New Portland

New Portland is a steep and heavily forested, 43 square mile town in western Somerset County, Maine, United States. It is located 28 miles northwest of Skowhegan and 18 miles north of Farmington. The fewer than 1,000 residents live along the Carrabassett River, which snakes through town, or in one of the three villages, the small commercial villages of West New Portland and North New Portland, or the residential village of East New Portland. State Route 27, in the proximity of Sugarloaf Ski Area, skirts the western portion of town. Home of the Wire Bridge.

History
The town of New Portland was given to the residents of Falmouth now Portland, Maine by the Massachusetts legislature to repay them for their loss when the British fleet burned Falmouth in 1775. Land in East New Portland was first settled by Revolutionary War veterans in 1783. Other families followed, and the Town of New Portland was incorporated in 1808 as a part of Massachusetts .Despite famines, trouble with wild animals and other hardships, the town prospered until the lure of free western land and the advent of the automobile changed our many prosperous farms to woodland once again. Now numbering some 750 people, residents of The three villages look toward the future with faith and confidence.