Fort Casco was an English fort built in present-day

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, South Portland&ndas ...

in 1698. It was the easternmost English fortification in New England and served as the boundary between English settlement and Wabanaki territory. English colonists fled Casco Bay following the

Battle of Fort Loyal The Battle of Falmouth (also known as the Battle of Fort Loyal) (May 16–20, 1690) involved Joseph-François Hertel de la Fresnière and Baron de St Castin leading troops as well as the Wabanaki Confederacy (Mi'kmaq and Maliseet from Fort Med ...

in 1690. In order to reestablish a presence in region, Massachusetts built a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

d fort in New Casco on

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...

in 1698 at the conclusion of

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

. Fort Casco was built at the behest of Wabanakis who desired a convenient place to trade and repair tools, while the British sought to foster better relations with Indians and pull them away from the French sphere of influence by providing them cheaper goods. Following the Fort Casco was the easternmost fort on New England's frontier during these years. A 1701 meeting between Wabanakis and Massachusetts officials cemented an alliance between the two. A pair of stone cairns were then erected to symbolize the new partnership. The nearby Two Brothers Islands later received their name from this monument. Unfortunately peace would last less than three years, with the inauguration of

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

in 1702. Governor

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

held a

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

at New Casco with representatives of the

Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

tribes on June 20, 1703 trying to convince them not to ally with the French. Fort Casco, Brunswick, Maine by Cyprian Southack, 1720 map inset

His efforts were unsuccessful, as the fort was besieged only two months later by Abenaki chiefs Moxus, Wanungonet,

Nescambious Assacumbuit, (1660–1727; many variant spellings, including Escumbuit, Nescambiouit and Nescambious), was a Native American leader of the Maliseet tribe of the Abenaki who was knighted by Louis XIV of France in 1706. King William's War During King ...

, and their French Allies in the Northeast Coast Campaign (1703). Vastly outnumbered English were relieved by the armed vessel "Province Galley", which dispersed the Wabanakis and the some 500 French with its guns. The natives killed 25 English and took many others prisoner. Peace returned in 1713 with the

Treaty of Portsmouth A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

. When the resettlement of present-day Portland began in 1716, the

Province of Massachusetts The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of E ...

ordered that the fort at New Casco be demolished rather than maintain it. Part of the reasoning was the construction of

Fort George (Brunswick, Maine) 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' ...

pushed Maine's frontier to the east beyond Falmouth. Fort Casco's site today lies opposite Pine Grove Cemetery on Route 88.George J. Varney, Gazetteer of the State of Maine (Boston: 1881), 226-8.

References

{{coord missing, Maine Military history of Acadia Loyal Falmouth, Maine