. In the city's downtown area, the old mills are being redeveloped into apartments and other high-end properties. The area is also home to a number of restaurants, bars, and other eateries, as well as a large number of health care facilities, such as a hospital and a private eye clinic. It is located on the Maine-New Hampshire border and is close to the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire.

Arts and culture

Biddeford has a number of properties and two Historic Districts entered into the National Register of Historic Places. The newest addition is the Main Street Historic District, which was entered on December 24, 2009. Other downtown National Register properties include the Biddefords City Hall, Dudley Block and the U.S. Post Office. National Register Properties outside of downtown include the John Tarr House, First Parish Meetinghouse, Fletcher's Neck Lifesaving Station and the James Montgomery Flagg House. The town is home to McArthur Public Library and the City Theater for the Performing Arts. It is also home to the Maine Museum of History and Heritage and the Maine Cultural and Heritage Center. It also is the home of the Maine Maritime Museum and the American Museum of Maine, which dates back to the 18th century. The city's tourist attractions include the Maine Seaplane Museum, the Maine State Museum, and the Maritime Museum of New England. It has also been the site of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and the New England Museum of Art and Science. It was the birthplace of Maine's first post-secondary education program, which began in 1875. The Maine Maritime Institute was established in 1876. It became the state's first museum in 1881. The state's oldest public library was opened in 1883. It remains one of the oldest public libraries in the United States. It opened its doors to the public in 1885. The City Theater was built in 1887.

Infrastructure

Biddeford was the eastern terminus of the now-defunct New England Interstate Route 11, which ended in Manchester, Vermont. State Route 111 is now numbered in Old Route 11's place. The Saco Transportation Center Amtrak stop is located two miles south of the central business district. Local bus service connects the city to destinations in Saco and Portland. The city's municipal airport is located just two miles from the downtown area. It is the only airport in the state, and the only one in New Hampshire. It has a single runway, which is used for airBaltic flights. It also has a one-mile runway that is used by the New Hampshire Air National Guard. It was built in the 1930s and is located in the town's historic center. The airport was built to handle the growing population of the town in the 1950s and 1960s. It opened in 1961 and has a runway that can handle up to 50,000 passengers. It closed in the 1980s. The town's main commercial corridor is called the Main Street corridor, which runs through the city's downtown area and into the town of Saco. It's also known as the "Main Street" corridor, and is the main route through the town. The main commercial area is also the site of Biddefords' main shopping district, which includes the town center and the downtown business district, as well as a number of restaurants and shops. The downtown area is home to the Bideford-Saco-Old Orchard Beach Transit stop.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Biddeford, York County, Maine = 72.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 47. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Biddeford = 2.9 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 22,552 individuals with a median age of 39.4 age the population grows by 3.92% in Biddeford, York County, Maine population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 749.61 residents per square mile of area (289.42/km²). There are average 2.27 people per household in the 9,025 households with an average household income of $41,147 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.30% of the available work force and has dropped -3.42% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 25.86%. The number of physicians in Biddeford per 100,000 population = 153.1.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Biddeford = 47.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 44.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 130. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 196. 76 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 12.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 52, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Biddeford, York County, Maine which are owned by the occupant = 43.77%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 54 years with median home cost = $403,720 and home appreciation of -5.08%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.20 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,989 per student. There are 12.8 students for each teacher in the school, 267 students for each Librarian and 338 students for each Counselor. 7.53% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 11.22% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.45% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).