QUICK FACTS
North Haven is located in Penobscot Bay with 12 square miles of land. The island is the traditional territory of the Penobscot people, and was colonized by Europeans in the 1760s. North Haven was originally the North Island of Vinalhaven, and gained its independence on July 13, 1847, becoming North Haven. Today there is both a thriving year-round and summer population on the island.
- Ames Knob, summit with a view
- Burnt Island
- Community Days
- Farmers Market
- Kate’s Donuts
- The Fresh Pond
- Mullen’s Head Park
- North Haven Historical Society
- North Haven Conservation Partners Trails
- North Haven Clinic
- North Haven Public Library
- Waterman’s Community Center
ECONOMY
The primary industries on North Haven are currently carpentry, caretaking, fishing, farming, and teaching. Carpentry is the dominant industry, with lobster fishing following close behind. Many residents are employed as both builders and fishermen. Historically North Haven was known as the farming island because of its flat and fertile ground, with hay being a staple crop for many years. North Haven supplied Boston with produce and lamb via steamships. Today there are seven working farms, but farming is no longer the primary industry on the island.
SCHOOL SYSTEM
North Haven Community School (NHCS) is Maine’s smallest K–12 public school. To boost the high school population, it started a residential magnet school program in 2016. Students can participate in a variety of traditional academic offerings and extracurriculars
building on local opportunities. Classes include AP and dual enrollment college courses, as well as wilderness expeditions, personalized research projects, marine mammal skeleton rearticulation, carpentry, small engine repair, and visual and performing arts. NHCS students have the opportunity to explore 3D printing, work studies, the Eastern Maine Skippers Program, and can perform in a full season of theater and music offerings. Varsity sports include cross country, track and field, rowing, and basketball.
LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
Affordable year-round housing is a persistent challenge on North Haven. North Haven Sustainable Housing (NHSH), a not-for- profit organization, was established in 2005 to help alleviate the problem through new construction and renovation of existing structures, which were offered to year-round community members meeting certain criteria to purchase or rent. NHSH has currently housed six island families; collaborated with Southern Harbor Eldercare Services to purchase and repurpose what is now their eldercare facility; performed energy audits and efficiency upgrades for nearly
fifty buildings; and is nearing completion on two additional renovated houses. All homes purchased through NHSH can only be resold under a covenant that they remain in the year-round community.
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
North Haven’s roads not only link the community together, but provide walking, biking, and running opportunities in a spectacularly scenic setting. The island also boasts a substantial number of maintained hiking trails, and, in Mullen’s Head Park, a beautiful municipal asset with beaches, picnic areas, trails, and a campground. For the slightly more intrepid, hikers can also cross to Burnt Island at low tide and hike the trail around the 80-acre island. Burnt Island itself has beaches and a town float available to recreational boaters during the summer.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
In 2009, the Fox Islands Electric Co-op installed three 1.5MW wind turbines on Vinalhaven, which generate a significant portion of Vinalhaven’s and North Haven’s electricity use.
RECREATION
North Haven’s roads not only link the community together, but provide walking, biking, and running opportunities in a spectacularly scenic setting. The island also boasts a substantial number of maintained hiking trails, and, in Mullen’s Head Park, a beautiful municipal asset with beaches, picnic areas, trails, and a campground. For the slightly more intrepid, hikers can also cross to Burnt Island at low tide and hike the trail around the 80-acre island. Burnt Island itself has beaches and a town float available to recreational boaters during the summer.
How to get there
The Maine State Department of Transportation operates a ferry service three times daily from the Midcoast town of Rockland, at 9:30 AM, 2:20 PM and 5:15 PM. The Captain Neal Burgess makes the trip in about an hour in calm waters. The Burgess can transport 17 passenger cars and 221 people.
In addition to the Maine State Ferry Service, Equinox Island Transport can carry individuals or groups by boat. Air service to North Haven is available through Penobscot Island Air.
FORE MORE DATA ON MAINE’S ISLAND AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES VISIT:
www.islandinstitute.org/waypoints
FOR DATA QUESTIONS, CONTACT:
info@islandinstitute.org
With gratitude to our community reviewers: Rick Latimer and Courtney Naliboff
