Rangeley, Maine

**Rangeley** is a town in Franklin County, Maine in the United States. The population was 1,222 in the 2020 census. 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.

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.

## Notable people

One of many famous people who lives in Rangeley is Kurt Russell, a movie star. He owns a home in the mountains. His father, the actor Bing Russell, was a native of Rangeley.

Wilhelm Reich, an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst made his home in Rangeley during his later years. He took over a large estate () 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.

## Other websites

- Rangeley Public Library
- _Rangeley Maine News_
- Rangeley Maine Tourism Information. Has photos of the area.
- Rangeley Lodging Information

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Rangeley, Maine
- **settlement type**: New England town, Town
- **motto**: "Maine's Four Season Playground"
- **image skyline**: Rangeley 2003 021.jpg
- **image caption**: View from Bald Mountain
- **pushpin map**: Maine#USA
- **pushpin label**: Rangeley
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Maine
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Maine, County
- **subdivision name2**: Franklin County, Maine, Franklin
- **parts type**: Villages
- **parts**: Rangeley (CDP), Maine, Rangeley
Bald Mountain
Mooselookmeguntic, Maine, Mooselookmeguntic
Mountainview
Oquossoc, Maine, Oquossoc
South Rangeley
- **established title**: Incorporated
- **established date**: 1855
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **area total km2**: 144.06
- **area land km2**: 107.43
- **area water km2**: 36.62
- **area total sq mi**: 55.62
- **area land sq mi**: 41.48
- **area water sq mi**: 14.14
- **population as of**: 2020 United States Census, 2020
- **population total**: 1222
- **population density km2**: 11.4
- **timezone**: North American Eastern Time Zone, Eastern (EST)
- **utc offset**: −5
- **timezone dst**: EDT
- **utc offset dst**: 4
- **elevation m**: 492
- **elevation ft**: 1614
- **postal code type**: ZIP Code
- **postal code**: 04970
- **area code**: Area code 207, 207
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 23-61840
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature ID
- **blank1 info**: 0582690