Matinicus Isle is an island plantation in Knox County, Maine, United States. The island is located within Penobscot Bay approximately 20 miles east of the mainland coast and is accessible by state ferry service from Rockland or by air taxi from Knox County Regional Airport. The plantation is both a year-round island community and a summer colony. The population was 53 at the 2020 census.
History
Early documentation of the island comes from John Josselyn's 1671 account of New England:
<blockquote>Sagadehock to Nova Scotia is called the Duke of York's Province. Here Pemaquid, Matinicus, Monhegan, Cape Anawhagen…are all filled with dwelling houses and stages for fishermen, and have plenty of cattle, arable lands and marshes.
In March 1726, Lieutenant Governor Dummer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony documented the early tension between the Native Americans and Europeans in a letter to Captain John Giles:
<blockquote>I very much resent this liberty [the Native Americans at Matinicus] have taken in killing the [livestock] which belong to the English, which is contrary to the Articles of Peace and that common justice which the English and Indians owe to one another.
The plantation has one church, the Congregational Church of Matinicus, which was built in 1906 and currently holds Sunday services during the summer months and serves as a general community function hall. The island is a routine stop for the Maine Seacoast Mission's vessel the Sunbeam, which offers pastoral care as well as nursing and telemedicine facilities.
The island's inhabitants have served as first responders to emergencies in the waters of Penobscot Bay. On January 16, 1992, residents of Matinicus responded to a distress call from the O.A. Harkness, a nearby sinking tugboat, ultimately rescuing the three crew members. On July 17, 2011, island fishermen rescued 4 occupants of an airplane that ditched into the waters off of Matinicus.
thumb|center|800px|Panorama of the harbor in 2006Matinicus Island Library, founded in 2016, was featured by Smithsonian Magazine in 2022 for buying books banned by other organizations in the United States. The library is run by volunteers and partially funded by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.
Geography
thumb|upright|Harbor [[tidal pool]]
Matinicus Isle plantation is an archipelago located on the southeastern fringes of Penobscot Bay in the Gulf of Maine, part of the Atlantic Ocean. According to the United States Census Bureau, the plantation has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Matinicus Island, the largest land mass in the archipelago, spans approximately in length and in width for an area of about . Matinicus Isle is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Criehaven Isle.
The shoreline consists of rocky coves and sandy beaches. The island experiences semidiurnal tides with a difference in sea level of up to between high and low tides.
There are ten major fishing grounds around Matinicus Isle that the island's fishermen use to catch cod, haddock, pollock, cusk, and lobster.
Climate
Matinicus has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm, humid summers and cold winters. Compared to the mainland, seasonal climate fluctuations are somewhat moderated by the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in relatively cooler summers and milder winters. Springs are also some of the coolest in the state, and even the whole country. Summers are almost nonexistent due to the moderating effect of the ocean, which also helps to keep year round temperatures above zero and below 75. The common winter freeze and thaw cycles produce much slush. Nor'easters, such as the Blizzard of 1978, can be destructive to the shoreline and infrastructure on the island. Tropical disturbances have been known to occasionally strike the area, typically in the late summer and fall, but they are not very common this far north.
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 74 people, 41 households, and 16 families residing on Matinicus. The population density was .
The average age of the population was 47.0 years. In terms of age distribution, 20.2% of the population was under the age of 19 years, 66.2% was between the ages of 20 and 64 years, and 13.6% was between the ages of 65 and 84 years. The population was 54.1% male and 45.9% female. The racial makeup of the plantation was 100% white.
The average household size was 1.8 people, and the average family size was 2.8 people. 17.1% of households had individuals under the age of 18 years, and 22.0% had individuals over the age of 64 years. 34.1% of households consisted of married couples living together, and 61.0% were non-families.
There were 147 housing units at an average density of . 41 homes were occupied, and 99 homes were for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use.
As estimated by the American Community Survey, the per capita income for the plantation in 2015 was $28,801, the mean income for a household was $67,000, and the mean income for a family was $123,354.