Bangor, << BANG gawr >> (pop. 31,753; met. area pop. 152,199), is the gateway to the hunting and fishing country of northern and eastern Maine. It lies in south-central Maine on the Penobscot River, near the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Bangor’s residents are employed in service industries, including education, government, health care, and retail trade. The city has an international airport. Bangor is the home of Husson University. The University of Maine’s Orono campus is north of Bangor.
Settlement of Bangor began in 1769. It was incorporated as a town in 1791 and as a city in 1834. Bangor became a great lumber port about 1870. But its shipping declined with the coming of the railroads. Bangor is the seat of Penobscot County.
