Orr's Island is an island in
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 ...
and the
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...
, part of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. The island is within the town of
Harpswell
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 Ne ...
,
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
,
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and forms an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
with
Sebascodegan Island (also known as Great Island) to its north and
Bailey Island (reached by the
Bailey Island (or Cribstone) Bridge) to its south.
Orr's Island is connected to Great Island by the Orr's Island/Great Island Bridge, and is connected to the town of
Brunswick on the mainland by Route 24 north over the Gurnet Bridge.
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...
operates a coastal studies center on Orr's Island.
Demographics
As of 2010, Orr's Island had an estimated population of 539 people. 48.8% of the population was male, and 51.2% of the population was female. 98.3% of the population was white, 0.7% was Asian, 0.9% was two or more races, and 0.3% was some other race. Additionally, 90.2% of the population was 18 years or older, 32.7% was 65 years or older, and 1.7% was under 5 years of age.
In Popular Culture
Orr's island is the setting for the story in the 2000 American sci-fi horror movie
They Nest
''They Nest'' (also known as ''Creepy Crawlers'') is a 2000 American science fiction horror film directed by Ellory Elkayem and starring Thomas Calabro, Dean Stockwell, John Savage, and Kristen Dalton.
Plot
Stressed by marital breakdown and ...
.
Utilities
Orr's Island, like the rest of
Harpswell
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 Ne ...
is served power by
Central Maine Power
Avangrid, Inc. (formerly Energy East and Iberdrola USA), is an energy services and delivery company. AVANGRID serves about 3.1 million customers throughout New England, Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States.
History
In ...
. There is no public water or sewer on the island, with most households having
septic systems
A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater ( sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treat ...
and
drilled wells. Communications providers include Cribstone Communications, Consolidated Communications and Comcast.
See also
*
List of islands of Maine
This list primarily derives from the Maine Coastal Island Registry, a database of the 3166 coastal islands from the largest (Mount Desert Island) to the smallest islets and ledges exposed above mean high tide. Some notable inland freshwater island ...
Further reading
* ''The Pearl of Orr's Island'' by
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
, 1862.
* ''Brunhilda of Orr's Island'' by William Jasper Nicolls, 1908.
* ''The Story of Orr's Island, Maine'' by
Annie Haven Thwing
Annie Haven Thwing (July 4, 1851 – June 5, 1940), also known as A.H. Thwing or Anne Haven Thwing, was an American historian and children's author. Her book for children, ''Chicken Little'', with illustrations by Nelly Littlehale Umbstaetter, appe ...
. 1926.
References
External links
Town of Harpswell, MaineOrr's-Bailey Yacht ClubOrr's Island LibraryBowdoin Coastal Studies Center
Islands of Cumberland County, Maine
Harpswell, Maine
Islands of Casco Bay
Islands of Maine
{{Maine-geo-stub