 Old Town is a town in Penobscot County, incorporated on March 16, 1840 from a portion of Orono. After annexing land from Argyle, Argyle Plantation, and Alton, it was incorporated as a city in 1891.
Since 1669, the area has been the principal home of the Penobscot Indians. At that time it was known as Pannawambskek, where the ledges spread out according to Eckstorm.
The French established missions there in the 1680's, but the English speaking settlers did not arrive from almost a hundred years later, in 1774. The early 19th century saw the beginning of mills and lumbering in the area.
In the 20th century, textiles, shoes and paper-making dominated the economic base, but recent declines in these industries have been accompanied with a concurrent, consistent decline in population over the past thirty years. Georgia Pacific Paper Mill at Great Works in southern Old Town continues production.
From Maine: An Encyclopedia (www.themaineencyclopedia.com)
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