Woodland

Community Overview

Woodland Maine is a rural municipality in central eastern Aroostook County, situated directly west of the city of Caribou. The official elevation is 709 feet (216 meters) above sea level. Woodland is bounded by New Sweden to the north, Caribou to the east, Washburn to the south, and Perham to the west. Local watercourses include Caribou Stream, its West Branch, and the East Branch of Salmon Brook. According to the 2020 Decennial Census, the population of Woodland town was 1,217, an increase of 4 residents from the 1,213 counted in the 2010 Census, which also recorded 508 households. A Census data summary also reports a population of 1,196 and a median individual income of $33,730. The median age was estimated at 46.3 years (margin of error ±3.4 years) in 2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Local Government and Community Services

Woodland operates with a Board of Selectmen / Assessors consisting of Chris R. Fournier (Chairman), Kathy P. Ouellette (Vice Chairman), and William Barnum (Selectman). Brandon Saucier serves as the town Assessor. Municipal staff members include Bridget A. Coats and Chris M. Elliott, with Elliott listed as Treasurer. Bruce Hussey serves as Code Enforcement Officer, and David Rhinebolt serves as Animal Control Officer and Fire Warden. Residents gather at an annual town meeting to vote on municipal budget warrants, conduct town business, and hear election results.

The Woodland Town Office is located at 843 Woodland Center Road, Suite 1, Woodland, ME 04736, and can be reached by phone at (207) 498-6133. The community is served by postal ZIP code 04736. The municipal Public Works Department is responsible for road and highway maintenance and operates through the town office. Law enforcement services are provided by the Aroostook County Sheriff's Office and the Maine State Police. Emergency medical and fire protection services are contracted from the neighboring Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department.

Education

Woodland is part of School Union 122, an administrative grouping serving New Sweden, Westmanland, and Woodland. The central office for School Union 122 is located at 843 Woodland Center Road, Suite 3. The Woodland School Department operates Woodland Consolidated School (Woodland Consolidated Elementary School) at 844 Woodland Center Road. The school serves elementary and middle school students in grades pre-kindergarten through 8, with approximately 167 to 200 students, and maintains a school library.

Economy and Natural Resources

Settlers historically farmed or worked in the lumber industry, and these sectors remain active alongside potato farming. Woodland Consolidated School provides education and local employment. On Woodland Center Road, H.B. Farms operates as a commercial dairy farm and has supplied milk through the Organic Valley cooperative. In addition, the Caribou Stream Deer Wintering Area project conserved 930 acres of deer wintering habitat across Woodland and Washburn.

Culture and Heritage Sites

Woodland forms part of Maine's historic Swedish Colony, which was founded in the 1870s and extends across neighboring northern Aroostook County communities including New Sweden, Stockholm, Perham, and Westmanland. Woodland shares seasonal traditions such as the Midsommar Festival around the summer solstice in late June and the Saint Lucia celebration held each December.

The Woodland Historical Society was established on August 18, 1978, originating from the Woodland Bicentennial Committee, with Thorborg Bondeson serving as its first president. The society maintains headquarters and collections at 1149 New Sweden Road. Local heritage museums include:

• Snowman Schoolhouse Museum: Located on Woodland Center Road, this building was constructed in 1895 by carpenter, teacher, and Civil War veteran David Snowman. It is the only remaining original one-room school in Woodland and preserves its original layout, including a central stove.
• Lagerstrom House Museum: Located on Beckstrom Road, this farmstead residence was built in 1896 by Julius Hammer and purchased in 1903 by Swedish settler Carl Lagerstrom, Sr. It is maintained by the Woodland Historical Society to illustrate turn-of-the-century Swedish Colony domestic life.

Outdoor Recreation

South of Woodland Community School at 844 Woodland Center Road, the Woodland Community Trails provide a 3.6-mile multi-purpose network for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and classical and freestyle cross-country skiing.

The 28-mile multi-use Aroostook Valley Trail passes through Woodland, connecting the community to Presque Isle, Washburn, Caribou, and New Sweden. The corridor is used by hikers, bicyclists, ATV riders, and snowmobilers, and it connects into Maine's Interconnected Trail System (ITS), which links thousands of miles of groomed snowmobile routes across Aroostook County and the state.

Transportation

Maine State Route 228 (Woodland Center Road) runs east-west through Woodland, connecting it to Perham to the west and Caribou to the east. Downtown Caribou is situated approximately 6 miles east of the center of Woodland. Demand-response public bus routes operated by the Aroostook Regional Transportation System serve Woodland, connecting Woodland, Washburn, Crouseville, Wade, and Perham to in-town Caribou. Scheduled commercial airline passenger service is available at Presque Isle International Airport, the nearest commercial airport serving the region.