Boothbay, Maine Facts for Kids

Boothbay is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,003 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of East Boothbay and Trevett. The Boothbay region is a center of summer tourist activity, and a significant part of its population does not live there year-round. Five shipyards are located in the town, the largest of which is Washburn & Doughty.

History
Geography
- Climate
Demographics
- 2010 census
Sites of interest
Notable people
Images for kids
See also

History

The first European presence was a British fishing station on Cape Newagen in 1623. By the 1630s, there were a few families. Henry Curtis purchased from the sachem Mowhotiwormet (commonly known as Chief Robinhood) the right to settle here in 1666. The inhabitants fled in 1676 during King Philip's War and returned in 1677. In 1689 during King William's War, they were driven out again, and the village remained a desolate waste for 40 years.

Colonel David Dunbar, governor of the Territory of Sagadahock, laid out a town in 1730 known as Townsend, and convinced about 40 families of Scots-Irish Presbyterians, largely from the north of Ireland, to settle here. Some were veterans of the Revolution of 1688. Named for Lord Charles Townshend, this settlement survived and was incorporated November 3, 1764. It was renamed Boothbay in 1842 after the hamlet of Boothby, which is located about a mile east of Welton le Marsh in Lincolnshire, England. Southport was set off in 1842 and incorporated as a town, followed in 1889 by Boothbay Harbor.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 71.80 square miles (185.96 km²), of which, 21.93 square miles (56.80 km²) of it is land and 49.87 square miles (129.16 km²) is water. Situated on the Cape Newagen peninsula extending into the Gulf of Maine, Boothbay lies between the Sheepscot River and Damariscotta River. The town includes Damariscove Island.

Boothbay is crossed by State Routes 27 and 96. It borders the towns of Edgecomb to the north, and Boothbay Harbor to the south. Separated by water, it is near the towns of Westport to the west, and South Bristol to the east.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Boothbay has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	997	—
1800	1,246	25.0%
1810	1,582	27.0%
1820	1,950	23.3%
1830	2,286	17.2%
1840	2,631	15.1%
1850	2,504	−4.8%
1860	2,857	14.1%
1870	3,200	12.0%
1880	3,575	11.7%
1890	1,718	−51.9%
1900	1,766	2.8%
1910	1,700	−3.7%
1920	1,432	−15.8%
1930	1,345	−6.1%
1940	1,370	1.9%
1950	1,559	13.8%
1960	1,617	3.7%
1970	1,814	12.2%
1980	2,308	27.2%
1990	2,648	14.7%
2000	2,960	11.8%
2010	3,120	5.4%
2020	3,003	−3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,120 people, 1,386 households, and 963 families living in the town. The population density was 142.3 inhabitants per square mile (54.9/km²). There were 2,474 housing units at an average density of 112.8 per square mile (43.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.0% White, 0.4% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 1,386 households, of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.5% were non-families. Of all households, 23.8% were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.63.

The median age in the town was 51.7 years; 17.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.9% were from 25 to 44; 35.1% were from 45 to 64; and 24.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

Sites of interest

Notable people

Brenda Bettinson (born 1929), British-American artist, muralist, radio station art editor, and professor
Mabel Conkling (1871–1966), sculptor, president of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors (1926–1928); born and died at Boothbay
Richard Ford (born 1944), author, winner of the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for fiction (Independence Day)
Matthew Forgues (born 1992), athlete, USA Track and Field National Team member
Dorothy M. Healy (1904–1990), Professor of English at Westbrook College and Curator of the Maine Women Writers Collection