BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 20, 2022
This western Maine town of just more than 5,000 people found an effective way to fight back when big box and national chain stores encroached nearby in the 1990s. Norway has had to wage a thoughtful and persistent battle, including bouncing back from an 1894 fire that consumed most of its core, that has given the historic Oxford County locale a bustling half-mile downtown with 34 boutique retailers and only one vacancy. Norway, a one-hour drive from Augusta, Portland, the coast and North Conway, New Hampshire, differs from many other Maine towns because it retained its downtown instead of giving in to sprawl.