Alfred

Alfred is a town in York County, incorporated
on February 25,1808. It was named for Alfred the Great, England’s
Saxon King of the Ninth Century. Though Simon Coffin of
Massachusetts arrived in 1764, the first permanent settlement took
place in 1770. Later, a Shaker community, including members of the
Coffin family, settled on a hill overlooking what is now called
Shaker Pond. The York County seat since 1803, it was incorporated on
February 4, 1794 as a district, having been part of Sanford. John
Holmes, who arrived in 1799, was a young
lawyer specializing in real estate law, a skill in great demand in
the poorly defined properties of the area. Holmes
provided the impetus for locating the York County Court House,
completed in 1807, in Alfred. Alfred set off land to Sanford on
February 23, 1828 and annexed land from Waterborough (now Waterboro)
on July 22, 1847. Originally, the area was known to the Native
Americans as Massabesic and was acquired from Chief Fluellin in 1661
by Major William Phipps. According to Brunelle the price was 'two
large blankets, two gallons of rum, two pounds of powder, four
pounds of musket balls, 20 strings of beads' and several other
articles.
Population: 2497
Population Density: 92
Average Property Value: $244,950
Area: 26.2 sq miles
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