Thomaston, formerly known as Fort St. Georges, Fort Wharf, and Lincoln, 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 ...

Knox County, Maine Knox County is a county located in the state of Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,607. Its county seat is Rockland. The county is named for Revolutionary War general and Secretary of War Henry Knox, who li ...

, United States. The population was 2,739 at the 2020 census. Noted for its antique architecture, Thomaston is an old

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

popular with tourists. The town was named after Major General John Thomas.

History

As early as 1630, a

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 ...

was established on the eastern bank of the St. George River, then considered the boundary between

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. In 1704, Thomas LeFebvre from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

bought a large tract of land along the

Weskeag River The Weskeag River is a short tidal river in Knox County, Maine. The Abenaki Indians called it Wessaweskeag, meaning "tidal creek" or "salt creek". From its source () in South Thomaston, the river runs northeast and southeast to its confluence w ...

on which he built a

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 ...

, with a house on the shoreline at what is now

South Thomaston South Thomaston is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,511 at the 2020 census. A fishing and resort area, the town includes the village of Spruce Head. History Abenaki Indians called it Wessaweskeag, meaning "t ...

. The area became known as Thomas' Town. In 1719–1720, the old trading post was remodeled into

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

, a

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

d fort protected by two

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

s. But

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 ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

tribes protested the encroachment of an English fort on their territory. Instigated by the French, they attacked the

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 ...

twice during

Dummer's War Dummer's War (1722–1725) (also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War) was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the Wab ...

in 1722, then again in 1723 with a

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

lasting 30 days. In response to this and other provocations, soldiers destroyed the Abenaki stronghold of

Norridgewock Norridgewock (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Nanrantsouak'') was the name of both an Indigenous village and a Band society, band of the Abenaki ("People of the Dawn") Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans/First Nations in Canada, ...

in 1724. During 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 ...

, to avenge the fall of Louisbourg, on August 13, 1758, French officer Boishebert left

Miramichi, New Brunswick Miramichi ( ) is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...

with 400 soldiers for Fort St George in Thomaston. His detachment reached there on September 9 but was caught in an ambush and had to withdraw. This was Boishébert's last Acadian expedition. They then went on to raid

Friendship, Maine Friendship (formerly known as Meduncook) is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It is 31 miles (49.9 km) southeast of Augusta. The population was 1,142 at the 2020 census. History Abenaki Native Americans called it Meduncook, ...

, where people were killed and others taken prisoner. Hostilities of 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 ...

ceased with the 1759

Fall of Quebec Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemispher ...

. Mason Wheaton was the first permanent settler in 1763. Located at the heart 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 ...

, Thomaston was incorporated from St. Georges Plantation on March 20, 1777. Many settlers arrived following the Revolutionary War in 1783. General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

built his ''Montpelier'' mansion at Thomaston in 1793–1794. The town prospered in the early 19th century as a port and

ship building Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other 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 that traces i ...

center. Around 1840, two of seven recorded millionaires in the United States were Thomaston

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

s. Other industries included two gristmills, two

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 and

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and Wood drying, seasoned Wood, wooden boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the Thickness planer, planer and matcher, the Moulding plan ...

s, three sail lofts,

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

yards,

cask A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids ...

manufacturing and a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

works.

Lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

had been manufactured here since 1734 in

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

s. Thomaston is still home to Jeff's Marine, Inc. and Lyman Morse Boatbuilding, builders of custom

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

and

sailing yacht A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applie ...

s. Located on St. George River, Lyman Morse Boatbuilding sits on the original site of the General Henry Knox Mansion, where wooden

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

s have been built for over 200 years. Rockland and

were set off and incorporated in 1848. The Knox and Lincoln Railroad passed through the town, carrying

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

and tourists. In June 1875, Louis Wagner, the Smuttynose Axe Murderer, and John True Gordon, known as the Thorndike Slayer, were hanged on the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

of the then-Maine State Prison in Thomaston. Louis Wagner's burial site was unknown until the book ''Return to Smuttynose Island: And Other Maine Axe Murders'' by Emeric Spooner was released in 2009. Spooner located Wagner's grave which can still be viewed in the Old Prison Cemetery. Thomaston was home to the Maine State Prison until 2002, when it moved to

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

and the former facility was demolished. The prison was locally famous for its shop featuring handmade wares of prisoners and inspired the prison in the film, ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American Prison film, prison Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. The film t ...

