the sustainable ellsworth committee
Composition: An open membership group comprised of area residents as well as representatives from the business community, not for profits, city staff, city council and city planning board.
Founded: 2009 in the City of Ellsworth, Maine
Meetings: Last Wednesday of each month at City Hall
about ellsworth
Ellsworth is a city in the county of Hancock, Maine and the county seat. It was settled in 1763 along the banks of the Union River. Once crowded with dams and sawmills for the timber and shipbuilding industries, the river is now home to alewives, striped bass, ospreys, eagles and a rich diversity of other wildlife.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 93.8 square miles, of which, 79.2 square miles of it is land and 14.6 square miles of it is water. The total area is 15.53% water including the Union River, Branch Lake, Green Lake, Graham Lake, Leonard Lake, Upper and Lower Patten Ponds, Little Rocky Pond, Little Duck Pond and Wormwood Pond. Much of Ellsworth's land is in Tree Growth with designated conservation areas on Branch Lake and Indian Point. Ellsworth Falls is the location of the Agassiz Outcrop, a National Historic Landmark, notable for its early recognition as evidence of glaciation.
Sites of interest include the historic Downtown district, The Grand - a 1930's art deco theater, The Woodlawn Museum, Gardens & Park, Birdsacre Stanwood Homestead Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, The Ellsworth Public Library, The Telephone Museum and the Ellsworth Harbor Park and Marina.
The Down East Sunrise Trail for hiking, skiing, horses, ATV's and snowmobiles starts in Ellsworth from Washington Junction and continues 85 miles downeast to Ayers Junction. The Downeast Scenic Railroad offers weekend excursions in a vintage passenger car and caboose making a 90 minute trip from Ellsworth Falls, Washington Junction with boarding at Cadillac Mountain Sports on High Street.
Surrounding communities include Lamoine, Trenton, Mount Desert Island (Acadia National Park), Orland, Blue Hill Peninsula, Hancock, Mariaville and Otis. Centrally located along major travel routes in all directions, Ellsworth is a service center and commercial hub for the Downeast region. There is a diverse mix of retail, finance, telecommunications, health care, manufacturing, professional offices and food processing businesses. The city is also home to approximately 6,500 citizens.