Friendship (formerly known as Meduncook) 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 Knox 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. It is 31 miles (49.9 km) southeast of Augusta. The population was 1,142 at the 2020 census.

History

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 ...

Native Americans called it Meduncook, meaning "

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

at the end of the

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

". Part of the

Waldo Patent The Waldo Patent, a letters patent also known as the Muscongus Patent or the Lincolnshire Patent, was a document granting title to of land in what is now the U.S. state of Maine. It is named variously for businessman Samuel Waldo, who eventually ...

, it was first settled in 1750. A

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

was built on Garrison Island, which is connected to the mainland at

low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

. By 1754, 22 families lived in Meduncook, most taking shelter within the garrison when the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

broke out.

Raid on Meduncook (1758)

During the French and Indian War, the community was raided twice. The first attack was from the Abenaki just after sunrise on May 22, 1758. They killed and

scalped Scalping is the act of cutting or tearing a part of the human scalp, with hair attached, from the head, and generally occurred in warfare with the scalp being a trophy. Scalp-taking is considered part of the broader cultural practice of the taki ...

Joshua and Hannah Bradford and their infant son, Winslow. An original settler from

Kingston, Massachusetts Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,708 at the 2020 census. History Before European settlers arrived, Kingston was within the tribal homeland of the Wampanoag people. Several years ...

, and a great-grandson of

Governor William Bradford William Bradford ( 19 March 15909 May 1657) was an English Puritan English Dissenters, Separatist originally from the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. He moved to Leiden in the Dutch Republic in order to escape persecution from Jame ...

, Joshua had remained in his house, believing it close enough to the garrison that his family could flee there when necessary, but, while pounding corn, the Bradfords missed hearing the garrison's alarm gun. Five of their children managed to escape their pursuers into the fort, but two of their sons Cornelius (21) and Joshua (12) were captured and carried to Canada. After trying to lay siege to

Thomaston, Maine Thomaston, formerly known as Fort St. Georges, Fort Wharf, and Lincoln, is a New England town, town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,739 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Noted for its antique architecture, ...

, in September 1758, a party of Native Americans and Acadians under the command of the French officer Boishebert, raided the village. Eight British were captured or killed. On February 25, 1807, Meduncook Plantation was incorporated as Friendship. By 1859, when the population was 691, the village had two shipbuilders, two

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

s, one shingle mill and three

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s. By 1880, when the population was 938, other manufactures included

sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

s and

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

. Boatbuilding remained the dominant industry in town, which became famous for producing the Friendship Sloop, a

gaff-rigged Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

designed for lobstering and

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, ...

. Each summer the town hosts the Friendship Sloop Races. The author

John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs ...

wrote his 1957 novel, '' The Wapshot Chronicle'', while vacationing here.

Attractions

The Friendship Museum was established in 1964. Before being as the town's museum, it was the Friendship Grammar School from 1851 to 1923. The museum is a typical one-room schoolhouse, measuring . The museum has many interesting artifacts including models of ships and plans for the famous Friendship sloops.

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. Located on a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

that projects into 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 northea ...

, Friendship lies between

Muscongus Bay Muscongus Bay is a bay on the coast of Maine, United States, between Penobscot Bay and John's Bay. Muscongus was the name of an Abenaki village meaning "fishing place" or "many r largerock ledges." John Smith recorded the river in 1616 as Nusco ...

and the Friendship River. It includes several islands, the largest of which is Friendship Long Island (or Meduncook Island). The town is crossed by state routes 97 and

220 __NOTOC__ Year 220 (Roman numerals, CCXX) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Eutychianus (or, less frequently, year 973 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

. It borders the towns of Waldoboro to the northwest, and Cushing to the east. The town is the site of Franklin Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Friendship has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

2000 census

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 1,204 people, 508 households and 354 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 849 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the town was 99.34%

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 ...

, 0.25% from other races and 0.42% 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 0.50% of the population. There were 508 persons living alone who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.76. 20.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64 and 19.7% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $39,348 and the median family income was $41,648. Males had a median income of $29,605 and females $19,000. 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 ...

was $20,409. About 8.3% of families and 11.0% 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 16.7% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 1,152 people, 508 households and 352 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 896 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the town was 99.2%

, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races and 0.3% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population. There were 508 households, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% 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, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present and 30.7% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age in the town was 50.1 years. 17.2% of residents were under the age of 18, 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 18.7% were from 25 to 44, 31.7% were from 45 to 64 and 25.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender make-up of the town was 50.4% male and 49.6% female. As of 2022, the population of Friendship was estimated at 1,162 people.

Schools

Friendship is part of the Maine School Administrative District 40. Friendship Village Elementary School is in Friendship. Medomak Valley Middle School and Medomak Valley High School are in nearby Waldoboro. Friendship Public Library is in the community.

In popular culture

* The majority of the 1995 film '' Casper'' was set in Friendship, though the production crew chose the nearby resort town of Camden for filming, citing it to be "more authentic". In the film, Friendship is the site of an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

mansion called Whipstaff Manor, which is haunted by four

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s. Whipstaff Manor is not a real mansion located on the sea front of eastern Camden. The lower exterior and interior of the mansion was built on a set. * The short story "The Run of Yourself" in ''Sorry for Your Trouble'' by

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story author, and writer of a series of novels featuring the character Frank Bascombe. Ford's first collection of short stories, ''Rock Springs (short stories), Rock Springs ...

is set in Friendship.

Notable people

* Allen Alexander Bradford, U.S. congressman * Jayne Loader, director, writer

References

External links

Town of Friendship

Friendship Public Library

The Friendship Museum

Maine Genealogy: Friendship, Knox County, Maine
{{authority control Towns in Knox County, Maine Towns in Maine Populated coastal places in Maine