The
Town of Brunswick is located in Cumberland County, Maine. At
various times in its history, Brunswick has been a military garrison, a
manufacturing center, a college town, and a magnet for retirees,
among others. Its picturesque
setting, rich history, ample cultural offerings, and the resources
associated with Bowdoin College make Brunswick a distinctive,
attractive community. The town
occupies approximately 47 square miles, with a latitude of 43.914N,
longitude of 69.965W, and elevation of 79 feet.
Early HistorySettled
in 1628 by fisherman Thomas Purchase and others, the area was first
called by its Indian name, Pejepscot, meaning "the long, rocky rapids."
In 1639, Purchase placed his settlement under protection of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1676, the town was burned and abandoned,
although a garrison called Fort Andros (later known as Fort George) was
subsequently built on the ruins. The Treaty of Portsmouth of 1713
temporary brought peace between the Abenaki Indians and the English
settlements.
In 1714, a
con
sortium from Boston and Portsmouth bought the land, then called
the Pejepscot Purchase. The Massachusetts General Court constituted
the township in 1717, naming it Brunswick in honor of the House of
Brunswick and its scion, King George I. On July 13, 1722, warriors from
Norridgewock burned the village, and Gov. Samuel Shute declared war on the Abenakis. In 1724, 208 English troops left Fort Richmond and sacked
Norridgewock during Dummer's War.
Brunswick was
again rebuilt in 1727, and in 1739 incorporated as a town. Around the
time of the American Revolution, planners laid out the major streets and
tree-shaded village green that still constitute the center of town.
Brunswick became a prosperous seaport, where Bowdoin College was
chartered in 1794. The distinguished alumni of this liberal arts
college include, among others, writers Hawthorne and Longfellow, Arctic
explorers Peary and MacMillan, and President Franklin Pierce.Lumber, Cotton, Confections
The Androscoggin River, which
falls in three successive stages over a distance of 41 feet, provides
significant water power for industry. In the 19th century Brunswick
became a major producer of lumber, with as many as 25 sawmills, some of them serving shipbuilding.
The town was also the site of the first cotton mill in
Maine, the Brunswick Cotton Manufactory Company, built in 1809 to make
yarn. In 1812, the mill was enla
rged by the Maine Cotton
& Woolery Factory Company; and by 1820, when Maine separated from
Massachusetts and became a state in its own right, Brunswick was a
center of both the timber and textile industries. In 1857, the Cabot
Manufacturing Company was established to make cotton textiles here. The company bought the failed Warumbo Manufacturing Company and expanded the brick
factory (today known as Fort Andross - with two S's) along the falls.
Needing even more room, in 1890 the company persuaded the town to move
Maine Street!
Other firms produced paper, soap, flour, marble and
granite work, as well as carriages and harness, plows, furniture, shoes
and confections.
Architecture
A great deal of money poured into
this area between 1775 and 1900, and much of it was spent
on the many fine houses that line the town's main streets and handsome
Park Row. Today a number of Brunswick's historic districts are
recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, to preserve shipbuilders' and sea
captains' mansions built in the Federal, Greek Revival and Italianate
architectural styles.
Notables
The book Uncle Tom's Cabin was
written by Harriet Beecher Stowe while she was living in Brunswick; she
received a key vision for the book while sitting in a pew in the First
Parish Church. Other distinguished residents have included Governors
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (who received General Lee's sword of
surrender at Appomattox), Robert P. Dunlap and Angus King; Congressmen
Joshua Herrick and Benjamin Orr; poet Robert P.T. Coffin; columnist John
Thomas Gould; publisher George Palmer Putnam; sportscaster Dale Arnold;
football player Will Montgomery and musician-producer Graeme K.
Facts
and Figures
According
to the most recent (2000) census, the town's population was just under
22,000, with a nearly 50-50 split by gender. Thirty-seven percent of
residents were under the age of 25, thirty-six percent were over 45, and
twenty-seven percent were between 25 and 44 (the average age was 38).
Of those in the work force, 33.1% were
employed in management or professional occupations, 14.5% in service
professions, 26.9 in sales and office professions, 8% in farming,
fishing or forestry, 9.7% in construction, extraction and maintenance
occupations, 15% in production, transportation or material moving, 1.2%
worked in agriculture, forestry, fishing or hunting, 15.1 worked in
manufacturing and 12.75% were employed by the local,
state or Federal
government.
Principal employers for Brunswick include L.L. Bean, Bath
Iron Works, Bowdoin College, as well as companies that produce
fiberglass construction material and electrical switches. A number of
health services providers serving Maine's mid-coast area are located
here.
More recent information collected reveals that forty-three
percent of Brunswick residents have moved here within the past ten
years, while fifty-seven percent have been here for longer periods or
were born here. The crime rate is extremely low. In 2003, for example,
there were no homicides and only 16 violent crimes (0.7 per 1,000
people).
Useful numbers for Town of Brunswick services.