Scarborough is a town in Cumberland County
on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine
. The
town is a coastal resort area.
Located about 7 miles (10 km) south of
Portland
, Scarborough
is part of the Portland–South Portland
–Biddeford
, Maine Metropolitan
Statistical Area. The population was 16,970 at the
2000 census.
History
Abenaki Indians called the area
Owascoag, meaning "a place of much grass" after its large
salt marshes. About 1630, John Stratton opened a
trading post on Stratton Island in
Saco Bay. In 1631, the
Plymouth Council for New
England granted the Black Point Patent to Captain Thomas
Cammock, nephew of the
Earl of Warwick.
The tract
of land extended from the Spurwink River to Black Point (Prouts
Neck
), where Cammock built a house and began residence
in 1635. But then he sold his holdings and moved to
the West
Indies
. Nevertheless, settlements developed at
Black Point, Blue Point (Pine Point), Dunstan (West Scarborough)
and Stratton Island.
On July 14, 1658, the Massachusetts General Court
incorporated them all as Scarborough, named for Scarborough
in Yorkshire
, England
.
The town offered excellent
fishing and
farming. At the outbreak of
King Philip's War in 1675, Scarborough was
an important coastal settlement with over 100 houses and 1,000 head
of
cattle. But in 2 years of war, it was laid
waste.
Massachusetts
sent soldiers accompanied by Indian allies in 1677
to secure the town for resettlement. On
June 29,
1677, while pursuing
some Indians sent as a ruse, the company was ambushed by warriors
under Chief Squando.
In the New England
militia of nearly 100
soldiers, 50-60 were left dead or mortally wounded. Among
the casualties was Captain Benjamin Swett. Called the Battle at
Moore's Brook, it was an embarrassing
rout for
the military. In 1681, a great fort was erected at Black Point.
After
several attempts to rebuild between guerilla incursions during King William's War, the survivors
evacuated in 1690 and moved
south to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
or Boston
.
A
truce was signed in 1699 between the
Province of Massachusetts
Bay and the Eastern Indians.
Resettlement of Scarborough started in
1702 when 7 settlers arrived from Lynn, Massachusetts
. Despite the treaty, in August 1703, 500
French and Indians under command of
the Sieur de Beaubassin made a sudden descent upon English settlements from Casco (Portland) to Wells
. They
arrived at Garrison Cove on Black Point, where the fort commanded
by Captain John Larrabee sat atop a bluff. Protected from gunfire
by the overhanging cliff, the French and Indians began tunneling
into the bluff to breach the fort from below. They might have
succeeded and captured the 8 soldiers inside, but a 2 day
downpour began which made the disturbed bank
slough, exposing the previously hidden excavators to
snipers in the fort. Beaubassin retreated in search
of easier prey. Despite occasional subsequent harassment, the
second settlement succeeded. By 1749, it was economically
prosperous. Cattle and
timber were important
local products for export, with Scarborough's many
water power sites operating a dozen
sawmills. Since 1969, the town has had a
Council-manager government.
Notable residents
Geography
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of
55.3 square miles (143.3 km²), of which, 47.7 square
miles (123.6 km²) of it is land and 7.6 square miles
(19.7 km²) of it (13.76%) is water.
Drained by the
Scarborough River, Nonesuch
River
, Libby River and Spurwink River, the town is
situated beside the Gulf of
Maine
and Atlantic Ocean
. The highest point is Scottow Hill,
elevation 144 feet (44 m), where in early years
bonfires were set as warnings to the surrounding
countryside of approaching danger.
Scarborough is crossed by
Interstate 95,
Interstate 295,
U.S. Route 1, and State Routes
9,
77,
114, and
207.
It is bordered by the towns of Cape
Elizabeth
to the east, South Portland, Westbrook
and Gorham
to the
north, Buxton
to the
northwest, and Saco
and Old Orchard
Beach
to the southwest.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 16,790
people, 6,462 households, and 4,678 families residing in the town.
The
population density was 355.7
people per square mile (137.3/km²). There were 7,233 housing units
at an average density of 151.6/sq mi (58.5/km²). The racial
makeup of the town was 97.34%
White, 0.38%
Black or
African American, 0.18%
Native American, 1.16%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 0.17% from
other races, and 0.77%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.48% of the
population.
There were 6,462 households out of which 35.1% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were
married couples living together, 7.0% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families.
20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age
of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to
64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $56,491, and the
median income for a family was $65,138. Males had a median income
of $41,148 versus $31,372 for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$26,321. About 3.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 2.7%
of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.
Public schools
The Town of Scarborough has its own self-contained K-12 public
school system.
Neighborhoods
- Blue Point
- Coulthard Farms
- Dunstan Corner (West Scarborough)
- Higgins Beach
- North Scarborough
- Oak Hill (the town center, with town hall and the high school,
as well as shopping plazas)
- Pine Point (between the Scarborough Marsh and Saco Bay)
- Pleasant Hill
- Prouts Neck (projects into the Gulf of Maine with its southwest shoreline marking the northeast
end of Saco Bay)
Sites of interest
References
Further reading
External links
and U. S. Ambassador to Britain
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
