6 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Waterville

So, you probably know that Waterville is in Kennebec County and that it's the home of Colby and Thomas colleges.  You may even know that it is the birthplace of former Maine governor Paul LePage and TV writer David E.  Kelley.  But, there are so many cool things about the town that you probably don't know.

1 - Record Temperatures - According to Wikipedia, the highest temperature recorded in Waterville was 101 degrees Fahrenheit (set during an August heatwave).  The lowest was negative 32 degrees (during a January).

2 - Love Locks - If you've ever been over Waterville's Two Cent Bridge, you've probably noticed the padlocks attached to the bridge's fencing.  What's the deal with those?  While the origin story of the Love Locks dates back to the early part of the 20th Century in Serbia, the trend has gone global over the last few decades.  Basically, the idea is that you ensure your love (with your significant other) will last by attaching a lock to a bridge.

3 - The Russia Connection - Waterville's sister city is Kotlas, a city in Russia's Arkhangelsk Oblast (like a state in the United States).  While the Kotlas area has been inhabited since ancient times, it only became a town in 1917.  The most-notable landmark in the city of 60,000 is the The Church of St. Stephan of Perm, built in 1788.

4 - Wet Hot American Summer - The 2001 comedy, and its Netflix sequel series, were both set at Waterville's fictional Camp Firewood.  The film helped launch the careers of people like Elizabeth Banks and Paul Rudd.  Sadly, it wasn't actually filmed in Central Maine.  Instead, producers made the movie in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

5 - The Real Hawkeye Pierce - Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr, better known by his pen name Richard Hooker, was a surgeon and author who, while he was living in Waterville wrote the book the M*A*S*H movie and TV series would be based off.  After finishing medical school he was drafted and attached to the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.  After the Korean War, he worked for the VA before opening a private practice in Maine.  During that time, he wrote a book about his experiences as a young doctor near the front lines during the Korean War.  That book would eventually go on to be turned into the 1970 movie and the TV series that lasted 11 years.  He lived in Waterville until he passed in 1997.

6 - Waterville Opera House - First opening in 1902, this theater has been bringing the performing arts to downtown Waterville for over a century.  In addition to high quality, locally produced shows, they also show HD broadcasts of stage performances and operas from around the world.

What did we miss?  What other cool and unique things are there about Waterville that are worth noting?

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