South Berwick, Maine

Coordinates: 43°14′04″N 70°48′34″W / 43.23444°N 70.80944°W / 43.23444; -70.80944
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"South Berwick" redirects here. For the city known as South Berwick in some old texts, see
Berwick-Upon-Tweed
.

South Berwick, Maine
FIPS code
23-70030
GNIS feature ID0582732
Websitewww.southberwickmaine.org

South Berwick is a town in

university-preparatory
day school founded in 1791.

The town was set off from

metropolitan statistical area. The primary village in the town is the South Berwick census-designated place
.

History

The area was called Newichawannock by the Abenaki Indians, meaning "river with many falls," a reference to the Salmon Falls River. It was first settled by Europeans about 1631 as a part of Kittery known as Kittery North Parish. Near the confluence with the Great Works River, Ambrose Gibbons built the Great House at Newichawannock, a palisaded trading post, to exchange goods with the Indians.[4]

In 1634, William Chadbourne, James Wall, and John Goddard arrived from England aboard the ship Pied Cow to build a

indentured servants whose labor would earn them freedom. The community was dubbed the Parish of Unity after the ship.[4]

The village was attacked in 1675 during King Philip's War, then raided again in 1690–1691 during King William's War by Indians under the command of officers from New France, who burned the Parish of Unity to the ground. It was abandoned, but resettled in 1703 under its Abenaki name, Newichawannock. The Massachusetts General Court incorporated it in 1713 as Berwick, the 9th oldest town in Maine. It was named after Berwick-upon-Tweed, a town of mixed allegiances on the Anglo-Scottish border. What evolved into today's Berwick Academy opened in 1791. On February 12, 1814, South Berwick was set off and incorporated.[8]

During the 19th century, various

plows, and cultivators, as well as sawn and planed lumber. The town was noted for its apple orchards. Some inhabitants worked across the bridge in Rollinsford, New Hampshire at the Salmon Falls Manufacturing Company, which closed in 1927.[9] The village center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2010.

In 1901, local author

Federal style mansion is now a museum operated by Historic New England, which also owns the Sarah Orne Jewett House
, built in 1774 overlooking Central Square.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.64 square miles (84.54 km2), of which 32.13 square miles (83.22 km2) is land and 0.51 square miles (1.32 km2) water.[1] Located beside the New Hampshire border, South Berwick is drained by the Great Works River and Salmon Falls River. Welch Hill, elevation 370 feet (112.8 m) above sea level, is the town's highest point. The lowest elevation, which is sea level, is located along the Salmon Falls River, from the small hydroelectric dam next to the New Hampshire Route 4 bridge, south to the town's border with Eliot.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18201,475—
18301,5776.9%
18402,31446.7%
18502,59212.0%
18602,6241.2%
18702,510−4.3%
18802,6776.7%
18903,43428.3%
19003,188−7.2%
19102,935−7.9%
19202,9550.7%
19302,650−10.3%
19402,546−3.9%
19502,6463.9%
19603,11217.6%
19703,48812.1%
19804,04616.0%
19905,87745.3%
20006,67113.5%
20107,2208.2%
20207,4673.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

2010 census

As of the census

Latino
of any race were 0.8% of the population.

There were 2,729 households, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.5% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.09.

The median age in the town was 40.5 years. 26.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.5% were from 25 to 44; 32.4% were from 45 to 64; and 10.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census

Latino
of any race were 0.67% of the population.

There were 2,403 households, out of which 44.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 32.8% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $53,201, and the median income for a family was $59,330. Males had a median income of $40,107 versus $25,729 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,118. About 2.8% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Strawberry Festival

Since 1976, South Berwick has hosted a

Strawberry Festival on the last Saturday in June. Originally organized to celebrate the United States Bicentennial, its popularity has convinced the festival's organizers to hold it each year since. It includes shops, food, games and rides for children and trolley rides. The festival is held on the grounds of Central School, the primary elementary school for the town of South Berwick.[12]

Sites of interest

Notable people

Sister cities

References

  1. ^ a b "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  3. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: South Berwick town, York County, Maine". Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Coolidge, Austin J.; John B. Mansfield (1859). A History and Description of New England. Boston, Massachusetts: A.J. Coolidge. pp. 53–54. coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.
  5. ^ Stager, Helen and Stager, Evelyn. A Family Odyssey: The Ancestors and Descendants of Joseph Harrison and Ada Belle (Marsh) Stager, p. 269, Nicollet Press, Inc., Pipestone, MN, 1983.
  6. ^ Stackpole, Everett S. Old Kittery and Her Families, Scholar's Choice, 2015.
  7. ^ Spencer, Wilbur D. Pioneers on Maine Rivers, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1973.
  8. ^ a b Varney, George J. (1886), Gazetteer of the state of Maine. South Berwick, Boston: Russell
  9. ^ History of South Berwick, Maine (1926)
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  12. ^ "South Berwick Strawberry Festival". South Berwick Strawberry Festival. Retrieved March 11, 2011.

External links

43°14′04″N 70°48′34″W / 43.23444°N 70.80944°W / 43.23444; -70.80944

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