The following are
notes from HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF OLD
ORCHARD & SACO BAY, J.S. LOCKE, C.H.WOODMAN & CO - BOSTON.
MASS 1884
SACO BAY -
GEOGRAPHICAL FACTS
-Location - 43 degrees longitude, 70 degrees
latitude
-Limits - Prout's
Neck (North) and Fletcher's Neck (South)
-Rivers - Dunstan, Saco, and Goose
Fare
-Towns - Biddeford,
Saco, Scarborough
-Beaches
- Pine Point, Old Orchard, Ferry (or West Old Orchard or Bay
View)
-Islands -
Stratten's, Bluff, Wood, Negro, Stage, Basket, Ram,
Eagle
-Harbor - Winter
Harbor
-Lighthouse - Wood
Island - 47 feet high
-
Light (62 feet) flashes every minute
- Visible for 13 miles
- Fog bell - 2 blows..20 second pause..1
blow
-Monument - Stage
Island - Day guide to Winter Harbor
- 40 feet high made of gray
stone
HISTORY
1605-Captain George
Weymouth Expedition from England by order of King James I
captures 5 Indians at mouth of Penobscot Bay, then returns to
England.
-Sir
Ferdinand Gorges takes Indians, teaches them
English
-Gorges plans
colonies in America, forms "Plymouth Colony"
-Gorges obtains grant for all land between
Hudson River and Cape Breton (including
Islands)
-rights to now
State of Maine transferred to Ferdinand Gorges
-Coast of Maine reported to be unfit for
settlements
-Gorges hires
32 men, led by Captain Richard Vines, to explore
coast
1616-Captain Vines
lands at mouth of Saco River, September,
1616
-Vines finds
many Indian settlements at mouth of Saco, explores with
Indians up river 19 miles to Salmon Falls
-Vines harbors in "the Pool", fall of
1616
-Vines and company
settles for winter on west side of pool on
"Leighton's Point", building a log cabin
with stone fireplace
-Vines winters at Pool, returns
to England in spring of 1617
-Vines makes many trips back in next 7 years
(1617-1623)
1623-Vines resides on West side of Saco
River, John Oldham on East
1629-Vines and Oldham receive grants from Gorges for all
land in Biddeford/Saco area
1638-Thomas Rogers settles at Goose Fare Brook, plants
orchard, giving rise to present name "Old
Orchard"
GOVERNMENT
1623-Ferdinand Gorges sends son, Robert Gorges to govern
Saco River
-Government
fails, Ferdinand Gorges appointed Governor
1636-William Gorges sent from England to be Governor
(governed until 1652)
1652-Maine annexed to Massachusetts
1677-Ferdinand Gorges sells all land in Maine to
Massachusetts government
-Maine remains annexed to
Massachusetts until 1820
-Original titles given by Gorges or Plymouth Colony
remained intact
-Saco Bay
settlers retained land under original titles
1653-Oldest town record in
Biddeford
RELIGION
1636-Tax taken in Saco area for support of a "gospel
minister"
-First church
was Episcopal
1640-First clergyman appointed, Rev Robert Jordan, in
Spurwink (Cape Eliz)
1652-Puritans take
over with annexation to Massachusetts
1658-Robert Booth appointed minister at Saco Bay (Winter
Harbor)
1666-Women allowed
to be seated at Meeting House at Winter
Harbor
-Leading women, Mistress
Maverick, Goody Booth (wife of Robert Booth), Madam Phillips
(wife of Major Williams)
1661-Rev Seth Fletcher (puritan clergyman) settles in
area
-Rev Fletcher a minister until
1675, hated Episcopalians
