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 (locally known as Great Island), Orr's Island, and Bailey Island. Ninety-five smaller islands are within Harpswell's municipal borders.[3]
As of 2022, Harpswell had the highest number of active lobstering licenses in the state of Maine, at just over 250 in all.[4]
According to the Census Bureau, Harpswell has a total area of 127.69 square miles (330.72km2), of which 24.18 square miles (62.63km2) is land and 103.51 square miles (268.09km2) is water.[1] Harpswell has about 216 miles (348km) of coastline.[6]
The town is crossed by state routes 24 and 123. It is bordered by the town of Brunswick to the north, and is separated by the New Meadows River from West Bath to the northeast and Phippsburg to the east.
History
The Native Americans who originally inhabited Harpswell were Abenaki. The Abenaki name for Harpswell Neck, then called West Harpswell, was Merriconeag or "quick carrying place", a reference to the narrow peninsula's easy portage. The Abenaki name for Great Island was Erascohegan or Sebascodiggin,[7] which became by the late 1800s Sebascodegan Island.
King James I awarded lands in present day Maine, including Casco Bay, in August 1622 to Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason, with Gorges and his cousin Thomas Gorges overseeing the award of land patents to settlers and other claimants.[8]
As early as 1639, Francis Small of Kittery established a trading post at Sebascodegan Island under a commission from Kittery merchant Nicholas Shapleigh, who obtained land there via a deed with local Abenaki leaders.[11]
After an Abenaki raid on his house during King Philip's War, Purchase abandoned his settlement and Boston merchant Richard Wharton acquired it in 1684 from the Abenaki. After Wharton's death, his heirs sold the land in 1714 to a group called the Pejepscot Proprietors.[12]
Amid the continuing threat of Abenaki raids during an extended period of tensions in the early 18th century, attempts to settle the area were abandoned until after Dummer's War. The Treaty of 1725 brought a truce, and by 1731 many settlers had returned.[13]
During the American Revolution, Harpswell farmer and mill owner Nathaniel Purinton organized a crew to attack a British privateer operating in the Casco Bay region, while serving as a lieutenant colonel of the Second Cumberland County Regiment.[15] Sailing the 14-ton schooner America, Purinton intercepted the British gunboat Picaroon and captured it and a prize vessel Picaroon had taken.[16]
During the 19th century, Harpswell became a significant shipbuilding center on Casco Bay, including a shipyard operated by George Skolfield which built the 1,200-ton barque John L. Dimmock.[17][18]
In 1867, what was at the time the largest tide mill in Maine began operation, with water at high tide dammed at Basin Cove to power a grist mill as water was released during ebb tides. The mill operated until 1885, with the capacity to mill 50,000 bushels of grain annually.[19] As many as 15 tide mills were built in Harpswell.[20]
Arctic explorer Robert Peary purchased Sawungun Island off Harpswell Neck in 1881,[21] and renamed it Eagle Island as his permanent home. The island is open to the public as the Eagle Island State Historic Site.[22]
Also in 1881, the Casco Bay Steamboat Co. initiated Harpswell Line ferry service from Portland to Harpswell, including stops at Bailey and Orr's islands. In 1907, separate ferry lines were merged to create the Casco Bay and Harpswell Steamboat Co., a predecessor company to Casco Bay Lines.[23]
In 1891, the Maine Legislature approved Harpswell's annexation of Ragged Island from Phippsburg.[24]
After decades of interest on the part of Bailey Island residents, the Maine Legislature approved funding for a bridge to Orr's Island, with construction taking place in 1927 and 1928 under Llewelyn N. Edwards, bridge engineer for the Maine State Highway Commission. The Bailey Island Bridge today is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.[25]
In June 1941, an excursion boat embarked from Harpswell for Monhegan Island with 34 people aboard.[26]Don was lost at sea with no survivors, and no conclusive evidence of what mishap it encountered.[27] Given the large numbers aboard the 44-foot cabin cruiser, an investigation cited capsize in heavy swells as one possibility.[28]
The U.S. Navy chose Harpswell for a jet fuel depot on the western shore to supply nearby Naval Air Station Brunswick via pipeline, with construction starting in 1953 for what would eventually become a 14-tank facility on 120 acres.[29] In 2001, the federal government transferred the property to the town, which removed tanks and other infrastructure to create a public park.[30]
A pair of January 2024 storms damaged more than half the docks and piers in Harpswell, with some completely destroyed.[31]
As of the census[33] of 2010, there were 4,740 people, 2,218 households, and 1,450 families living in the town. The population density was 196.0 inhabitants per square mile (75.7/km2). There were 4,208 housing units at an average density of 174.0 per square mile (67.2/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.7% White, 0.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population.
