Plantation (Maine) - Citizendia

In the U.S. state of Maine, a plantation is a type of minor civil division falling between township (or unorganized territory) and town. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Minor civil division (MCD is a term used by the United States Census Bureau to designate the primary Governmental and/or Administrative divisions of a A township (or Municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government An unorganized territory is a region of land generally with less self-governmental powers than other regions controlled by a specific government The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states The term, as used in this sense in modern times, appears to be exclusive to Maine.

A plantation is essentially a previously unorganized township that the state legislature has granted a limited form of self-government that is similar to, but simpler than, a town. Plantations are typically found in sparsely populated areas.

No other New England state currently has an entity equivalent to a plantation. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the In colonial times, Massachusetts also used the term “plantation” for a community in a pre-town stage of development – in fact, Maine probably originally got the term from Massachusetts, as Maine was once part of Massachusetts – but the term has been out of wide use there since the 18th century. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Similarly, the term was used in colonial Rhode Island, and a vestige of the term remains in the official state name, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States Massachusetts also once had “districts”, which served much the same purpose. Districts were typically municipalities that had been formed by breaking off from existing towns. They were considered to be incorporated, but lacked the full privileges of a town. Maine and Rhode Island are also known to have made limited use of the district concept. Districts have not been at all common since the first half of the 19th century, and there have not been any districts anywhere in New England in over a century.

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