New Gloucester sits at a geographic crossroads in central Maine. It is equidistant from Portland, Lewiston-Auburn and Brunswick — each just a 30-minute car ride away from the town’s many interesting places to see and things to do.

Take Pineland Farms. Many remember it as the former Pineland Center — an institution that once warehoused adults with disabilities. If you haven’t been out to New Gloucester in awhile, you may not know that it has been transformed into a state-of-the-art business park, as well as a working farm producing world-class meats and cheeses, an equestrian center and a sprawling campus and neighboring gardens. Visitors will find an intriguing place to spend an afternoon, especially during Maine’s warmer months, although its outdoor recreation center offers four-season options that include lots of cross-country ski trails. Pineland has opportunities for hiking, field trips, classes, eating and even shoppping, and serves as a great place to dock the car and jump on your bike to see the surrounding sights . . .

Because there’s much more to New Gloucester than just Pineland Farms.

If New Gloucester sits at a geographic crossroads, the town also represents a historical crossroads as one of Maine’s older towns. According to Linda Gard, archivist for the New Gloucester Historical Society, the first settlers followed the road built along the Royal’s River — we know it today simply as the Royal River — out from North Yarmouth. They built cabins on Harris Hill. Because this was during the French and Indian Wars, the settlement was abandoned. Eventually a group returned to the rich farmland and forests and built a two-story blockhouse, which became the home to 12 families. The blockhouse served as a center for worship and town affairs until the first meetinghouse was built in 1773. Later, the New Gloucester First Congregational Church was erected at 19 Gloucester Hill Road, where the First Congregational Church now meets. The Congregationalists in New Gloucester can trace their lineage in town back to 1765. The current congregation is pastored by Gard.

Phil Blake, an eighth-generation resident of the town told me that a drive out Cobb’s Bridge Road off Route 231 would yield splendid views of many of the older farms in the community, holdovers from New Gloucester’s rich agricultural past. Blake also mentioned that much of the state’s genealogy originates with families that settled the town.

“New Gloucester is a prime starting point for genealogical research. Some of the older family names, like Stinchfield and others, settled Maine back when it was still part of Massachusetts,” said Blake, who is a member of the New Gloucester Historical Society.

Whether visiting from Lewiston, or points south, traversing Route 231 will bring you into the historic lower village, where New Gloucester Village Store is located. Like similar stores in other small Maine towns, it is a hub and gathering spot for the community.

The store was the New Gloucester Farmer’s Union for most of the 20th century, serving as a hardware store, village grocery and a place to find the best penny candy. It was also where locals came to get news, swap stories and play checkers around the old potbelly stove.

Over the last decade, the store has undergone a modern makeover and offers a wide variety of sandwiches, wraps, brick-oven pizza, burritos, fresh-baked bread and pastries. It also has a good selection of beer and wine. And it still is a central meeting spot, just like it was back in the late 1800s.

Another New Gloucester institution not to be missed is Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker community in the country. The community is a large working farm, and visitors are treated not only to insights about Shaker living, but an active schedule of seminars, workshops, fairs and other offerings.

For outdoor adventurers, there are many places in this town for biking and hiking, and some secret fishing holes that only locals know about. I can’t help you with the location of those fishing holes, but check out the Royal River Conservation Trust’s trails at www.rrct.org for some hiking suggestions.

There are also many vistas and views of the surrounding hills and the backside of Bradbury Mountain, especially from the height of Gloucester Hill Road. The natural beauty of the town is found everywhere. “New Gloucester has a lot of apple orchards and fishing ponds,” said Brenda Tracey, who works at The Penny Store gas station in New Gloucester.

You might think you know New Gloucester, like I did. However, a half-day devoted to exploring the sites around the town, including Pineland Farms, Shaker Village and a pit stop in the lower village for a slice of homemade pizza — and perhaps a visit to well-known Hodgman’s Frozen Custard in New Gloucester’s upper village for the flavor of the day? — is sure to offer up a few pleasant surprises.

Jim Baumer is a freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected]. Visit his blog at http://jimbaumerexperience.com/blog/ to leave a recommendation on a town you would like him to profile.

New Gloucester: The drive-by

Incorporated: March 8, 1774

Origin of the name: New Gloucester was established under a grant from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1736, 60 residents of Gloucester, Mass., were deeded a 6-square-mile tract of land in what was then the Maine Territory. They called this new settlement New Gloucester.

Population: 5,542 (2010 census)

Significant historical fact: New Gloucester is one of Maine’s oldest towns, as well as an important link in Maine’s genealogical research.

Upcoming events:

— Graze farm-to-table theme dinners at Pineland Farms, July 3; FMI call 761-6665 or visit them at http://www.theblacktieco.com/sites/default/files/2014GrazeSchedule.pdf

— Shaker Village Folk Weekend, Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27; FMI go to http://www.shaker.lib.me.us/index.html

Three good reasons to visit:

“You definitely want to visit the Shaker Village. It’s the only active and functioning Shaker community in the world.”

— Paul First, New Gloucester town manager

“There’s great hiking in New Gloucester. There’s the Pisgah Hill Preserve (located on New Gloucester’s eastern boundary with Pownal between North Pownal Road and Dougherty Road), which is really popular with anyone who enjoys hiking.”

— Sharman Mahoney, who works at the Village Center Store

“I tell people to check out Hodgman’s (Frozen Custard stand) on Route 100.”

— Eli Fitch, New Gloucester resident

For more on New Gloucester: Go to: http://www.newgloucester.com/