South Bristol is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Lincoln County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,127 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, South Bristol includes the villages of Walpole and Christmas Cove, the latter on Rutherford Island. The town has six

nature preserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

History

This was once territory of the Wawenock (or more precisely Walinakiak, meaning "People of the Bays")

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 pre ...

people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

, who traveled in canoes to hunt for fish, shellfish,

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

s and seafowl. In 1614, Captain John Smith explored the coast, and is said to have named Christmas Cove when he visited it on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

. The land was subsequently part of the Pemaquid Patent, granted by the

Plymouth Council for New England The Council for New England was a 17th-century English joint stock company that was granted a royal charter to found colonial settlements along the coast of North America. The Council was established in November of 1620, and was disbanded (alt ...

in 1631 to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, from which the town derives its name. A palisade fort and settlement were built on the adjacent Pemaquid Peninsula. Between 1630 and 1650, the area was the center for

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

in Maine. It was attacked and rebuilt repeatedly during the

French and Indian Wars The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...

, with the final two attacks occurring in 1747 at Fort Frederick. In 1765,

was incorporated as a town, with South Bristol its western portion. On March 26, 1915, South Bristol was set off and incorporated as a separate town.Maine Genealogy: South Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine
/ref> In the 1800s, the village of Walpole was noted for

brickmaking A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and

ice harvesting Ice cutting is a winter task of collecting surface ice from lakes and rivers for storage in ice houses and use or sale as a cooling method. Rare today, it was common (see ice trade) before the era of widespread mechanical refrigeration and air ...

. Brickyards along the Damariscotta River supplied many of the bricks used to build

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

neighborhood. The ice business faded with the advent of

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

, but the Thompson Ice House, established in 1826, is now preserved as the Thompson Ice Harvesting Museum. The Bristol Yacht Building Company, later known as H.F. Gamage Shipbuilding, built

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

has remained important, with schooners,

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

s, lobster boats and

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

s constructed at the town. The Hudson River Sloop ''Clearwater'' was built here in 1968. Other industries in South Bristol are fishing, lobstering,

clamming Clam digging is a North American term for a common way to harvest clams (edible infaunal bivalve mollusks) from below the surface of the tidal sand flats or mud flats where they live. It is done both recreationally (for enjoyment or as a so ...

, aquaculture and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

. The peninsula and Rutherford Island were connected by a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

, one of only three in Maine, which spanned "The Gut." In 2017 the swing bridge was replaced with a safer drawbridge. For well over a century, Rutherford Island in particular has been a vacation destination for families from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, New York and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Many homes on the island are owned by these families.History of South Bristol, Maine
File:View of South Bristol, ME.jpg, View of South Bristol in 1908 File:Walpole Meeting House, Walpole, ME.jpg, Walpole Meeting House File:Steamboat Landing, Christmas Cove, ME.jpg, Steamboat landing in 1910

Geography

The town is in southern Lincoln County, bordered to the west by the tidal

Damariscotta River The Damariscotta River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 tidal river in Lincoln County, Maine, that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. ''Damariscotta'' ...

, to the east by Johns Bay and the tidal Johns River, and to the south by 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 southern one-third of the town is on Rutherford Island, separated from the mainland by The Gut. The island was named after the Reverend Robert Rutherford, who came with David Dunbar's group to the area from North Ireland in 1729. The village of South Bristol is on both sides of The Gut, while Christmas Cove is at the south end of Rutherford Island, and the locales of West Bristol and Walpole are to the north on the mainland. The town of

is to the east and north, while the towns of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Edgecomb Edgecomb is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,188 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of East Edgecomb, North Edgecomb, and Pools Landing. The town was named for George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgc ...

, and

Boothbay Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Back Narrows, Dover, East Boothbay, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and Trevett. The Boothbay reg ...

(listed from north to south) are to the west across the Damariscotta River. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town of South Bristol has a total area of , of which are land and , or 55.85%, are water. The town is crossed by Maine State Route 129. The highway leads north to Damariscotta, from South Bristol village.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 892 people, 418 households, and 275 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 1,076 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.6%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.6% of the population. There were 418 households, of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16% 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 2.57. The median age in the town was 54.1 years. 15.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.2% were from 25 to 44; 32.9% were from 45 to 64; and 30.2% 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

of 2000, there were 897 people, 410 households, and 277 families residing in the town. The

was 68.0 people per square mile (26.3/km). There were 932 housing units at an average density of 70.7 per square mile (27.3/km). The racial makeup of the town was 99.00%

, 0.11% Native American, 0.22%

, and 0.67% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.45% of the population. There were 410 households, out of which 20.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.58. In the town, the population was spread out, with 16.7% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 18.8% from 25 to 44, 34.9% from 45 to 64, and 25.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $38,636, and the median income for a family was $46,765. Males had a median income of $31,696 versus $21,563 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $28,233. About 3.5% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

South Bristol Historical Society

Thompson Ice Harvesting Museum

Walpole Meeting House (1772)

Witch Island Audubon Sanctuary

References

External links

Official website

Rutherford Library

MaineDOT Goes Back to the Drawing Board to Replace Swing Bridge

Locals revise South Bristol bridge plans, DOT listens
{{authority control Towns in Lincoln County, Maine Towns in Maine Populated coastal places in Maine