Woodland, Maine

In the 1881 Gazetteer of Maine by George Varney, Woodland is described as such: “Woodland, in Aroostook County, is a new town situated in the third range from the border and just north of the Aroostook River. It is bounded on the north by New Sweden, east by Caribou, south by Washburn and west by Perham Plantation. The water-courses are Caribou Stream, its West Branch, and the East Branch of Salmon Brook. The surface is rolling but without hills, the highest being about 50 feet and having the name of Bear Mountain. Maple, birch, beech, spruce, fir and cedar abound in the woods. The largest sheet of water is Nelson Lake, having an area of about two acres. Limestone rock underlies the whole town, as well as the country about; but is not often found sufficiently pure to make good lime. The soil is very fertile. The yield of wheat is usually about 40 bushels to the acre, and of potatoes about 400 bushels. Proportionate quantities of all crops are raised. Agriculture is the almost exclusive occupation of the people. The few frame houses in the town are in good repair, but the log houses have a decayed look. There is one shingle mill capable of manufacturing about 20,000 shingles per day. A stave mill here has a capacity of 2,000 staves per day. The nearest railway station is in Caribou, six miles from the center of Woodland. The town was incorporated on March 5, 1880. It sent about a dozen men into the Union army during the war of the Rebellion of whom two were lost. Woodland has five public schoolhouses and the value of the school property is estimated at $1,000. The population in 1870 was 174. In 1880, it was 679.