Town of Caratunk

Caratunk is a town in Somerset County, incorporated on October 14, 1977 from Caratunk Plantation. The Plantation was organized for election purposes in 1840 and again in 1893, and for tax purposes in 1903.

Some difference of opinion exists about the meaning of the name. Lawrence Bond believes the name means scraped field, as in Where caribou scrape snow to find grass. Jim Brunelle says categorically, Caratunk is derived from an Abnaki word meaning forbidding or crooked stream.

The town is 40 miles north of Skowhegan, via U.S. Route 201, on the Kennebec River where both Pierce Pond Stream and Pleasant Pond Stream enter it. The Maine Section 5 of the Appalachian Trail crosses the northern portion of the town, making a bend north around Pleasant Pond.

From Maine: An Encyclopedia (www.themaineencyclopedia.com)