Resources
Local history and important contact information for Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel.
The name Kennebunk means "long cut bank," probably in reference to Great Hill at the mouth of the Mousam River, which would have been an important landmark to native Americans coming along the coast in their ocean-going canoes.1
The first Europeans to visit the shores of southern Maine probably were sixteenth-century fishermen. Although it is well known that these fishing parties put ashore along the coast of Maine, whether any landed on Kennebunk's beaches is not part of the present historical record. At that time the native population followed a pattern of seasonal migration, living near the coast during the warmer months of the year, moving inland during the colder months. The presence of native Americans in Kennebunk was even then an ancient tradition. Because of recent archaeological excavations it is known that 11,000 years ago PaleoIndian hunters traveled seasonally to the Kennebunk Plains from throughout the Northeast to trap and kill bison and caribou.
The early seventeenth century brought a period of English and French exploration. In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, seeking a northern route to what would become the English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, made landfall on the coast of Maine2. In 1603 Martin Pring, utilizing the services of the same pilot who had guided Gosnold, made his own voyage. Pring explored a short distance up the Kennebunk River, finding no natives but signs of fires where they had been. In 1604 Samuel de Champlain explored the coast of Maine and visited Cape Porpoise harbor, naming it "Le Port aux Isles" (Island Harbor). Cape Porpoise is clearly marked on the 1610 Simancus Map which is thought to have been prepared by Robert Tyndall, a surveyor employed by London's Virginia Company, who was sent over for the express purpose of mapping the coastline of the new world.
The first permanent settlement by Europeans in the Kennebunks probably occurred in the 1620s, and was along the coast and the shores of the Kennebunk and Mousam Rivers. By the 1640s coastal as well as inland farm grants were being made to settlers in Kennebunk, which was then a part of Wells.
Though the exact date of the earliest settlement in the area now known as Kennebunkport is uncertain, historical evidence indicates that it cannot have been much later than that of the founding of the Plymouth Colony. It is known that for many years prior to the first permanent habitation, the islands along the Cape Porpoise shore were used for fish drying and as a summer headquarters by those who came to tap the rich resources of the coastal fishing banks. In 1653, the town was first incorporated as Cape "Porpus" and became subject to the government of Massachusetts. Entirely depopulated by Indian depredations in 1689, the town was resettled early in the 1700's and renamed Arundel by permission of the Massachusetts General Court in 1719. This designation remained until 1821, when, having become a bustling port of entry for foreign trade, with a custom house, the town was given its present name of Kennebunkport.
Kennebunkport has been bustling with commerce since the 1800's, when many ships were built and sent to sea from its harbor. Historically, Kennebunkport has been very important in the shipping industry of Maine. Folks settling this area were bound to the sea, and even today the seafaring culture is still much in evidence.
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Arundel was originally part of the area known as Cape Porpoise. Early land grants and deeds from the seventeenth century describe Cape Porpoise as extending between the Batson and Mousam rivers. In 1681, a written description of the town's boundaries was prepared. Cape Porpoise had lost and gained land, shifting to the east. The town extended eight miles inland, between the Kennebunk and Little rivers. Livelihoods were gained from fishing, farming, and building masts for ships. There is today evidence of the earliest sawmills and gristmill.
In 1681 the first Mill Grant was issued and along River Road, 100-acre lots were deeded. At this time as well, Native Americans, believed to be Micmacs, inhabited the area. From the region of Walkers Lane, where Route One now crosses the Kennebunk River, south to the area where Goff Mill Brook crosses River Road, near the Cape Arundel Golf Course, there were at least five mills and a brickyard. Most of the mills were saw mills, but one became a fulling mill where thread was made from cotton and the Goff's Brook Mill became a gristmill.
As would be expected, fishing was a prominent livelihood of these early residents. Boat building was a major trade as well. Some very large boats came from the boat yard along the river. Locks were set in place at various points, the intent being to allow construction of larger ships at the boat yards. These early industries thrived along the Kennebunk River will into the 1800's and early 1900's.
During the late eighteen hundreds, the railroad arrived in southern Maine. This had two effects on Kennebunkport. The settlement along the Burnham Road split in two and eventually disappeared. The schoolhouse remains, but is privately owned. The railroad also brought "summer people", and contributed to the development of the coastal portions of the town.
By the turn of the century, the farmers and others in the rural portions of the town felt they should not have to pay increased taxes to support services in the Cape Arundel area. The Legislature agreed to a separation, creating two towns, with the split becoming effective at the 1916 town meeting. The new municipality was called North Kennebunkport.
In 1957, the town voted to change its name back to Arundel. Being the rural portion of a previous town, Arundel has no center of population or economic activity. Citizens traveled to neighboring population centers to purchase goods and services. The increasing proportion of the population not dependent on farming or forestry for their income also traveled to jobs in these areas. In the past thirty years, it has been transformed from a rural town of dairy farmers to a "suburban" community for workers in neighboring areas.
