Brunswick is a town (municipality-like administrative
subdivision) in Cumberland County, Maine, United States.
According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 21,756.
The town (in Spanish, literally, town) is the basic unit of
local government and the local division of state authority in
the six states of New England. New England towns cover the
entire area of a state, similar to townships in other states,
but are fully-functioning municipal corporations.
Founded in 1628 by Thomas Purchase and other fishermen, the area was
called by its Indian name, Pejepscot, meaning "the part of the long,
rocky rapids [of the river]." In 1639, Purchase placed his settlement
under the protection of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During King
Philip's War, in 1676, Pejepscot was burned and abandoned, although
during King William's War a garrison called Fort Andros was built on the
ruins. During the war, in the second expedition of the commander
Benjamin Church, a year later, he arrived on September 11, 1690 with 300
men at Casco Bay. He went up the Androscoggin River to Fort Pejepscot
(present-day Brunswick, Maine), from there he headed 40 miles (64 km)
upriver and attacked a native village. Three or four natives were cut
down in the retreat; when Church discovered five captive settlers in the
wigwams, six or seven prisoners were slaughtered as an example. A few
days later, in retaliation, the natives attacked Church at Cape
Elizabeth, at Purpooduc Point, killing seven of his men and wounding to
24 others. On September 26, Church returned to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.
The 1713 Treaty of Portsmouth brought peace to the
region between the Abenaki Indians and the English settlers.
In
1714, a consortium of Boston and Portsmouth purchased the land,
thereafter called the Pejepscot Purchase. The Massachusetts General
Court chartered the township in 1717, naming it "Brunswick" after the
House of Brunswick and its scion, King George I. In 1715, a stone fort
called Fort George was built near the falls. But during Dummer's War, on
July 13, 1722, Abenaki warriors from Norridgewock burned the town.
Consequently, Governor Samuel Shute declared war on the Abenakis. In
1724, 208 English colonial militiamen marched out of Fort Richmond and
sacked Norridgewock during Dummer's War. Brunswick was rebuilt again in
1727, and in 1739 it was incorporated as a city. It became a prosperous
seaport, where Bowdoin College was founded in 1794.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Brunswick has an area
of 140.7 km², of which 121.0 km² is land and 19.73 km² is water.
Geographical location
The city is located near the Atlantic coast in
eastern Cumberland County and only about 30 km northeast of Portland.
Brunswick borders to the north on Merrymeeting Bay, into which the
Kennebec River coming from the north and the Androscoggin River coming
from the west flow. There are several bays to the south, all of which
belong to Casco Bay. The surface of the area is flat, without
significant elevations.
Neighboring communities
All distances
are given as the crow flies between the official coordinates of the 2010
census locations.
North: Topsham, 2 miles
East: Bath, 9 miles
Southeast: Phippsburg, 11 miles
South: Harpswell, 4 miles
West:
Freeport, 8.3 miles
North West: Durham, 11 miles
City outline
There are several settlements in Brunswick: Brunswick, Bunganuc Landing,
Cooks Corner, Deep Cut, Dyer Corner, Growstown, Gurnet, Harding
(Hardings), Hillside, Merepoint (Mere Point, Mare Point), Oak Hill
Station (former post office), Pennellville and West Brunswick (former
post office).
The mean average temperature in Brunswick ranges from −6°C in January to 20°C in July. Compared to the long-term average of the USA, the place is about 5 degrees cooler in the winter half-year and about 3 degrees cooler in the summer half-year, but in winter 3 to 4 degrees warmer than in central Maine. The average annual snowfall is about 1.7 m, with precipitation between October and April and a peak of 53 cm in January. The daily sunshine duration between March and November is at the lower end of the value spectrum for the USA.
According to the 2000 census, there were 21,172 people living in the
city, there were 8,150 households, and 5,150 families. The population
density was 174.7 people per km². The number of residential buildings
was 8720 with an average density of 72 per km². The racial breakdown was
94.35% White, 1.71% African American, 0.23% American Indian, 1.67%
Asian, 0.06% Oceanian, 0.63% other races, and 1.36% indicated two or
more races. 1.62% of the population were Hispanics.
Of 8,150
households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18, 51.6% were married
and living together, 8.7% had a female head of household with no
husband, and 36.8% were unrelated. 30.8% of households were one person
and 13.5% were one person 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.34 people, the average family size was 2.95 people.
The age composition of the population: 23% under the age of 18,
14.1% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, 15.5% 65
years or older. The average age was 36 years. For every 100 women, there
were 93.1 men. For every 100 women aged 18 and over, there were 89 men.
The median income for a household was $40,402 a year, and the median
income for a family was $49,088. Men had a median income of $32,141 and
women $24,927. The city's median annual per capita income was $20,322.
About 5% of families and 8% of the population were poverty line, of
which 8.6% are under the age of 18 and 8.1% are 65 years of age or
older.
Below is the dynamics of the population of the city.
Museums
Brunswick is home to the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum,
dedicated to the memory of Union war hero Maine Governor and Bowdoin
College President Joshua L. Chamberlain. Chamberlain is also buried in
Pine Grove Cemetery in Brunswick.
Buildings
One bridge, ten
buildings and four boroughs have been listed in Brunswick and are on the
National Register of Historic Places.
As a district was placed
under monument protection:
Brunswick Commercial Historic District,
surveyed 2016, register no. 15000968
Brunswick Commercial Historic
District, surveyed 1976, register no. 76000092
Lincoln Street
Historic District, surveyed 1976, register no. 76000094
Pennellville
Historic District, surveyed 1985, registry no. 85002923
Other
buildings:
Androscoggin Swinging Bridge, recorded 2004, register no.
03001404
Henry Boody House, recorded 1975, register no. 75000094
Parker Cleaveland House, photographed 2000, register no. 00000702
Crystal Spring Farm, recorded 2004, register no. 04000369
John Dunlap
House, recorded 1979, register no. 79000138
First Parish Church,
photographed 1969, register no. 69000008
Massachusetts Hall, Bowdoin
College, incorporated 1971, register no. 71000042
Richardson House,
recorded 1974, register no. 74000165
St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
photographed 1978, register no. 78000177
Harriet Beecher Stowe House,
recorded 1966, register no. 66000091
Whittier Field Athletic Complex,
photographed 2017, register no. 100001238
City-based branches of larger businesses and main employers are:
L.L. Bean - Mail order clothing and outdoor gear
Bath Iron Works -
shipyard for warships
MBNA – Credit Card Issuer
several companies
in the fiberglass sector
several health care organizations serving
Maine's Mid-Coast
Traffic
The city is connected to the freeway
network by Interstate 295. The U.S. Highway 1 and the U.S. Highway 201.
The Portland–Rockland, Brunswick–Skowhegan, and Brunswick–Lewiston rail
lines connect the city to the rail network. Passenger rail services are
offered from Brunswick to Rockland with excursion trains during the
summer months. There is daily long-distance service to Portland (Maine)
and Boston.
The city had a streetcar service from 1896 to 1937,
consisting of interurban services to Bath, Lewiston and Portland. The
Androscoggin River, which flows through Brunswick, is not navigable.
Public facilities
The Curtis Memorial Library is located in
Brunswick on Pleasant Street.
Several hospitals and health
centers are located in Brunswick.
Education
The Brunswick
School Department is responsible for the education of students in
Brunswick. The following schools are available in Brunswick:
Brunswick REAL School
Region 10 Technical High School
Brunswick
High School
Brunswick Junior High School
Coffin Elementary School
Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School