''. The gift shop still exists today. Former governor

William King William King may refer to: Arts * Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer * William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King * William King (artist) (1925–2015), ...

sold the prison site to the state in 1824. Today, Thomaston is a resort area with a large

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

containing Federal,

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

architecture. The town was a filming location for the 1996 film, '' Thinner''. In 1974, Thomaston Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. File:View of Main Street, Thomaston, ME.jpg, Main Street in 1906 File:Warden's Residence & Eastern Wall of Prison, Thomaston, ME.jpg, Warden's residence and prison in 1905 File:Old High School, Thomaston, ME.jpg, Old High School File:Harbor View, Thomaston, ME.jpg, Harbor view in 1908

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Thomaston is drained by the St. George River,

, Mill River and Oyster Rivers. The town is crossed by U. S. Route 1 and Maine State Route 131. It is bordered by the towns of Rockland to the northeast,

to the south, Cushing to the southwest, and

to the northwest.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,781 people, 1,219 households, and 767 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,385 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.0%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.4% 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 1,219 households, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.73. The median age in the town was 44 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 18.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

Education

Regional School Unit 13 operates public schools.
/ref> Schools in the area include: *Thomaston Grammar School *Oceanside Middle School

Fire Department

The Fire Department currently runs three pumpers, one

ladder truck A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

with a 75' aerial ladder, one utility/brush truck and one ambulance. The Fire Department is an all volunteer service.

Sites of interest

Maine Watercraft Museum

''Montpelier'' – General Henry Knox Museum

Thomaston Historical Society & Museum

Notable people

* Laura Bonarrigo, actress * Adelyn Bushnell, author * Jonathan Cilley, U.S. Congressman * Benjamin S. Deane, architect * Nathan A. Farwell, businessman and U.S. Senator *

Anna Parker Fessenden Anna Parker Fessenden (April 8, 1896 – May 3, 1972) was an American botanist and mathematics educator. Early life and education Anna Parker Fessenden was born in Thomaston, Maine, and raised in Mattapan, Massachusetts, the middle of three ...

, botanist and math educator * Samuel C. Fessenden, pastor and U.S. Congressman *

Charles Ranlett Flint Charles Ranlett Flint (January 24, 1850 – February 26, 1934) was the founder of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company which later became IBM. For his financial dealings, he earned the moniker "Father of Trusts". He was an avid sportsman ...

, businessman, founder of

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

computer corporation *

, general and

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the C ...

* Norman Wallace Lermond, political activist and naturalist * Joshua A. Lowell, U.S. Congressman * Charles Copeland Morse, businessman *

Chris Rector Christopher W. Rector (born July 12, 1951) is an American politician and entrepreneur. Rector served as a Maine Republican Party, Republican Maine State Senate, State Senator from Maine's 22nd District, representing much of Knox County, Maine, K ...

, Maine state senator * Edward Robinson, U.S. Congressman * Daniel Rose, 4th

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

* John Ruggles, U.S. Senator * Henry K. Thatcher,

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

admiral *

Peleg Wadsworth Peleg Wadsworth (May 6, 1748 – November 12, 1829) was an American Patriot officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American ...

, Revolutionary War-era general * Oliver Patterson Watts, educator

References

External links

Town of Thomaston, Maine

Thomaston Public Library

Maine Genealogy: Thomaston, Knox County, Maine

Site to purchase the article "The Architecture of Thomaston, Maine" by Samuel M. Green, ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' Vol. 10, No. 4 (Dec., 1951), pp. 24–32
{{Coord, 44.079, -69.181, display=title Populated coastal places in Maine Lime kilns in the United States Towns in Knox County, Maine Towns in Maine