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
Lincoln County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 35,237. Its county seat, seat is Wiscasset, Maine, Wiscasset. The county was founded in ...
, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Back Narrows, Dover, Linekin, Oak Hill, Ocean Point, Spruce Shores, and the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. Boothbay surrounds the town of
Boothbay Harbor
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Mount Pisgah, and Sprucewold, the Bayville and West Boothbay Harbor villages, and the Isle of Sp ...
, a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year-round.Information obtained in a February 27th, 2011 interview with a former Boothbay resident. Five shipyards are located in the town, the largest of which is Washburn & Doughty.
History
The
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 ...
people who lived in the region called it Winnegance. The first European presence in the region was an English fishing outpost called Cape Newagen in 1623. An Englishman by the name of Henry Curtis purchased the right to settle Winnegance from the Abenaki
Sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...
Mowhotiwormet in 1666. However, the English were driven from their settlements by the Abenaki in 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 ...
. The colonists returned after the war ended. In 1689, during
King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...
, they were driven out again. Winnegance was abandoned entirely, and remained a desolate waste for 40 years.
Colonel David Dunbar, governor of the
Territory of Sagadahock
The Territory of Sagadahock, also called the Sagadahoc Colony and New Castle, was an English colonial territory which included the eastern part of what was later colonial Maine and was more sparsely settled than the western region. The area incl ...
, established a settlement called Townsend, after
Lord Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (1725–1767) was a British Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Charles Townshend may also refer to:
*Charles Fox Townshend (1795–1817), founder of the Eton Society
*Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend (1700–1764), father of th ...
, in 1730, and convinced approximately 40 families of Scots-Irish
Presbyterians
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
, largely from the north of
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, to settle there. Some were
veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field.
A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces.
A topic o ...
s of the Revolution of 1688. The settlement survived and was incorporated as the town of Boothbay on November 3, 1764. In 1842, Townsend, now called Southport, split from Boothbay and was incorporated as its own town, followed by
Boothbay Harbor
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Mount Pisgah, and Sprucewold, the Bayville and West Boothbay Harbor villages, and the Isle of Sp ...
in 1889.
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. Situated on the Cape Newagen
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 ...
extending 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 ...
, Boothbay lies between the
Sheepscot River
The Sheepscot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Its lower portion is a complex island estuary with connections t ...
and
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'' i ...
. The town includes
Damariscove Island
Damariscove is an uninhabited island that is part of Boothbay Harbor in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, approximately off the coast at the mouth of the Damariscotta River. The long, narrow island is approximately long and at its widest p ...
.
Boothbay is crossed by State Routes 27 and 96. It borders the towns of Edgecomb to the north, and
Boothbay Harbor
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the neighborhoods of Mount Pisgah, and Sprucewold, the Bayville and West Boothbay Harbor villages, and the Isle of Sp ...
to the south. Separated by water, it is near the towns of Westport to the west, and South Bristol to the east.
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, Boothbay 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 ...
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 3,120 people, 1,386 households, and 963 families living 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 2,474 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.0%
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 ...
, 0.4%
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 ...
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 1,386 households, of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% 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, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.5% were non-families. Of all households, 23.8% were made up of individuals, and 11.9% 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 2.63.
The median age in the town was 51.7 years; 17.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.9% were from 25 to 44; 35.1% were from 45 to 64; and 24.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,960 people, 1,261 households, and 881 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 2,046 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.05%
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 ...
, 0.03%
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 ...
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 0.51% of the population.
There were 1,261 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. Of all households, 23.8% were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $41,406, and the median income for a family was $45,761. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $28,370 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 $22,036. About 5.5% of families and 6.9% 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 8.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
*
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, founded in 1974, is an independent, non-profit oceanography research institute. The Laboratory's research ranges from microbial oceanography to the large-scale biogeochemical processes that drive ocean eco ...
Cole Brauer
Cole Brauer (born May 24, 1994) is an American sailor. She was the first woman from the United States to race single-handed around the world nonstop.
Early life
Brauer grew up on Long Island, New York, and attended East Hampton High School, ...
, sailor
*
Deborah Bronk
Deborah Ann Bronk is an American oceanographer and the president and CEO of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. She leads the nonprofit research institution in East Boothbay, Maine in its mission to understand the ocean's microbial engine and ...
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 ...
Paul LePage
Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 74th governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the mayor of Waterville, Maine, from 20 ...
, Governor of Maine
* Beth Orcutt, oceanographer
*
Joseph Pollia
Joseph Pasquale Pollia (6 March 1894, Sicily, Italy – 12 December 1954, New York City) was an Italian-born American sculptor who created numerous monuments and war memorials.
Biography
He and his family – parents Pasquale and Alexan ...
, sculptor
*
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...