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Matinicus Isle, Maine
Matinicus Isle, Maine Location within the state of Maine
Coordinates: 43°51′42″N 68°52′49″W / 43.86167, -68.88028
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Knox
Area
- Total	106.5 sq mi (275.8 km²)
- Land	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²)
- Water	104.9 sq mi (271.7 km²)
Elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	51
- Density	31.8/sq mi (12.3/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	207
FIPS code	23-44165
GNIS feature ID	0582584

Matinicus Isle is a plantation in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 51 at the 2000 census.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the plantation has a total area of 106.5 square miles (275.8 km²), of which, 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) of it is land and 104.9 square miles (271.7 km²) of it (98.49%) is water.

There are ten major fishing grounds around Matinicus Isle that the island's fishermen and other outer Penobscot Bay fishermen have used for centuries to capture such groundfish as cod, haddock, pollock and cusk. Source: Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine, by Walter Rich, US Bureau of Fisheries. 1929.

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Ebenezer Hall and the Native Americans came to an agreement that he could farm Matinicus but that he wouldn't burn the fields of the adjacent islands. (In the 18th Century, fire was used to clear land for farming.) When Hall decided to burn the adjacent islands anyway the Native Americans first went to the Royal Authorities in Boston and when Hall ignored them, the Indians killed him on June 10, 1757. Hall is buried in the vicinity of the so-called "store well." A historical marker bolted to a ledge states that Hall was "killed by the Indians" on this date.

The almost 250 years that have transpired since then have been equally violent. It is not uncommon for visiting sailboats to be shot at and the Maine State Police are under orders not to be on the island after dark. Several boating magazines have listed Matinicus as a "hostile harbor" and locals openly refer to it as a "pirate island." The State of Maine gave up on enforcing vehicle laws on Matinicus in the 1950s and license plates (and brakes) are optional on the badly rusted vehicles that ply the island's roads.

The island has a strong Christian presence and a routine stop for the Maine Seacoast Mission's Sunbeam. The island has one church which was built in 1808 and all island residents are somewhat affiliated with it. This and an unwritten law to assist anyone in trouble leads to island fishermen being the first responders to all sorts of marine emergencies in Outer Penobscot Bay. On January 16, 1992 the Tugboat Harkness went down and it was a lobster boat from Matinicus that went out and found the three crewmen, this was reported in the March 1994 edition of the Reader's Digest. By contrast, Matinicus residents wish to be left alone and the island is a place where outsiders and tourists are not welcome .

Matinicus shares one of if not the richest lobstering grounds in the world with Vinalhaven, it is not un common for either islands' lobster boat captains to have $2,000+ days in the mid summer to fall.

Matinicus is often known for sometimes violent disputes between fishermen. The Rockland Courier Gazette newspaper reports that all island fishermen now carry loaded rifles and that on June 13, 2006 one fisherman fired two shots at another fisherman who attempted to run over his boat and then his son's boat. The Christian Science Monitor ran a two-part story on the violence on the island. While the Monitor was unable to speak with all the parties involved (who refused comment at lawyer's advice), the two articles should be read by anyone planning to visit the island. See: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0724/p20s01-lign.html and http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0725/p20s01-lign.html.

Matinicus weather is unpredictable and often harsh. It is not uncommon for hurricane-force winds to blow for several days and sometimes there is unabated fog from June to October. While recent weather has been mild, historical weather patterns indicate that weather can be extreme. Winter storms are the most destructive, the last one of significance was in 1978.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 51 people, 26 households, and 13 families residing in the plantation. The population density was 31.8 people per square mile (12.3/km²). There were 135 housing units at an average density of 84.3/sq mi (32.6/km²). The racial makeup of the plantation was 100.00% White.

There were 26 households out of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, and 46.2% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.57.

In the plantation the population was spread out with 15.7% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 39.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 121.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.3 males.

The median income for a household in the plantation was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $40,000 versus $41,250 for females. The per capita income for the plantation was $15,537. There were no families and 11.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 50.0% of those over 64.