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Rolling forested hills beneath an open sky in rural Maine
Penobscot County community

Dixmont

A rural town shaped by rolling uplands, Peaked Mountain, early civic institutions, and routes connecting central and eastern Maine.

Community profile

A town among the hills

[DIX-mont] is a town in Penobscot County, incorporated on February 28, 1807, from township T3 R1 NWP.

The township was once known as Collegetown after it was granted to the trustees of Bowdoin College. Its later name honors Dr. Elijah Dix, who acquired a major portion of the township in 1801, while also reflecting the area’s hilly terrain.

Maine Route 9 and U.S. Route 202 pass through Dixmont and Dixmont Center. These routes offer broad views across the surrounding countryside, including Peaked Mountain—locally associated with “Dixmont Hill.” Communication towers on the summit make the mountain a distinctive landmark visible from miles away.

Dixmont uses the Town Meeting–Select Board form of government.

Dense mixed woodland covering rolling hills
Landscape

Peaked Mountain marks the horizon.

The town’s upland terrain creates long views from U.S. Route 202 and nearby roads. Peaked Mountain stands out because of its elevation and summit antennas, connecting the town’s historic rural landscape with modern communications infrastructure.

The wider setting is characteristic of inland Penobscot County: wooded ridges, open fields, scattered homes, and small village centers linked by regional roads.

Old deciduous trees lining a quiet rural road
Rural roads and wooded uplands define much of Dixmont’s landscape.
Historical outline

From Collegetown to Dixmont

Dixmont was one of five townships granted by Massachusetts in 1794 to the trustees of Bowdoin College. The trustees later sold much of Collegetown to Dr. Elijah Dix. The community grew and adopted the name Dixmont in recognition of the proprietor and the hilly countryside.

Dr. Dix took an active interest in the town’s development. In 1808 he contributed funds for five schoolhouses. The surviving school at Dixmont Corner, District No. 2, became known as the Louis I. Bussey School.

Joseph Dix lived in Hampden, where his daughter Dorothea Lynde Dix, the future social reformer, was born in 1802. Samuel Butman moved to Dixmont from Massachusetts in 1804 and later served in Maine’s constitutional convention, the legislature, and Congress.

In 1880, the town’s population was 1,132. By 1886, local industry included two long-lumber mills, two shingle mills, and a grist mill; the community also had thirteen schoolhouses. For comparison, the recorded 2010 population was 1,181.

The town shares its namesake with Dixfield, another Maine community associated with Dr. Dix.

Historic places

Buildings of school, worship, and government

Three surviving properties illustrate the institutions that organized civic and community life in nineteenth-century rural Maine.

Historic white schoolhouse beneath mature trees

Louis I. Bussey School

The District No. 2 school at Dixmont Corner is the sole survivor of five schoolhouses supported by Dr. Dix in 1808. Named for a community benefactor, the building later served as a local social center.

Traditional white church with a tall steeple

Dixmont Corner Church

The Union Church at Dixmont Corner is a notable rural example of Carpenter Gothic design. Its Gothic Revival ornament is applied to a classically proportioned building associated with carpenter-builder Rowland Tyler.

Historic civic building framed by green trees

Dixmont Town House

Built about 1836, this secular municipal building hosted town government until its last town meeting in 1952. Its single assembly space reflects an early form of purpose-built civic architecture in Maine.

Further reading

Sources and local history

  • Chadbourne, S. J. History of the Old Meetinghouse and New Union Church at East Dixmont. 1900.
  • Dixmont, 1807–2007. Dixmont Historical Society Committee, 2007.
  • Toothaker, Llewellyn P. The History of Dixmont, Maine. Bi-Centennial Committee, 1976.
  • Varney, George J. A Gazetteer of the State of Maine. 1886, p. 202.
  • Historic-property descriptions draw on nomination research associated with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
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FAQ

Understanding Dixmont

Key points about the town’s name, landscape, history, and historic civic buildings.

How is Dixmont pronounced?

The name is commonly rendered as “DIX-mont,” with the emphasis on the first syllable.

When was Dixmont incorporated?

Dixmont was incorporated on February 28, 1807, from township T3 R1 NWP.

Why was the township called Collegetown?

The land was among the townships granted by Massachusetts to the trustees of Bowdoin College in 1794, leading to the early name Collegetown.

What is the prominent hill in Dixmont?

Peaked Mountain is the prominent local landmark. Its communication towers make the summit readily identifiable from surrounding roads and distant viewpoints.

Which major routes pass through town?

Maine Route 9 and U.S. Route 202 pass through Dixmont and Dixmont Center.

What historic buildings are associated with Dixmont?

Notable properties include the Louis I. Bussey School, Dixmont Corner Church, and the circa-1836 Dixmont Town House.

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