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.
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum, and the Maine State Music Theatre. It was formerly home to the U.S. Naval Air Station Brunswick, which was permanently closed on May 31, 2011, and has since been partially released to redevelopment as "Brunswick Landing".
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the coast of Maine in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chart for Casco Bay marks the dividing line between the bay and the Gulf of Maine as running from Bald Head on Cape Small in Phippsburg west-southwest to Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland and the Port of Portland are on Casco Bay's western edge.
Orr's Island is an island in Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine, part of the Atlantic Ocean. The island is within the town of Harpswell, Maine, United States, and forms an archipelago with Sebascodegan Island to its north and Bailey Island to its south.
Sebascodegan Island or Great Island is an island at the eastern edge of Casco Bay on the Gulf of Maine. It is a part of the town of Harpswell with the mainland portion of Harpswell to its west and Orr's Island and Bailey Island to its south. The town of Brunswick occupies the mainland to the north, and the towns of West Bath and Phippsburg occupy the mainland to the east, across the New Meadows River.
Eagle Island is an island in Maine's Casco Bay and the site of the summer home of the North Pole explorer Admiral Robert Peary (1856–1920). The island and home are preserved as the Eagle Island State Historic Site.
Dingley Island is a small island in Casco Bay, near Brunswick, off the coast of Maine, United States.
The Harpswell Meetinghouse is a historic colonial meeting house on Maine State Route 123 in Harpswell, Maine. Built in 1757-59 to provide space for both religious services and town meetings, it is a little-altered and well-preserved example of a once-common form, and is the oldest such surviving building in the state of Maine. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
The New Meadows River is a 12-mile-long (19 km) tidal embayment in Maine at the northern end of Casco Bay. It serves as the boundary between Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties for its entire length.
The Pejepscot Paper Company mill building is a historic paper mill located off U.S. 201 in Topsham, Maine, on the banks of the Androscoggin River, adjacent from Brunswick Falls and the Frank J. Wood Bridge. Built in 1868, the building is one of the oldest surviving paper mills in the state of Maine. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1974, and is now a mixed-use commercial property, housing the Sea Dog Brewing Company.
State Route 24 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from Bailey Island south of Orr's Island in Harpswell northward to Gardiner, passing through Brunswick along the way.
State Route 123 (SR 123) is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from Harpswell to SR 24 Business in Brunswick. The entire route is in Cumberland County.
The Brunswick Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic late-19th century commercial core of Brunswick, Maine. It includes the northern four blocks of Maine Street, the town's principal commercial thoroughfare, which was laid out in the late 17th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The Pownal Cattle Pound is a historic stone animal pound in Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine. Built in 1818, it is one of a modest number of these once-common structures left in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
Casco Castle was a resort in South Freeport, Maine, United States. Built in 1903, it was intended to resemble a castle. Designed by William R. Miller and overlooking Casco Bay immediately to its east, it burned down in 1914. All that now remains is its 185-foot (56 m) tall stone tower, which is now on private property, inaccessible to the public. The tower can be viewed from Harraseeket Road, a few yards closer to the shoreline, or from Winslow Memorial Park, directly to the south across the Harraseeket River. The main part of the building was to the south, with the tower on its northern side, connected by a bridge.
Fort Andross, also known as Fort George and Cabot Mill, was initially established as a trading post and later converted into a historic garrison by the colonial British Empire as a defensive measure against the Wabanaki Native Americans who were allied with France during King William's War (1688–1697). It was situated next to Brunswick Falls, on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine. During the war, the fortification was destroyed, rebuilt, and renamed Fort George in 1715. Once the Native American wars came to an end, the fort was abandoned.
Pejepscot is a historical settlement first occupied by a subset of the Androscoggin Native Americans known as the Wabanaki. The region encompasses the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine in Sagadahoc and Cumberland counties and was first settled by English settlers in 1628.
Brunswick Falls, also known as Pejepscot Falls, lie on a rocky section of the Androscoggin River, bordering the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine in the US. First occupied by Paleoindians and the Wabanaki Native Americans, the falls were a plentiful resource for food and trade. Throughout colonial history, the Industrial Revolution, and into the 21st century, the falls have been a vital part of Brunswick and Topsham's economy, harnessing its power for energy development.
George Augustus Wheeler, MD was a surgeon in the American Civil War and a prominent Maine historian. He authored two historical books including History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine, which the Pejepscot Historical Society states as the "authoritative text on the three towns through 1878".
The Pejepscot Proprietors was a company of land investors who colonized the current towns of Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell, Maine, between 1715 and 1814.
