Garland is near the geographic center of Maine in the foothills of the Longfellow Mountains of the Appalachian chain. Garland is 25 miles northwest of Bangor and 45 miles northeast of Waterville. It is 36 square miles in area.

Garland was settled in 1801, 19 years before Maine became a state, by farmers seeking inexpensive land after the Revolutionary War. In 1792, the township that became Garland was surveyed and its exterior boundaries set. In 1800, the interior lines were drawn to divide the land into 12 ranges running crosswise, with each range containing 12 lots.

The original owners plan only created hardship for the original families by isolating them from each other. Fortunately, the early settlers also left us a legacy of endurance and a cooperative spirit to face our common difficulties. In 1806, they built the first schoolhouse and, in 1810, a Congregational Church. By 1811, there were 45 families including a minister, school teacher, physician, blacksmith, tanner and shoemaker, and a miller with both a saw mill and a grist mill. When the town was incorporated in 1811, it was named for Joseph Garland, the first settler to have a child born in the town.

The War of 1812 seriously hurt developing commerce with Boston by interrupting transport. Around 1820, the population grew quite rapidly for two decades, peaking at 1,450 in 1860.Garland became the economic backwater that it still is today. Residents returned to farming as the primary source of employment, although several small factory enterprises stayed active: canning, tanning, cheese, lumber, and various types of milling.

The population decline ended with the "back to the land" movement. Most residents still work outside of town. Socially, Garland was a rural self-sufficient community from 1800 to 1900.There is still a community feeling of neighbors helping neighbors and strong family ties. In recent years, the Volunteer Fire Department, the Ladies' Auxiliary, the Historical Society, the Recreation Committee, and the Grange have served some of the community's needs. The annual Garland Days in the fall and town meting in the spring are looked forward to as majorsocial events. The town's general store is the site of many a chance meeting with one's friends and neighbors.

The village originally contained few houses, and remains mostly residential, with only one store and a few public buildings. The historical character of the village has been preserved by several interested parties, working to restore or maintain several sites:

the Lyndon Oak Memorial Library, the G.A.R. Hall, the United Baptist Church, and the Grange Hall. Garland's scenic hills, farms, woodlands, and waterways have attracted recreation seekers, especially hunters and fishermen. The 1990 Citizen Survey indicates that 77.6% of households in Garland today cherish their small town lifestyles and wish Garland to remain much as it is and has been. They love Garland's rural beauty and the piece of it they own. And they hold the same fierce, independent spirit of the original settlers.

If you have any history and/or pictures about the town of Garland or if your family either lives in or orginated from Garland and would like stories and pictures included in this webpage, please contact Judy Craig Consulting (207) 924-3067 / email Judy Craig Consulting or email Fred Donovan or call him at (207) 924-5406.