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HISTORY OF FALMOUTH
1917 View of West Falmouth
This northern suburb of Portland borders Casco Bay and offers one of the largest anchorages in Maine.
It was first settled at Mackworth Island as early as 1632 by Arthur Mackworth, who soon
afterwards obtained a grant of 500 acres (200 hectares) from Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the Lord Proprietor of Maine.
In 1658, Falmouth was recognized as the province's 7th town, which then encompassed the present day cities of Portland,
South Portland, Westbrook and Cape Elizabeth. Incorporated by the Massachusetts General Court on November 12, 1718,
it was named for Falmouth in Cornwall, England.
In 1700, a palisaded fort and trading post were built at what was called New Casco on the eastern side of the mouth
of the Presumpscot River. It replaced Old Casco on Falmouth Neck (Portland), which had been destroyed by the Indians
in 1690 during King William's War. Governor Joseph Dudley on June 20, 1703 held a conference at the fort with representatives
of the Abenaki tribes, who promised to keep the peace during Queen Anne's War. In August, Indian chiefs Moxus,
Wanungonet and Assacombuit approached the fort with a flag of truce, asking to speak with its commanding officer,
Major John March. Suspicious of a ruse, he refused, but then agreed to meet them. As he and his guards approached
the sachems, they raised hatchets from under their robes to strike him, but March grabbed one of the hatchets and
fought back. With assistance from other soldiers, he escaped into the stockade.
Indians rushed from undercover and surrounded the fort, beginning a siege on the major and his 36 soldiers. After
6 days, Alexandre Leneuf de Beaubassin and his troops, who had been conducting other raids, joined the assailants
to form a 500-man force of French soldiers and Indians. They tried to undermine the fort, but after 2 days digging
were surprised by the arrival of the Province Galley, an armed vessel commanded by Captain Cyprian Southack. Its
guns scattered the fleet of more than 200 canoes, and Beaubassin retreated into the forest. Peace returned in 1713
with the Treaty of Portsmouth. Resettlement of Old Casco began in 1716, the year Massachusetts ordered the fort
at New Casco demolished rather than maintain it.
In 1765, Cape Elizabeth (then including South Portland) was set off. In 1786, Portland broke away, followed in
1814 by Westbrook, although boundaries between it and Falmouth were readjusted throughout the 19th-century. By
1859, fishing and farming were principal trades. Other industries included 3 shipbuilders, 3 brickmakers, a sawmill,
gristmill and tannery. In 1886, the town also produced boots, shoes, tinware and carriage stock. In 1943, Mackworth
Island was donated to the state as a wildlife refuge; today it is site of the state school for the deaf and hard
of hearing.
(Found at Wikipedia.org)
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