Francis Small

Francis Small
Sebascodegan Island, Maine
Born	(1625-10-06)October 6, 1625
Died	1714
Nationality	British
Occupation	Trader and landowner
Known for	Made the first recorded land purchase in what is now Maine

Francis Small (October 6, 1625 – ca. 1714) was an enterprising trader and landowner residing primarily in Kittery, Maine. He made the first recorded land purchase in what is now Maine, and proceeded to amass so much that he was called "the great landholder." He possessed the largest number of acres of anyone who ever lived in Maine.

Small was the only child of Edward Small and Elizabeth Shurtt of Bideford, Devonshire, England who is known to have remained in America. There is no record of the other five children ever coming to the American Colonies. Francis is believed to have arrived in New England with his father about 1632. In 1648, he was residing in Dover, New Hampshire, and married Elizabeth Leighton of Kittery about 1650. While living in Casco (now Portland) in 1657, he bought from Scitterygusset, a local sagamore, about 200 acres (80.94 hectares) located on the northern side of Capisic Brook. In 1659, Small established a trading camp on Sebascodegan Island, now part of Harpswell. By 1668, he resided in Kittery, with a trading post (as a squatter) near the confluence of the Ossipee River and Saco River at what is now Cornish. Here major Indian trails converged—the Sokokis Trail (now Route 5), the Ossipee Trail (now Route 25), and the Pequawket Trail (now Route 113) – a location conducive towards lucrative fur trade with Indians, but also with risks of living isolated in the wilderness.