
Maine First Early Inhabitants Timeline
- 17,000 BP (before the present) - The last glacier, known as the Wisconsin glaciation, begins to recede.
- 11,500 years ago - The Paleo Indians settled in Maine.
- 11,000 BP - Maine is free of the glacier, except for a few ice caps in the north.
- 10,500 BP - Maine's first human population arrives: the Paleo-Indians.
Who were the first settlers in Maine?
The history of Maine begins with the descendants of the Indian Nations of the Micmac and Abnaki. The earliest inhabitants of these nations, dating back to around 3,000 B.C., were known as the “Red Paint” people because it was discovered that they used red clay as a protective lining on graves for their dead.
When was Maine first settled?
The first European settlement in Maine was established by Frenchmen Pierre du Guast and Samuel de Champlainon St. Croix Island in 1604. They founded a colony called Acadia which included part of Maine and modern day Quebec, Canada.
What is the earliest settlement in the US?
- ST. AUGUSTINE and NEW MEXICO. By 1610 it appeared likely that the Spanish would abandon the San Agustín on the Florida coast and the Santa Fé in New Mexico. ...
- NEW FRANCE. For decades the primary residents of New France were missionaries and fur traders, never in large numbers. ...
- JAMESTOWN. It is remarkable that Jamestown survived its first years. ...
Who were early American settlers?
settlers included the dutch of new netherland, the swedes and finns of new sweden, the english quakers of the province of pennsylvania, the english puritans of new england, the english settlers of jamestown, virginia, the english catholics and protestant nonconformists of the province of maryland, the " worthy poor " of the province of georgia, …

Who settled first in Maine?
The first European settlement in Maine was established by Frenchmen Pierre du Guast and Samuel de Champlain on St. Croix Island in 1604. They founded a colony called Acadia which included part of Maine and modern day Quebec, Canada.
When was Maine settled?
July 4, 1776Maine / Date settled
Who was the first person to live in Maine?
Paleoindian Period (13,000 To 11,000 Years Ago) The first people to inhabit Maine, called Paleoindians by archaeologists, moved into New England from west of the Hudson River about 13,000 calendar years ago.
What was the first settled state?
Even before Jamestown or the Plymouth Colony, the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States was founded in September 1565 by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in St. Augustine, Florida.
What was Maine called before it was a state?
state of MassachusettsMaine was a district of the state of Massachusetts until 1820.
How old is Maine?
It became its own state in 1820, becoming the 23rd state admitted to the United States of America, although its northern borders were not finalized until 1842.
What are 3 things Maine is famous for?
Maine is a northeastern state in the United States famous for its rocky coastline, pristine forests, and outdoor activities. Maine is also known for its many lighthouses, fresh lobsters, and rugged individualism. Visitors to Maine can enjoy hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, and whale watching.
What famous person was born in Maine?
We have contributed to the growth of this country producing many great leaders like our 15th Vice President of the U.S.A – Hannibal Hamlin who was born in Paris Hill, Maine. We have spotlighted many talented actress such as Anna Kendrick, Linda Lavin, Katie Aselton and Patten, Maine native actress Gladys George.
Why did the French settle in Maine?
In 1604, Pierre Dugua, a French nobleman, along with 79 Frenchmen arrived on the island of St. Croix, in present-day Maine, to establish a new colony. Dugua intended to colonize North America and trade with Indigenous Peoples — primarily the tribes belonging to the Wabanaki Confederacy — for furs. He chose St.
What were the first 3 settlements in America?
The invasion of the North American continent and its peoples began with the Spanish in 1565 at St. Augustine, Florida, then British in 1587 when the Plymouth Company established a settlement that they dubbed Roanoke in present-day Virginia.
What is the oldest town in USA?
St. AugustineSt. Augustine, founded in September 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles of Spain, is the longest continually inhabited European-founded city in the United States – more commonly called the "Nation's Oldest City."
Who were the 1st settlers in America?
Five hundred years before Columbus, a daring band of Vikings led by Leif Eriksson set foot in North America and established a settlement.
Is Maine one of the original 13 colonies?
The original 13 colonies were Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Bay Colony (which included Maine), New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
What states were the 13 colonies?
The 13 original states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The 13 original states were the first 13 British colonies. British colonists traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe.
Who established claim for France, describes Maine coast.?
Giovanni da Verrazano establishes claim for France, describes Maine coast. He also described “high country full of very dense forests, composed of pines, cypresses, and similar trees which grow in cold regrions.”*
Why did European explorers cruise the Maine coast?
European explorers cruise the Maine coast in search of opportunities for their patrons, especially in the rich fisheries of the Gulf of Maine. Missionaries and settlers follow, bringing diseases that devastate Native American populations.
Where did George Weymouth sail from?
George Weymouth sails from England on March 31. His expedition lands on Monhegan Island; explores the Maine coast; and kidnaps five Indians to England.
