Jonesport, ME

The Jonesport census-designated place covers the villages of Jonesport and West Jonesport within the larger town of Jonesport in Washington County. It counted 608 people in 2020 and sits along the north shore of Moosabec Reach, the tidal channel separating the mainland from Beals Island. Maine Route 187 serves as Main Street, linking the village area with Route 1 near Columbia Falls and Jonesboro. A bridge crosses the reach to Beals, making the waterway both a boundary and an everyday connection.

This is a working maritime place. In 1853, steamboat service helped turn the harbor into a trading center for fishermen and the outlying islands. Cod and herring shaped the early waterfront economy; lobster later became the main catch, while sardine canneries operated for generations. Jonesport’s harbor still supports lobster boats and a wider mix of shellfish and marine trades, and the area even gave its name to the Jonesporter style of lobster boat. The village streets, working wharves, nearby islands, and shared school community with Beals all point back to the same fact: life here is organized around the sea.