Bangor was incorporated in 1791 by Pastor Seth Noble, who enjoyed the Irish hymn Bangor. The city was developed on the 1525 campsite of Estavan Gomez, a Portuguese mariner searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient.
Early settlers were drawn to the area for the fur trading and fishing, and in the 19th century, by the wealth of shipbuilding, lumber, and naval stores. In the 20th century, with the shipbuilding industry in decline, the community concentrated on the pulp and paper business, which is still the dominant industry.
Look for the statue of Paul Bunyan, the world-famous lumberjack.