Bristol, known from 1632 to 1765 as Pemaquid (; today a village within the town), is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Lincoln County,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, United States. The population was 2,834 at the 2020 census. A

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and resort area, Bristol includes the villages of New Harbor, Pemaquid, Round Pond, Bristol Mills and Chamberlain. It includes the Pemaquid Archeological Site, a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. During the 17th and early 18th century, New France defined the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 natural river within the U.S. state of Ma ...

as the southern boundary of Acadia, which put Bristol within Acadia.

History

Once territory of the Wawenock (or Walinakiak, meaning "People of the Bay")

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people 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 pred ...

Indians, early Bristol was one of the most important and embattled

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

settlements in the province. Beginning with seasonal fishing, as early as 1625 the English established at Pemaquid Point a year-round

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

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 ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. In 1631, the area was granted as the Pemaquid Patent by the Plymouth Council to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Raid on Pemaquid (1632)

A village and

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

fort were constructed. In 1632, Pemaquid was raided and plundered by the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

Dixie Bull. The Great Colonial Hurricane on August 15, 1635 sank the

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

''Angel Gabriel'' while it was anchored off the settlement, drowning some crew and passengers. In 1664, the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

(the future King James II) claimed Pemaquid was within his patent, which also included Sagadahoc and recently acquired

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

. To help anglicize the latter into

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Governor Sir Edmund Andros had some of its Dutch inhabitants transported to Pemaquid, now called Jamestown for its royal owner. By 1665, the village had approximately 30 houses.

King Philip's War

Raid on Pemaquid (1676)

During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

, in 1676 Indians attacked and burned English settlements up the coast, including Pemaquid. The following year, a new wooden defense called Fort

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

was built.

King William's War

Siege of Pemaquid (1689)

During King William's War—the first of four French and Indian Wars—Fort Charles and the village were attacked and destroyed in 1689 by the French from Castine, Maine. The inhabitants of Pemaquid were either killed or taken prisoner.

Siege of Pemaquid (1696)

By 1692, the English regained control of the region, and Sir William Phipps ordered construction of Fort William Henry, named after King

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

. This time built of stone. On August 14–15, 1696, the famous Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captured and destroyed the fort along with a combined force of French and Indians from present-day Castine. Commander of the fort, Captain Pascoe Chubb surrendered the fort. Iberville killed three of the soldiers and sent the other ninety-two back to Boston. In response to this raid Benjamin Church was sent from Boston to attack

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

Raid on Pemaquid (1717)

In early May 1717, a sloop under the command of a Captain Carr was captured by ten

s on a 25-ton sloop (formerly owned by a Colonel Stephen Minot) in Pemaquid. The pirate sloop had come from Monhegan to the south, where on April 29, the Snow (a type of two masted vessel) ''Anne'' arrived. The ''Anne'' had originally been captured off the Virginia Capes in April by the pirate Samuel Bellamy in the '' Whydah'', which wrecked in a storm on the night of April 26, 1717 off of Cape Cod. The ''Anne'' made it through the storm with another captured vessel, the ''Fisher'' (which was soon abandoned and the pirates aboard her transferred to the ''Anne''). The pirates arrived at Monhegan on April 29, and waited for the ''Whydah'', for the pirates had not seen nor heard about the ''Whydahs wrecking in the storm of the night of April 26. The pirates eventually realized the ''Whydah'' was lost, and proceeded to attack vessels in the area, including Matinicus Island (which is where the sloop the pirates used at Pemaquid was captured from). The attack at Pemaquid was described in a deposition as follows:

... he pirateswent after Capt. Carr's sloop, lying at Pemaquid, which they alsoe took a little distance from said Pemaquid, but finding the Mast and Bowspreat not serviceable o repair the snowthey left her there, and brought the Master thereof aboard the Snow then at Menhagen onhegan..

The pirates soon left the area, abandoning all the other vessels (including the ''Anne'') they had captured and most of their prisoners at Matinicus on or about May 9, 1717 on Minot's sloop."Deposition of Ralph Merry and Samuel Roberts" Boston. May 11, May 16, 1717. in Jameson, John Franklin. ''Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents''. New York: Macmillan Company, 1923, pp. 301–302

Father Rale's War

During Father Rale's War, the location was a rendezvous for Natives and French to return inhabitants of Pemaquid and vicinity that they had taken prisoner during the war. Colonel David Dunbar, Surveyor-General of the King's Woods, rebuilt the fort in 1729–1730, renaming it Fort Frederick. He renamed the town Harrington after the Earl of Harrington, who had helped arrange the 1729 Treaty of Seville.

King George's War

Raid on Pemaquid (1747)

During King George's War, Fort Frederick withstood two attacks in 1747, but in 1759 was decommissioned at the end of the French and Indian Wars.

American Revolution

In 1775, the town dismantled the fort to prevent it from becoming a British stronghold during the Revolutionary War. The state acquired the site in 1902, and in 1908 rebuilt the tower of Fort William Henry under guidance of historian John Henry Cartland, using many original stones. In 1993, the site was designated a

Bristol established

On June 21, 1765, the town was incorporated as Bristol, named after the home port of the Pemaquid Patent proprietors. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, the waters off Pemaquid Point saw the capture of HMS ''Boxer'' by the USS ''Enterprise'' on September 5, 1813. The town would set off land to create Nobleboro in 1788,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

in 1828, Damariscotta in 1848 and South Bristol in 1915. Today, Bristol is a popular tourist destination. File:Pemaquid Harbor, Pemaquid, ME.jpg, Pemaquid Harbor File:Fort Rock and Castle Wall Foundations, Pemaquid Beach, ME.jpg, Fort Rock File:Old Fort House, Pemaquid Beach, ME.jpg, Old Fort House in 1909 File:General View of New Harbor, ME.jpg, New Harbor

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Bristol is situated on the Pemaquid Peninsula, which extends into the Gulf of Maine and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Demographics

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the town was $38,400, and the median income for a family was $45,184. Males had a median income of $31,627 versus $19,800 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $21,821. About 3.3% of families and 6.0% 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 ...

, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,755 people, 1,309 households, and 828 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 2,585 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 0.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population. There were 1,309 households, of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.55. The median age in the town was 54.1 years. 15.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.3% were from 25 to 44; 34.8% were from 45 to 64; and 28.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

Sites of interest

* Fishermen's Museum * Fort William Henry * Granite Hall Store * Harrington Meeting House * Loudville Church on Louds Island * Pemaquid Archeological Site * Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

Notable people

* Thomas Drummond, judge * David Hanna, artist * Marcus Hanna, noted lighthouse keeper * Robert Livingston Ireland, Jr., businessman (summer resident) * William North, senator from New York * Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author * Samoset, Abenaki sagamore * Joshua Soule, Methodist bishop * Elizabeth Upham Yates, suffragist and missionary

References

External links

Town of Bristol, Maine

Bristol Area Library
{{authority control Towns in Lincoln County, Maine Populated coastal places in Maine 1765 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies