History :

Geographical Location

The city of Brewer, Maine is located 235 miles north of Boston and 133 miles north of Portland. The Penobscot River separates the City from Bangor, the third largest city in the State.

Brewer, Maine serves as the gateway to coastal communities and Acadia National Park. The city along with Bangor also serves as a trading and distribution center for the coastal areas and towns and cities to the north with the total region having a population of approximately 250,000 people. Brewer has an area of 10,106 acres of land, bounded on the north by Eddington, on the south by Orrington, on the west by the Penobscot River and on the east by Holden.

General

Colonel John Brewer formerly of Worcester, Massachusetts, first settled on Sedgeunkedunk Stream in 1770 in what is now the City of Brewer and named the area New Worcester. On March 21,1788, the area was incorporated as a town under the name of Orrington. The area so designated included the towns of Holden, Brewer, and Orrington. In 1812, Brewer was separated from Orrington and later Holden was separated from Brewer leaving the community with its present 10,106 acres of land.

The navigable waters of the Penobscot River as well as the water power afforded by the streams encouraged industrial, commercial and residential expansion throughout the 1800's. The river provided an excellent means of transportation for travelers as well as the shipping and receiving of goods and supplies.

Industries and commercial businesses were established creating economic opportunities which reflected in a population increase. The town grew from a population of 734 in 1820 to 4,835 in 1900. Bangor, the community across the Penobscot from Brewer, was also participating in the expansion of the 1800's at a much more rapid rate, however, than Brewer.

Bangor became the financial and commercial center of a region which was flourishing most of the 1800's participating in a "lumber boom" that was creating large enterprises and huge fortunes. Bangor's population in 1900 was 21,850. This figure gives some comparison of the growth between the two communities.

Though the Penobscot aided in Brewer's growth by providing a mode of transportation, the river also hindered growth because of the problem of crossing the river. The earlier crossings were by ferry boat until 1832 when the first bridge connecting Brewer with Bangor was constructed. The bridge was demolished by flood in 1846 and reconstructed in 1847. Though bridging the river provided an access between the two communities, travel was still handicapped. In 1906, the State Street bridge was constructed replacing the bridge constructed in 1847.

Brewer, through the years 1900 to 1950 remained in its lumbering state. The population increased by only 2,027 people over this fifty year period whereas Bangor's population increased to 9,708 people. Since this time, however, the tide has changed. The people of the region, realizing the availability of desirable land areas in Brewer, have constructed a large number of residences. Investors following the trend have established more industries and commercial businesses and the trend is still continuing.

Growth was later aided by the construction of a new bridge, the Joshua L. Chamberlain Bridge, across the Penobscot in 1954 providing easier commuting between the two centers. In 1986, I-395, a spur off I-95, was extended across the river to Brewer with the opening of the Veterans Remembrance Bridge. Brewer officials took full advantage of this third bridge connection to attract several manufacturing plants to locate in the city’s new East-West Industrial Park .

More recently, the City of Brewer has been undergoing a rapid transformation through economic development. In 2001 the city expanded its business development opportunities with the establishment of the Brewer Professional Center. In less than a year, Eastern Maine Healthcare announced its intention to develop a major health care campus in this park. Wal-Mart announced that year that it will locate a super store in the area in 2002, providing a significant retail anchor to an already bustling commercial corridor. In addition, the City began to aggressively implement a redevelopment program for its waterfront area, known as “Penobscot Landing.”