Maine town gave its name to Norway pine

NORWAY – The Norway spruce may be from the faraway country, but the Norway pine owes its name to the town in Maine.

That’s according to the Maine Forest Service’s official guidebook to the state’s native plant species.

“The name ‘Norway pine’ refers to its original finding near Norway, Maine,” says “Forest Trees of Maine.”

But the guidebook also goes on to discourage the name.

“Since [the name Norway pine] infers that the tree is foreign in origin, this name should not be encouraged,” the book says.

Consulting forester Bill Newcomb, who lives in Norway, thinks the name originated with the stand of pines at the old Oxford County Fairgrounds, where the high school is now.

The trees, also known as red pine, grow straight and tall – up to 80 feet high. The branches fan out to form a rounded head over a tapering trunk.

“It must’ve been quite a sight coming into town,” Newcomb said.

The species was likely first identified in the early 1800s by settlers, according to Norway Historical Society President Guy Campbell. They traveled from points to the north and east and went through Gray and Oxford to Norway along what was then the Oxford Road, now lower Main Street.

Early travelers on this route would have passed right by the stand of imposing pines.

Charles Smith of York, who retired from his physician’s practice in Norway two years ago, said it was popular to plant the trees in plantations during World War II.

“My father and I planted a lot of Norway pines,” he said.

He also planted them during a downtown beautification effort.

The Norway pine is still common in Norway and surrounding areas, but groves are usually scattered through forests of white pine and other trees.

The Maine Forest Service’s guidebook also refers to a striking stand of Norway pine – the “beautiful Cathedral Pines” – near Eustis.