Georgetown, Maine | |
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Town | |
Five Islands, Georgetown, ME; from a c. 1906 postcard published by G. W. Morris
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Location within the state of Maine | |
Coordinates: 43°48′38″N 69°44′36″W / 43.81056°N 69.74333°WCoordinates: 43°48′38″N 69°44′36″W / 43.81056°N 69.74333°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Maine |
County | Sagadahoc |
Incorporated | 1716 |
Area | |
• Total | 64.56 sq mi (167.21 km2) |
• Land | 18.58 sq mi (48.12 km2) |
• Water | 45.98 sq mi (119.09 km2) |
Elevation | 33 ft (10 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 1,042 |
• Estimate (2012) | 1,037 |
• Density | 56.1/sq mi (21.7/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 04548 |
Area code(s) | 207 |
FIPS code | 23-27295 |
GNIS feature ID | 0582489 |
Georgetown is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,042 at the 2010 census. Home to Reid State Park, the town is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on an island accessible by car from the mainland, Georgetown includes the villages of Five Islands, Georgetown, Bay Point, Marrtown, West Georgetown and Robinhood. It is a popular tourist destination.
Abenaki Indians called the island Erascohegan, meaning "good spear-fishing." John Parker, a fisherman from Bedfordshire, England, purchased it in 1649 from Chief Mowhotiwormet, commonly known as Chief Robinhood, for a hogshead of rum and some pumpkins. Parker built the first permanent homestead on what eventually became known as Parker's Island.
The Kennebec River valley was attacked and burned in 1676 during King Philip's War, then again in 1689 at the outset of King William's War, and was not resettled until after the 1713 Treaty of Portsmouth. The town of Newtown-on-Arrowsic was rebuilt in 1714 on the southern end of Arrowsic Island, which was incorporated in 1716 by the Massachusetts General Court as Georgetown-on-Arrowsic, named for Fort St. George. The town's boundaries were extended to encompass Parker's Island, Woolwich, Phippsburg and Bath (which included West Bath). Abandoned during Dummer's War and beleaguered during the French and Indian Wars, the region resettled slowly in the 1750s until peace was assured with the 1759 Fall of Quebec.