There were 2,218 households, of which 19.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.53.
The median age in the town was 52.9 years. 15% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.9% were from 25 to 44; 37.5% were from 45 to 64; and 25.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
2000 census
As of the census[34] of 2000, there were 5,239 people, 2,340 households, and 1,532 families living in the town. The population density was 216.7 inhabitants per square mile (83.7/km2). There were 3,701 housing units at an average density of 153.1 per square mile (59.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.94% White, 0.25% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.32% of the population.
There were 2,340 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.69.
Ragged Island c. 1920
In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.6% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $40,611, and the median income for a family was $45,119. Males had a median income of $34,167 versus $30,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,433. About 3.3% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Fire, EMS, police
Fire protection services are provided in Harpswell by three unique and nonrelated volunteer fire departments. All three departments provide EMS services and operate ambulances. A town contracted paramedic is stationed 24/7 at the town hall.
Harpswell Neck Fire Department
Orr's and Bailey Island Fire Department
Cundy's Harbor Fire Department
Law enforcement services are provided by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.
Education
Public schools in the area are operated by Maine School Administrative District 75. During the 2010–2011 school year, Harpswell residents voted to close the West Harpswell School, one of the town's two K–5 elementary schools. Beginning in 2011–2012, West Harpswell students were bused to the Harpswell Islands School that saved the town approximately $200,000 a year.[35] In September 2013, Harpswell Coastal Academy, a charter school serving grades 6–12 opened in the old West Harpswell School. There is a private preschool, the Harpswell Nature School, residing within the Elijah Kellogg Church (not religiously affiliated) that was established in 2003 under the name Harpswell Community Nursery School, with four teachers and twenty-four students ages 3–5.
In arts and popular culture
Harriet Beecher Stowe published her novel The Pearl of Orr's Island in serialized form in 1861.[36]
John Greenleaf Whittier was inspired to write his 1866 poem "The Dead Ship of Harpswell" based on a legend of Orr's Island.[37]
Harpswell and surrounding islands inspired the settings for Elijah Kellogg's Elm Island series of children's books published between 1868 and 1870.[38]
William Jasper Nicolls published his novel Brunhilda of Orr’s Island in 1908.[39]
The Edna St. Vincent Millay poem "Ragged Island" was published in 1954, four years after her death;[40]
Orr's Island is the setting for the 2000 horror movie They Nest.[41]
The fictional murder mystery Blow the Man Down was filmed in Harpswell in 2018.[42] The name of the town in the film is changed to Easter Cove, Maine.
↑ Beard, Frank; Bradley, Robert. "Elijah Kellogg Church". United States Department of the Interior. Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
↑ Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts: A.J. Coolidge. pp.153–154. coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.
↑ Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Doris A. Isaacson (ed.). Maine: A Guide 'Down East'. Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc. pp.312–316.
↑ "Meeting Report"(PDF). National Historic Landmarks Committee. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
↑ "Eagle Island State HIstoric Site". Bureau of Parks and Lands. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
↑ Larry, Legere. "History". Casco Bay Lines. Casco Bay Lines. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
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