Berwick
Berwick, a town in York County on the New
Hampshire border,was incorporated on June 9, 1713 having been named
for an old English town in Dorsetshire bordering the English
Channel. Originally a much larger town, it set off land to Kittery
in 1716, and ceded land to form the town of South Berwick in 1814,
and the town of North Berwick in 1831. After setting off more land
to South Berwick (1841 and 1881) and to North Berwick (1875), the
town finally stabilized to the borders it has today. One of Maine's
oldest communities, Chadbourne notes
that settlements appear to have been made as early as 1624. The
titles were derived from Sir Fernando Gorges and from the Indian
sagamores. The mid-1600's saw substantial lumbering and the erection
of a sawmill. In 1660 a group of Friends or Quakers sought refuge
from persecution and settled there. According to Nicole St. Pierre
of the Old Berwick Historical Society, our Scottish roots here in
the area of the Berwicks go back more than 350 years. She noted that
in Maine the name Berwick is connected to a group of 17th century
indentured servants thought to have originated from the area of the
town of Berwick on the Scotch-English border. Captured by the
English at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, they were brought here to
build a sawmill known as Great Works on the river that today goes by
that name. Many northern New England residents trace their ancestry
to this group of Scotsmen. (News release from Old Berwick Historical
Society, June 5, 2001) On October 23, 1785 almost every mill and
bridge in the town was destroyed by a flood that also affected
Kennebunk and Saco.
Population: 6353
Population Density: 171
Average Property Value: $239,450
Area: 42.0 sq miles
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