Kennebunkport is a
resort town
A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...
in
York County, Maine
York County is both the southernmost and the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Maine, along the state of New Hampshire's eastern border. It is divided from Strafford County, New Hampshire, by the Salmon Falls River and the connected ti ...
, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the
2020 census.
It is part of the
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area
The city of Portland, Maine, is the hub city of a metropolitan area in southern Maine. The region is commonly known as Greater Portland or the Portland metropolitan area. For statistical purposes, the U.S. federal government defines three differ ...
.
The town center, the area in and around
Dock Square, is located along the
Kennebunk River, approximately from the mouth of the river on the Atlantic Ocean. Historically a shipbuilding and fishing village, for well over a century the town has been a popular summer colony and seaside tourist destination. The Dock Square area has a district of
souvenir
A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...
shops, art galleries, schooner attractions, seafood restaurants, and
bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house.
''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...
s.
Cape Porpoise, while retaining its identity as a fishing harbor, has a very small village area with several restaurants, a church, grocery store, coffee shop, small library, and art gallery. Kennebunkport has a reputation as a summer haven for the upper class and is one of the wealthiest communities in the state of Maine. The Municipality of Kennebunkport includes the constituent villages of Kennebunkport Village, Cape Arundel & Colony Beach, the Cottage Coast, Wilde's District (Wildwood), Goose Rocks Beach, Turbatts Creek, Cape Porpoise Village, North Village Crossing (Townhouse Corner), among various other newer developments. The town is the home of
Walker's Point, a summer estate of the
Bush family
The Bush family is an American political family that has played a prominent role in American politics since the 1950s, foremost as the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, during the respective preside ...
.
Kennebunkport and neighboring towns
Kennebunk and
Arundel
Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England.
The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...
comprise school district RSU 21.
The Kennebunkport
Christmas Prelude takes place annually in the town, beginning either in late November or early December.
History
Archeological evidence exists of activity in the area now known as
Cape Porpoise 7000 years ago. In 1602, the time of contact with Europeans, it was occupied by communities of the
Almouchiquois people, who referred to the area as Nampscoscock. According to 1640 land records, a
sagamore of that community was "Thomas" Chabinock.
Kennebunkport was first incorporated in 1653 as
Cape Porpus, subject to the government of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
(Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820 as part of the
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise (also known as the Compromise of 1820) was federal legislation of the United States that balanced the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand ...
). Due to
Abenaki Indian resistance to colonial expansion, European settlers abandoned the town by 1689 and did not return for at least ten years. The
Wabanaki Confederacy
The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner"; also: Wabanakia, "Dawnland") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of five principal Eastern Algonquian nations ...
again expelled English from the area from 1703 to 1717, and continued violent resistance to colonization until the end of
King George's War
King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...
in 1748.
The town was renamed Arundel in 1701, and the town center located inland at Burbank Hill.
On August 8, 1782 Arundel was under attack by two loyalist vessels: the 16 gun brig "Miriam"
ichard Pomroyand the schooner "Hammond"
otycaptured two unnamed vessels from Newbury Massachusetts (a schooner and a sloop). The sloop was burned after it went aground on Goat Island. A battle took place between the vessels and the militia ashore. The Patriot casualties were Captain James Burnham killed in action; civilian Samuel Wildes was wounded when he demanded the Loyalists return the vessels they had taken. In 1821 the town was renamed again, this time to Kennebunkport in reflection to its economy becoming one of
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
and
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...
along the
Kennebunk River.
By the 1870s the town had developed as a popular
summer destination, with both hotels and homes constructed along its coastline. Cape Arundel,
Cape Porpoise, and Beachwood (now called
Goose Rocks) were some of the early summer colonies; although Cape Porpoise was, and still is, a working
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, ...
harbor. Since 1939, Kennebunkport has been home to the
Seashore Trolley Museum.
The
Great Fires of 1947, which devastated much of York County, affected Kennebunkport and especially the area near Goose Rocks Beach. Much of the housing near Goose Rocks Beach was destroyed by the fire, but the area has since recovered and been rebuilt.
Geology
Like much of the northeast coast, the geography of the southern Maine coast was largely directed by the retreat of the Laurentide ice cap about 23,000 years ago. The coast is framed by bedrock, left during the formation of the Appalachian mountains, and the irregular shape of the coast (characteristic of much of the New England coast, with the exception of
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...
and the islands) is attributed to differential erosion of the underlying rock layer.
The coast along Kennebunkport differs sharply from the Maine coast north and east of Portland due to differences in the composition of this rock layer. Beyond Portland, the layer is a largely metamorphic rock, but here the coast is a mixture of igneous rock, and embayments of more deeply eroded sedimentary and metamorphic rock. These embayments result in the sandy beaches that can be found in southern Maine (such as Goose Rocks Beach, Colony Beach, and nearby Kennebunk Beach) but are uncommon north of Portland. Likewise, the geology here differs from that of the outer lands (Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Block Island in Rhode Island, and Long Island in New York), which were formed as terminal and recessional
moraines, and do not contain much in the way of a bedrock skeleton.
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.
The town has several distinct areas, each developed during a phase of the town's history. The original town center was at
Cape Porpoise, which today has a small village center, is both a summer colony and year-round community, and hosts a working fishing harbor. Inland from Cape Porpoise is a mix of forest and agricultural land, punctuated by a historic town center at Burbank Hill (there are a few historic buildings of interest here, including a schoolhouse and jail). Heading west, towards the mouth of the Kennebunk River is Dock Square, the current town center.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Kennebunkport, and especially Cape Arundel (also known as Point Arundel), developed as a summer colony for the wealthy. Traveling from Dock Square along Ocean Avenue is the Cape Arundel Summer Colony Historic District. This district of many well-preserved examples of early-20th-century shingle-style cottages begins at Chick's Creek and ends at Walker's Point.
