Orono is a town in Penobscot County, incorporated on March 12, 1806 from Stillwater Plantation. In 1840 it ceded land to form Old Town.
The town is named for a well-respected Chief of the Penobscots who supported the American Revolution.
The town was settled in about 1774, but in 1775 the pioneers retreated to other nearby settlements for protection against Indian raids. After the Revolutionary War they returned along with others to develop mills and lumbering.
An agricultural school was established in 1862, evolving in 1865 into the University of Maine, which now dominates the towns economy and culture.
