Cape Porpoise is a small coastal village in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, and was the original English settlement of the town. It is located northeast of Dock Square and southwest of Goose Rocks Beach. The village occupies the mainland adjacent to Cape Porpoise Harbor. More than a dozen islands protect the deep natural harbor. The ZIP Code for Cape Porpoise is 04014. [1]
Goat Island Light marks the harbor entrance between Goat and Folly islands.
Archeological evidence exists of activity in the area now known as Cape Porpoise as far back a 7000 BCE. [2] In 1602, the time of contact with Europeans, it was occupied by communities of the Abenaki people. The primary settlement in the area was Sowocatuck, at the mouth of the Saco River, occupied by the Sokoki band of Abenakis.
Cape Porpoise was named by explorer Captain John Smith in 1614 during his exploration of New England. English fishermen began making seasonal residences in the area beginning about 1619 until a year-round European settlement was established in 1629, based on a land grant from the Plymouth Colony. The town was incorporated as "Cape Porpus" under the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1653.
The Europeans cut or thinned forested areas, to support their agriculture and forest economy, which undermined the hunting and pastoral livelihoods of Indian communities. [3] This led to conflict. During King William's War in 1689, Indians forced the settlers off the mainland and onto Stage Island until rescued by the English. English settlers abandoned the town until 1699. The Wabanaki Confederacy, which had been created among Abenaki to resist English encroachment, had prevailed in the northern theater of King William's War and continued to push for the removal of European settlers from the area after that war ended: Indians drove settlers away from Cape Porpoise in 1703 until their return in 1717 and made further attacks against settlers in 1723-1727. Active hostilities only stopped when France, the Indians military ally, ceded southern Maine to England after King George's War. [4]
During the American Revolutionary War, on August 8, 1782, the English 16-gun brig Meriam and the schooner Hammond entered the harbor and attempted to take a schooner and sloop as prizes. The English took the schooner but ran the sloop aground. The town militia had assembled and fired shore cannons and muskets at the English. The English burned the sloop and then returned to their brig but couldn't escape the harbor because of a growing southern breeze. Over the next few hours, the English towed and warped the brig out of the harbor under musket and cannon fire even as they tried to return gun fire. All combined, more than 20 men were killed during the battle, including Captain James Burnham, one of the town leaders, and the only American casualty. [5]
In July 2010, singer Taylor Swift filmed the music video for her hit single "Mine" here. She filmed parts of the video in the popular Wayfarer restaurant, The Captain's restaurant, and in a local river.
The village is located on State Highway 9.
Falmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.
Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell Neck, as well as three large islands connected by bridges: Sebascodegan Island, Orr's Island, and Bailey Island and over 200 smaller islands. Harpswell is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Castine is a town in Hancock County in eastern Maine, United States. The population was 1,320 at the 2020 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine related industries.
Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Back Narrows, Dover, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The surrounding Boothbay Region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year-round. Five shipyards are located in the town, the largest of which is Washburn & Doughty.
Bristol, known from 1632 to 1765 as Pemaquid, is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,834 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. During the 17th and early 18th century, New France defined the Kennebec River as the southern boundary of Acadia, which put Bristol within Acadia.
Monhegan is an island in the Gulf of Maine. A plantation, a minor civil division in the state of Maine falling between unincorporated area and a town, it is located approximately 12 nautical miles (22 km) off the mainland and is part of Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 64 at the 2020 census. The plantation comprises its namesake island and the neighboring island of Manana. The island is accessible by scheduled boat service from Boothbay Harbor, New Harbor and Port Clyde. Visitors' cars are not allowed on the island. It was designated a United States National Natural Landmark for its coastal and island flora in 1966.
Southport is a town and island in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 622 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Capitol Island, Cozy Harbor, East Side, Newagen, Pine Cliff, and West Southport, and the village of Squirrel Island. The majority of the town's residents live on its main island, Southport Island.
Arrowsic is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population is 477 as of the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. During the French and Indian Wars, Arrowsic was site of a succession of important and embattled colonial settlements. It is a favorite with artists and birdwatchers.
York is a town in York County, Maine, United States, near the southern tip of the state. The population in the 2020 census was 13,723. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort town. It is home to three 18-hole golf clubs, four sandy beaches, and Mount Agamenticus. From south to north, it is divided into the villages of Bald Head, York Village, York Harbor, York Beach and Cape Neddick.
Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area.
Timeline of the War of 1812 is a chronology of the War of 1812, including a list of battles.
Francis Small was a British-born Colonial American trader and landowner who resided primarily in Kittery, Maine. He made the first recorded land purchase in what is now the state of Maine, then part of Massachusetts, and proceeded to amass so much property that he was called "the great landholder." He owned the most acrerage of anyone who ever lived in Maine.
Aegean Sea anti-piracy operations began in 1825 when the United States government dispatched a squadron of ships to suppress Greek piracy in the Aegean Sea. The Greek civil wars of 1824–1825 and the decline of the Hellenic Navy made the Aegean quickly become a haven for pirates who sometimes doubled as privateers.
The Raid on Wells occurred during King William's War when French and Wabanaki Confederacy forces from New France attacked the English settlement at Wells, Maine, a frontier town on the coast below Acadia. The principal attack (1692) was led by La Brognerie, who was killed. Commander of the garrison, Captain James Converse, successfully repelled the raid despite being greatly outnumbered.
The Northeast Coast campaign was the first major campaign by the French of Queen Anne's War in New England. Alexandre Leneuf de La Vallière de Beaubassin led 500 troops made up of French colonial forces and the Wabanaki Confederacy of Acadia. They attacked English settlements on the coast of present-day Maine between Wells and Casco Bay, burning more than 15 leagues of New England country and killing or capturing more than 150 people. The English colonists protected some of their settlements, but a number of others were destroyed and abandoned. Historian Samuel Drake reported that, "Maine had nearly received her death-blow" as a result of the campaign.
Thomaston, formerly known as Fort St. Georges, Fort Wharf, and Lincoln, is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,739 at the 2020 census. Noted for its antique architecture, Thomaston is an old port popular with tourists. The town was named after Major General John Thomas.
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Bayville, Mount Pisgah, and Sprucewold, and the villages of Isle of Springs and West Boothbay Harbor. During summer months, the entire Boothbay Harbor region is a popular yachting and tourist destination.
Machias is a town in and the county seat of Washington County in Down East Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,060. It is home to the University of Maine at Machias and Machias Valley Airport, a small public airport owned by the town. The word Machias roughly translates in Passamaquoddy as "bad little falls", a reference to the Machias River. Machias was the site of the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
Walter Gendall was a 17th-century English sawmill owner in and prominent citizen of North Yarmouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was also a captain in King Philip's War of 1675–1678 and King William's War of 1688–1697. He lost his life in the second conflict. His name is also spelled Walter Gendle in literature.
Cape Rosier is a cape on the south central coast of the U.S. state of Maine, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. The peninsula reaches south and westward from the mainland into Penobscot Bay. It constitutes the western part of the town of Brooksville, in Hancock County, cut off from the rest of the town at a narrow neck where Orcutt Harbor extends from Eggemoggin Reach northward, and nearly reaches Smith Cove on the north side of the cape. To the west, it forms a part of the estuary of the Penobscot River. The head of the cape is at 44°18'43.2"N 68°49'36.6"W.
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