207 Area Code 🌍☎️

Portland is the most populous city in Maine with a population of 68,408 as of the 2020 census and serves as the county seat of Cumberland County, anchoring a Greater Portland metropolitan area of approximately 550,000 people. First settled in the early 1600s and formally founded in 1786, the city takes its name from the English Isle of Portland and endured multiple colonial conflicts before becoming a key New England port, with its phoenix city seal commemorating recovery from four devastating fires. The Port of Portland ranks as New England's second-largest tonnage seaport as of 2019, and the city's 21st-century economy relies primarily on the service sector alongside a growing creative economy that has brought gentrification to the area. Notable landmarks include the historic Old Port district with cobblestone streets and preserved warehouses, Victoria Mansion showcasing pre-Civil War prosperity through ornate Italianate architecture, and the Portland Museum of Art, Maine's largest and oldest public art institution. Originally called Machigonne by Eastern Abenaki residents and later renamed multiple times through colonial history, Portland became Maine's first state capital in 1820 and played a crucial role as Canada's primary ice-free winter seaport after the 1853 completion of the Grand Trunk Railway to Montreal. Bangor is the county seat of Penobscot County in Maine and the state's third-most populous city with 31,753 residents, earning the nickname "Queen City." Founded as Kenduskeag Plantation in 1791 and incorporated as a town in 1834, the city was established in the mid-19th century as a major lumber and shipbuilding hub, with its strategic location on the Penobscot River allowing logs to be floated from the Maine North Woods, processed at water-powered sawmills, and shipped 30 miles downstream to the Atlantic Ocean. The city's lumber wealth is still evident in elaborate Greek Revival and Victorian mansions built by lumber barons and the iconic 31-foot-high Paul Bunyan statue. Today Bangor's economy centers on services, retail, healthcare, and education, supported by infrastructure including Bangor International Airport and its Air National Guard Base, which historically made it a crucial stopover on the Great Circle Air Route between the U.S. East Coast and Europe. The Penobscot people have inhabited the area for at least 11,000 years and continue to occupy nearby Penobscot Indian Island Reservation. Lewiston is Maine's second-largest city with a 2020 population of 37,121, located in Androscoggin County halfway between the state capital Augusta and Portland. Prior to European settlement in 1760, the region was inhabited by the Androscoggin people, an Abenaki tribe; the city was incorporated in 1795 and subsequently experienced major Irish and French Canadian immigration, resulting in the largest French-speaking population of any U.S. city by absolute numbers. Lewiston industrialized rapidly in the 19th century as a water-powered mill center on the Androscoggin River, with industrialist Benjamin Bates founding the influential Bates Manufacturing Company and establishing Bates College in 1855. The city features 44 National Register of Historic Places properties, Maine's only basilica (the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul), two major medical centers, and the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. Today Lewiston is recognized for its low cost of living, healthcare access, and low crime rate.