Holden is a town in Penobscot County, incorporated on April 13, 1852 from a portion of Brewer known as East Brewer.
The area was settled in 1786 by eight families, most of whose men had served in the Revolutionary War. One of the early arrivals was Captain (later General) John Blake, who represented the area in the Massachusetts General Court and commanded the militia in Hampden in an encounter with British forces in 1814.
The town is just southeast of Brewer, bisected by U.S. Route 1A.
