An observation post was located atop one of the buildings on the right side of Water Street. In 1976, Scott Paper Company opened a plant in Skowhegan which later became S. D. Warren Company, a division of Scott Paper Company. In 1997, the S. D. Warren mill was sold to Sappi Fine Paper. The New Balance Athletic Shoe Company operates a factory in the community. In 2003, Skowhegan was a major filming location for an HBO movie based on the 2001 Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Empire Falls", by Maine author Richard Russo. A restaurant on Water Street was renamed the Empire Grill after being filmed for the movie. Skowhegan is the home of the annual KNEADING Conference established in 2007 where topics including local wheat production, milling, baking and wood fired oven building are highlighted. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Skowhegan is drained by the Wesserunsett Stream and Kennebec River. Loomis Hill, elevation 870 feet (265 meters) above sea level, is the highest point in town. The population in 1870 was 3,893. In 1880 it was 3,861. As of the census of 2010, there were 8,589 people, 3,765 households, and 2,258 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 4,234 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.9% White, 0.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population. There were 3,765 households of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age in the town was 42.2 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older.