About Buckfield
Pronounced “BUCK-field,” Buckfield is a rural community in Oxford County located at the junction of the east and west branches of the Nezinscot River. Situated along Maine Route 117 between Turner and South Paris, the town is known for its scenic landscape, agricultural heritage, and compact village center.
Buckfield was incorporated on March 16, 1793, from Bucktown Plantation, which was also known as Plantation Number 5. According to the 1977 Town Report, its earliest settlers included Nathaniel Buck, believed to be the town’s namesake, along with Benjamin Spaulding, Simon Record, and Thomas Allen.
A Center of Early Industry
The 1886 Gazetteer of Maine described Buckfield as an important manufacturing and commercial center for the surrounding area:
The Buckfield and Rumford Railroad passes through the town in a nearly north and south course, having a station at Buckfield Village. The manufactures of the town are long lumber, shingles, staves, box-boards, flour and meal, shovel-handles, hand-sleds, drag-rakes, brushes and brush blocks, powder-kegs, leather, harnesses, cutting-blocks, men’s boots, etc. Buckfield Village is the principal centre, not only for this but for several adjacent towns.
The Village and the Nezinscot River
Buckfield Village remains compact and walkable. Within a few hundred yards of its center are the public library, two veterans memorials, the Masonic Temple, the Odd Fellows Building, the Post Office, and a general store. The Community Church, Municipal Center, Town Office, and Fire-Rescue Department are also located nearby.
The Nezinscot River runs through the heart of the community and offers a scenic, moderately challenging canoe or kayak trip from Buckfield to Turner. The historic Bridge House sits along the riverbank in the village, with rapids upstream and calmer water below the bridge.
The picturesque Roundabout Bridge, built over the Nezinscot in 1881, served the community for nearly a century. It was replaced with a modern steel bridge in 1977.
Agriculture and Craftsmanship
Buckfield has a long agricultural tradition, including apple growing, as well as a continuing connection to skilled woodworking. The town is home to Wells Wood Turning & Finishing, which has supplied thousands of colorful wooden souvenir eggs for the White House Easter Egg Roll, with one presented to each participating child.