What was the first English settlement in Maine?
The first significant English settlement in Maine occurred in 1607 with the establishment of Popham Plantation at the mouth of the Kennebec River. The driving forces behind this venture were John Popham and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, wealthy English businessmen. Severe weather conditions forced the settlers to return to England in 1608, thus allowing Jamestown to stake the claim to being America's first permanent settlement. Relationships with France took a decidedly downward turn when, in 1613, Sir Samuel Argall destroyed a French Jesuit mission on Mount Desert Island. Anglo-French relations would remain tense in the New World for another 150 years. Much of the 17th century in Maine was marked by an ongoing land dispute. Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his heirs based their claim on rights extended to them by the Council for New England, a governmental agency. The competing claim was from resident colonists who wanted to ally themselves with Massachusetts. In 1660, an English board awarded Maine to the Gorges family, but 13 years later they sold their interest to Massachusetts, which continued to control Maine until its statehood in 1820 . The purchase of Maine by Massachusetts did not truly settle the ownership question, given that the area was also claimed by France. A series of wars, stretching into the middle of the 18th century, pitted the English colonists against French and Indian forces. Much of the warfare comprised raids on white or Native American villages. A high point for Maine residents occurred in 1745 when colonial forces under William Pepperell captured the French fort at Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. The French surrendered their claim to the region in the Treaty of Paris (1763) following the Seven Years' War .
What was the first permanent settlement in America?
Severe weather conditions forced the settlers to return to England in 1608, thus allowing Jamestown to stake the claim to being America's first permanent settlement. Relationships with France took a decidedly downward turn when, in 1613, Sir Samuel Argall destroyed a French Jesuit mission on Mount Desert Island.
What was the high point of the colonial war in Maine?
A high point for Maine residents occurred in 1745 when colonial forces under William Pepperell captured the French fort at Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.
Who based his claim on the Council for New England?
Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his heirs based their claim on rights extended to them by the Council for New England, a governmental agency. The competing claim was from resident colonists who wanted to ally themselves with Massachusetts.
When did Maine become a colony?
By 1658, the Province of Maine had become a colony of Massachusetts—a colony of a colony.
When did Champlain establish Canada?
Early Settlement. 1567-1635. Between 1603 and 1635, Champlain made 12 voyages to what was to become Canada, establishing it as a French colony, founding Quebec, and exploring up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. For Maine, he is chiefly known for his 1604-1607 voyage, in which he wintered at St Croix and made the first accurate maps ...
What is the history of Maine?
Maine is a product of the Ice Age. The last glacier was responsible for cutting what had been a relatively straight coastline into the hundreds of bays, inlets and picturesque harbors we know today. The receding ice sheet formed the 2,000 or so islands found off the Maine coast.
When were Maine's first inhabitants?
Burial grounds for these earliest Maine dwellers are thought to date back to 3000 B.C. Huge oyster shell heaps on the Damariscotta estuary testify to the capacious appetites of Maine's aborigines.
How many tribes live in the Penobscot River?
The Passamaquoddies (1,500) live on two reservations, the largest of which is located at Pleasant Point near Eastport. The Penobscots (1,200) live on Indian Island in the Penobscot River at Old Town.
How many people lived in Maine in 1763?
The population doubled from 12,000 to 24,000 between 1743 and 1763. By the end of the century, the number of Maine settlers had grown to more than 150,000.
How many counties were there in Maine?
By this time the population of Maine had reached nearly 300,000. The new state had nine counties and 236 towns. Delegates met for three weeks in October of 1819 in Portland to hammer out a state constitution, a document strongly rooted in political independence, religious freedom and popular control of government.
What happened in Maine in 1765?
A year after the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773, Maine staged its own version of that incident when a group of men burned a shipment of tea stored at York.
What was the most important military development during the French and Indian Wars?
One of the significant military developments of the French and Indian Wars was the capture of the French fort at Louisburg, Nova Scotia, in 1745 by a contingent of forces led by William Pepperell of Kittery. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended all French claims to the territory.
Why did Maine settlers want to gain access to land and fisheries?
Maine settlers wanted to gain access to land and fisheries to better their lives , while Massachusetts Puritans. Members of the English Anglican Church who wanted to reform or purify the church, advocating strict religious discipline and simplification of the ceremonies of the Church of England.
Where did the Scotch Irish settle?
The Scotch-Irish had a lasting cultural impact. They settled Boothbay, Damariscotta, and Newcastle. Many of the older Maine coastal families trace their lineage to the first Scotch-Irish settlers.
How many English settlers were there in Maine?
Most of Maine's 6,000 English settlers were dispersed in "ribbon" settlements strung out along the coast or lower rivers, almost impossible to defend militarily. The English clung to what early historian William Hubbard called the "sea-border," considering the unfamiliar woods behind them "a great Chaos, the lair of wild beasts and wilder men."
