Baileyville, the town formerly known as Woodland
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5/30/2008
Baileyville used to be called Woodland until about ten years ago, when the state discovered that there was a place up north of there that was also called Woodland, and that so bollocksed up the Emergency Services database that the more recent of the two had to drop the Woodland name. Baileyville residents didn't initially take that too well.
But there really isn't much in the area that would divert ones attention other than such squables. The landscape is unrelentingly bleak and understandably underpopulated. As Route 1 wends its way north, it cuts away from the coast so that by the time you're in Baileyville, it is only the presence of a seagull that might remind you that the sea is out there someplace.
Before you enter the town, you will smell it. A paper mill runs the town's economy, though some locals like to think it's blueberries and stuff. The mill is loud, so don't even think of staying in town -- which is easy, since there are no rooms for nightly rental. The nearest town where you might see a movie or have an acceptably good meal is 12 miles south: Calais. And it has its Wal-Mart, so you can guess how vibrant its downtown is these days.
Baileyville is a place you pass through with the thought, possibly, that it used to look better when it was under a glacier. Then nary a thought of returning.
Emmett | Saranac Lake, NY