AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Senate passed LD24 “An Act To Change the Name of Township 17, Range 4, WELS, in the Unorganized Territory to Sinclair,” Tuesday, March 28. The House approved the bill, which Roland “Danny” Martin, D-Sinclair sponsored, on March 23, and it now goes to Gov. Paul LePage’s desk for final approval.
The legislation would give residents living in that unorganized territory final say on renaming T17 R4 to “Sinclair.” Martin introduced the measure at the start of this legislative session, which would authorize the Aroostook County Commissioners to call for a vote on the matter.
“It is my hope that this will ensure that there is no longer confusion when referencing Township 17,R4,” said Martin in a March 28 press release. “I am pleased to give locals a say in naming the place they call home.”
Martin, who grew up in T17,R4, explained that people know the township by many different names, such as Long Lake, Sinclair and several French names, which has frequently caused confusion. Local people commonly call the community Sinclair, because members of the Sinclair family were early settlers of the township, according to Martin. Descendants of those settlers still reside in T17,R4.
Sinclair has its own U.S. post office, but the village never officially incorporated as a town. The year-round population is approximately 400, according to U.S. Census data, although it swells beyond that during the summer months when snowbirds and vacationers visit.
Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, and Rep. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, cosponsored the bill.
Aroostook County Administrator Doug Beaulieu said previously that the county would support the will of the residents in Sinclair on the matter. State leaders took up a similar process in the recent past when two other townships in northern Aroostook received new names, Cross Lake and Madawaska Lake.
