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.
Bowdoin is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,136 at the 2020 census. Bowdoin is 31 land miles north of Portland, and 21 land miles south of Augusta.
Phippsburg is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Kennebec River. The population was 2,155 at the 2020 census. It is within the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, metropolitan statistical area. A tourist destination, Phippsburg is home to Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, Fort Popham State Historic Site; it is also home to Fort Baldwin which overlooks Fort Popham, and Popham Beach State Park, as well as Pond Island National Wildlife Refuge. The town includes part of Winnegance.
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. 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".
The Androscoggin Swinging Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge spanning the Androscoggin River in Maine between the towns of Topsham in Sagadahoc County and Brunswick in Cumberland County. The bridge was built in 1892 as a timesaving approach for employees of the Cabot Manufacturing Company of Brunswick, could have safer and easier passage across the river.
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.
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.
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.
The Northeast Coast campaign of 1747 was conducted by the Wabanaki Confederacy of Acadia against the New England settlements along the coast of present-day Maine below the Kennebec River, the former border of Acadia. during King George's War from July until September 1747. They attacked English settlements on the coast of present-day Maine between Berwick and St. Georges, within two months there were 11 raids - every town on the frontier had been attacked. Casco was the principal settlement.
Topsham is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,560 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The town is home to the annual Topsham Fair.
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 Topsham Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Topsham, Maine. Extending along parts of Elm, Green, and Pleasant Streets, the area has a fine collection of 19th and early 20th-century architecture, with the majority built before 1850. It is almost entirely residential, with only a few non-residential uses, including a church. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Maquoit Bay is a bay in Cumberland County, Maine, in the northern part of Casco Bay. It is located between South Freeport and Mere Point, Brunswick, and is a Focus Area of Statewide Ecological Significance and one of the state's Important Bird Areas.
The Frank J. Wood Bridge is a three span, through truss bridge crossing over the Androscoggin River between the towns of Topsham and Brunswick, Maine, on Route 201. Opened in 1932, the bridge was originally called the Brunswick-Topsham bridge but was officially renamed the Frank J. Wood Bridge, after a local farmer who suggested the location.
Fort Andross, also known as Fort George and Cabot Mill, originally was a historic trading post and garrison built by the colonial British Empire to fortify against the Wabanaki Native Americans who were aligned with France during King William's War (1688–1697). It was adjacent to Brunswick Falls on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine. In the 19th century, the location of the fort has been used for several cotton mills including the Cabot Manufacturing Company. In 1986, the mills were transformed into office and retail space and renamed Fort Andross.
Thomas Purchase (1577–1678), also known as Thomas Purchis and Thomas Purchas, was the first English settler to occupy the region of Pejepscot, Maine in what is now Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell. In 1628 he set up a trading post at the site of Fort Andross to barter with the local Wabanaki Native Americans.
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 the years of 1715 and 1814.
Established in 1903, the Brunswick and Topsham Water District is a fresh water supply district providing fresh water to the towns of Brunswick and Topsham, Maine through groundwater sources. The Water District is a collaboration between the two towns to ensure safe drinking water as well as water supply for the use of fire suppression systems.
