Adam Lofting, of Augusta, and Steve Folson, of Randolph, wait to get their hair cut at Dom's Barber Shop in Hallowell. This one-time seaport-on-the-river never grew beyond 4,800 residents but has always seen itself as a micro-city.

Hallowell's 1898 City Hall – a grand classical revival building – seems out of scale for the small community.

From left, Miriam Asch, 8, her sister Robin, 6, and brother Aaron, 4, run with their dog P.T. toward a waterfall in Vaughan's Woods just up the hill from downtown Hallowell as their parents, Erica and Chris Asch, follow.

Kurt Fecteau, of Augusta, sips beer from his mug while other friends greet each other prior to a game of darts at the Liberal Cup in downtown Hallowell. Monday night is "mug club" night in which regulars get special beer deals out of their mugs.

Old volumes of local newspapers line the shelves at the Hubbard Free Library in Hallowell. The gothic stone building was the first public library in Maine in 1880.

A tractor-trailer truck moves along Interstate 95 northbound through Hallowell. The town is situated between the state's largest highway and the Kennebec River.

Buddy Iaciofano is reflected in a mirror from a jewelry store as he walks along Main Street to work at Buddy's Diner in Hallowell.

Clouds sprawl across the sky and are mirrored in the Kennebec River at downtown Hallowell's public boat launch.

Two friends cross Main Street in Hallowell as storm clouds roll in before dusk. In Hallowell the majority often supports public investments.

Downtown Hallowell is reflected in a window across from City Hall. Hallowell has, by some metrics, the most liberal voting population in the state after Portland.