Rangeley, Maine

Town
	Coordinates: 44°57′57″N 70°38′51″W / 44.9658°N 70.6474°WCoordinates: 44°57′57″N 70°38′51″W / 44.9658°N 70.6474°W
Country	United States
State	Maine
County	Franklin
Incorporated	1855
Villages	Rangeley; Bald Mountain; Mooselookmeguntic; Mountainview; Oquossoc; South Rangeley
Area
• Total	55.62 sq mi (144.06 km2)
• Land	41.48 sq mi (107.43 km2)
• Water	14.14 sq mi (36.62 km2)
Elevation	1,614 ft (492 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	1,222
• Density	30/sq mi (11.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	04970
FIPS code	23-61840
GNIS feature ID	0582690
Website	www.rangeleymaine.com

Rangeley is a town in Franklin County, Maine in the United States. The population was 1,222 in the 2020 census.^[2] The town is on the east side of Rangeley Lake, in the Western Maine mountains. It is a popular summer resort. The winters are very cold with a snow cover. A sign in town says that Rangeley is halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.

History

Rangeley is named after an English settler, Squire James Rangeley. He had a 31,000 acre piece of land that was bought in 1796 by his father. He came in 1825 to build the town. He built a sawmill, a gristmill, a mansion, and a ten-mile road to get to other towns.^[3]

The Phillips and Rangeley railroad opened in 1891 and tourists from Boston; Hartford; New York; and Philadelphia started to come. In the early 1900s, Rangeley became a summer resort area with camps, cabins, summer homes, and hotels. The cool mountain climate and plenty of sport fishing make this a likeable town.

Some local people became fishing guides for visitors. Among the fishermen was President Herbert Hoover. The big hotels went away during World War II. The Rangeley Lake House was torn down in 1958. New hotels have taken their place, so Rangeley remains popular.^[4]

Notable people

One of many famous people who lives in Rangeley is Kurt Russell, the movie star. He quietly owns a home in the mountains here. He is locally called by the name "Snake Plisskin".^[5] His father, the actor Bing Russell, was a native of Rangeley.^[6]

Wilhelm Reich, a well-known Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst made his home in Rangeley during his later years. He took over a large estate (175-acre (71 ha)) and named it Orgonon. It became his home, laboratory and research center. Reich is buried here on the grounds. It is now open to the public as the Wilhelm Reich Museum, with rental cottages available.^[7]