The "Two Maines" Revisited

A half century ago, George Mitchell used the term “Two Maines” to describe rural Maine’s lagging economy and high incidence of poverty. Later, the State Planning Office divided the state into three regions: coastal, central, and rim counties. In 2005, the authors contributed to a report documenting the rim counties’ chronic socio-economic distress. This article updates the earlier analysis, presenting statistical indicators of change in rim county demographics, economics, and personal well-being compared to the rest of Maine. Evidence suggests that there have been improvements, but rim counties continue to lag the rest of Maine, especially the coastal counties, by many measures. But we also highlight stories of revitalization, focusing on Skowhegan and the Moosehead Lake region, that underscore the critical role of innovative leaders: entrepreneurs, towns, state agencies, and non-governmental organizations. They point to the potency of “silver buckshot” strategies, rather than a vain search for “silver bullet” solutions.