Ayers Island (Maine)

Ayers Island
Ayers Island
Geography
Coordinates44°52′31″N 68°40′11″W / 44.8753473°N 68.6697547°W / 44.8753473; -68.6697547[1][2]
Area62 acres (25 ha)
Administration

Ayers Island is an island in the Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine, near the town of Orono. It was named for one of the original settlers of Orono, Joshua Ayers [Eayres], who constructed a sawmill on the island beginning around 1774.

Ayers Island is the site of the Striar Textile Mill, which closed in 1996. The land is polluted due to past manufacturing activity. The town of Orono took possession of the island in 1999.[3] Later it was purchased by Ayers Island LLC, which announced plans to fit it with an experimental surveillance system consisting of "a comprehensive network of video cameras, motion detectors and sensors" monitored by computer.[4][5]

Two episodes of the Celebrity Paranormal Project television series were recorded there.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ayers Island, a Island in Penobscot County, Maine". Lat-long.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "Ayers Island USGS Old Town Quad, Maine, Topographic Map". Topozone.com. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  3. ^ Saucier, Anthony (July 4, 2003). "Orono to discuss Ayers Island cleanup". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. When the town took over the 62-acre island and the former Striar Textile Mill in 1999, decades of industrial use had formed deposits of coal ash, petroleum and PCBs around the island.
  4. ^ Baard, Mark (May 5, 2004). "Big Brother to Watch Over Island". Wired. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  5. ^ "Intelligent Island". Archived from the original on March 30, 2003.
  6. ^ Gagnon, Dawn (May 11, 2011). "Ghost hunters summoned for trespassing in Orono". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. In the summer of 2006, the cable network VH1 filmed two episodes of 'Celebrity Paranormal Project' on the 62-acre island titled 'Tanner's Ghost' and 'Wooden Lucy.'