Adjacent municipalities
*
Biddeford (north)
*
Kennebunk (southwest)
*
Arundel
Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England.
The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...
(west)
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge
The
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge has a significant portion of lands in Kennebunkport, northeast of Cape Porpoise and through Goose Rocks. Within Kennebunkport, much of this protected land is salt-water marsh.
Climate
This
climatic 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, Kennebunkport 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.
Summer home of the Bush family
Kennebunkport was also the
summer home of former U.S. President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, father of former U.S. President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. First built by Bush's maternal grandfather
George Herbert Walker, it has been a family home ever since, and has been owned by the Bush family since sometime in the early 1980s.
The Bushes' ancestry is distinct from the Walker family that settled York County, Maine. Some of this family's Walker relatives are buried in the Kennebunkport area ancient cemeteries. During his presidency, George H.W. Bush often invited world leaders, from
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
to
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
, to Kennebunkport. In 2007, his son George W. Bush invited
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
and
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
. The Bush compound is on Walkers Point, called Point Vesuvius prior to the Walker family's acquisition.
Demographics
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $54,219, and the median income for a family was $66,505. Males had a median income of $43,125 versus $34,028 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 $36,707. About 1.7% of families and 4.4% 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 4.4% of those under age 18 and 1.4% 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 3,474 people, 1,578 households, and 1,039 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 2,897 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.0%
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 ...
, 0.2%
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 ...
, 0.1%
Native American, 0.7%
Asian, 0.3% from
other races, and 0.7% 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 0.9% of the population.
There were 1,578 households, of which 22.1% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.68.
The median age in the town was 51.8 years. 17.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.2% were from 25 to 44; 36.5% were from 45 to 64, and 24.7% were 65 years of age or older. The sex makeup of the town was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.
Education
It is in the
Regional School Unit 21.
Gallery
File:Kennebunkport South Congregational Church 2004-12-03.jpg, South Congregational Church
File:Kennebunkport ME harbor.jpg, The harbor
File:Boats on the Kennebunk River at Kennebunkport, Maine.jpg, Boats on the Kennebunk River
File:Ocean Ave, K'port 1.jpg, Businesses on Ocean Avenue
File:Dock-square-1.jpg, View of Dock Square
File:Kennebunkport Public Library.jpg, Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library
File:Kennebunkport Lithuanian monument.jpg, Monument dedicated to Lithuanians
Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
who died fighting for Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
's freedom
File:Walkers-point.aug2008.jpg, Protestors on Ocean Ave. near the Bush Compound, in 2008
File:Kennebunkport Welcome Sign.jpg, Kennebunkport welcome sign and town line, in 2008
Notable people

*
Margaret Deland, novelist
*
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and racing driver best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–15; 2020–21). He is also known for his leading man romantic film roles, such ...
, actor
*
Dan Goodwin, building, rock, and sports climber
*
Frank Handlen, painter
*
Garnet Hathaway, professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
player
*
Joshua Herrick, US congressman
*
Dick McCabe, racing driver and champion
*
Wiley Miller, cartoonist
*
Jane Morgan
Jane Morgan (born Florence Catherine Currier; May 3, 1924) is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold re ...
, singer, actress
*
Russell Nype, actor
*
Shiloh Pepin,
Sirenomelia patient with legs fused
*
George Clement Perkins
George Clement Perkins (August 23, 1839 – February 26, 1923) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Perkins served as the 14th governor of California from 1880 to 1883, ...
, 14th
governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constit ...
*
Kenneth Roberts, author
*
Rex Smith, American singer and actor
*
Booth Tarkington
Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...
, novelist and dramatist
*
George Herbert Walker, banker, businessman, grandfather of US President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, and great-grandfather of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
*
Bentley Warren, racecar driver
*
Neil Clark Warren
Neil Clark Warren (born September 18, 1934) is an American clinical psychologist, Christian theologian, seminary professor and co-founder of the online relationship sites eHarmony and Compatible Partners.
In 1995, Warren and his son-in-la ...
, online dating service chairman
In popular culture
Kennebunkport was featured in the 2003 filming of the film ''
Empire Falls'' by Maine author
Richard Russo
Richard Russo (born July 15, 1949) is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher. In 2002, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel '' Empire Falls''. Several of his works have been adapted into televisi ...
, with a downtown book shop making a notable appearance. Robin Wright appeared on set in Kennebunkport.
Other films with scenes shot in Kennebunkport include ''
Lost Boundaries'' (1949), ''The Man Who Knew Bush'' (2004 documentary), ''
The Living Wake'' (2007), ''
41'' (2012 documentary) and ''US Route 1-ME'' (2012).
''My Husband's Double Life'' was partially set in the town, but filmed in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
.
References
External links
Town of Kennebunkport websiteLouis T. Graves Memorial Public LibraryCape Porpoise LibraryKennebunkport Historical SocietyEpodunk Town ProfileHistory and old maps of Kennebunkport MaineMaine Genealogy: Kennebunkport, York County, Maine
{{coord, 43, 21, 42, N, 70, 28, 36, W, type:city_region:US-ME, display=title
Populated places established in 1653
Portland metropolitan area, Maine
Towns in York County, Maine
Towns in Maine
Populated coastal places in Maine
1653 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
Resort towns