Damariscotta, Maine
| Damariscotta, Maine | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Main Street c. 1907
|
|
 Location in Lincoln County and the state of Maine. |
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| Coordinates: 44°2′16″N 69°29′39″W / 44.03778°N 69.49417°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Maine |
| County | Lincoln |
| Incorporated | 1848 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14.71 sq mi (38.10 km2) |
| • Land | 12.42 sq mi (32.17 km2) |
| • Water | 2.29 sq mi (5.93 km2) |
| Elevation | 148 ft (45 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,218 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 2,207 |
| • Density | 178.6/sq mi (69.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 04543 |
| Area code(s) | 207 Exchange: 563 |
| FIPS code | 23-16235 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0582432 |
| Website | www.townofdamariscotta.com |
Damariscotta is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,218 at the 2010 census. A popular tourist resort area, the towns of Damariscotta and Newcastle are linked by the Main Street bridge over the Damariscotta River, forming the "Twin Villages". The name Damariscotta is an Indian name meaning "river of little fish".
The area was once inhabited by the Wawenock (or Walinakiak, meaning "People of the Bays") Abenaki Indians, who left behind 2,500-year-old oyster shell middens along the banks of the Damariscotta River. The Whaleback Shell Midden is now a state historic site. The land became part of the Pemaquid Patent, granted by the Plymouth Council in 1631 to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from Bristol, England. At Pemaquid (now Bristol), they built a fort and trading post.
Some colonists moved upriver from the village at Pemaquid about 1640 to settle what is today Damariscotta. But the settlements were attacked in 1676 during King Philip's War, with the inhabitants either driven off or massacred. Attempts to rebuild alternated with further attacks during the French and Indian Wars. The Province of Massachusetts Bay constructed Fort William Henry at Pemaquid in 1692, but it was destroyed in 1696. The last battle of King William's War was on September 9, the Battle of Damariscotta, in which Captain John March killed 25 native men.
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