What was the frontier between New England and Maine before the American Revolution?
The century before the American Revolution was marked by a series of destructive wars between Natives and Europeans that kept Maine – the frontier between New France, New England, and the Abenaki homelands – in constant turmoil. Indian Raid on Casco Bay, 1676 Maine Historical Society.
What did the Indians think of the colonial epidemic?
Indians, on the other hand, suspected that English colonials brought on the terrible recurring epidemics, and they found it difficult, under their own political system, to rein in those who wished vengeance for trading abuses, land grabs, murders, and enslavements.
Who raided Nova Scotia and Maine?
In 1525 Estevan Gomez raided Nova Scotia and Maine and took some 58 surviving Indians back to Spain, and subsequent explorers, whalers, fishers, and traders continued this practice into the 18th century. Troop instructions from Governor Shute about Wabanaki, 1721 Maine Historical Society.
How did the French and English alliances affect the ancient feuds?
French or English alliances with various tribes exacerbated ancient feuds and created new conflicts, and as the devastating plagues swept through the villages, these alliances were again disrupted; those who survived regrouped and exacted tribute from more debilitated or less powerful neighbors.
Who was the first European to settle in Maine?
The first European settler was Capt. Christopher Levett, an English naval captain granted 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) in 1623 to found a settlement in Casco Bay.
How We Determined When A City Was Founded In Maine… Or Is It Settled?
Surprisingly, there’s not a definitive data set that contains the dates of incorporation or settlement for cities in America. Put differently, there’s no official data set from the Census that contains when every place in America was founded.
What was the name of the settlement in 1771?
Population: 7,608#N#Founded: 1771#N#Age: 247#N#Winslow was originally an Indian settlement named Taconock. During King William’s War, Major Benjamin Church led his third expedition east from Boston in 1692. During this expedition he and 450 troops raided the native villages at both Penobscot (Castine, Maine) and present-day Winslow.
Why did the Popham colony fail?
Popham Colony was established in 1607 downstream, together with Fort St George. The settlement failed due to harsh weather and lack of leadership, but the colonists built the New World’s first oceangoing vessel constructed by English shipwrights, the Virginia of Sagadahoc. It provided passage back to England.
What was the name of the area in Maine that Samuel de Champlain explored?
Population: 8,314#N#Founded: 1781#N#Age: 237#N#Abenaki Indians called the area Sagadahoc, meaning ‘mouth of big river.’ It was a reference to the Kennebec River, which Samuel de Champlain explored in 1605. Popham Colony was established in 1607 downstream, together with Fort St George. The settlement failed due to harsh weather and lack of leadership, but the colonists built the New World’s first oceangoing vessel constructed by English shipwrights, the Virginia of Sagadahoc. It provided passage back to England. Most of Bath, Maine, was settled by travelers from Bath, England.
Where did the Mayflower land?
This 1616 landing by a European predates the Mayflower landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, (located 100 miles to the south) by approximately four years, a fact that is overlooked in much of New England lore. In 1630, the Plymouth Company granted the land south of the River Swanckadocke to Dr. Vines and John Oldham.
Who was the first person to settle in the Little River?
The land was first settled in 1736 by Captain John Phinney and his family, followed in 1738 by Hugh McLellan and Daniel Mosher. By 1743, the first sawmill was established by John Gorham at Little River. Without window-glass, the first dwellings were constructed of logs chinked with moss and clay.
Who was the first European to explore the coast of Maine?
1524 - Giovanni da Verranzano became the first confirmed European to explore the coast of Maine. 1597 - Simon Ferdinando, a Portugese Navigator, working for the British Crown, lands on the Coast of Maine, looking for treasure. The start of the 'Indian Wars' (1675-1760) which would include the French and Indian Wars.
What tribes lived in Maine?
Of the dozens of Algonkian Indian tribes that once inhabited Maine, only two remain - the Penobscot and the Passamaquoddies. When European settlers came to the region in the early 17th century, they encountered the Abnakis and the Etchimins, two major divisions of the Algonkian nation.
What tribes were involved in the Queen Anne's War?
1702 - (1702-1713) Queen Anne's War (part of the French and Indian Wars) between the French and Spanish colonies allied with the Wabanaki Confederacy, Mohawk, Choctaw, Timucua, Apalachee and Natchez tribes against the British colonies allied with the Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw and Yamasee tribes.
What did Native Americans plant in the spring?
In the spring they fished in the rivers and planted crops of corn, squash and beans along the riverbanks. Early summer brought them to the coastal areas, and by September they returned to harvest their crops.
What is early history?
Early history examines the archaeological record that tells the story of the first inhabitants of Maine. Learn about the prehistory and culture of the first early inhabitants, and what lessons it might teach us about the early history of Maine. The region's earliest inhabitants were descendants of Ice Age hunters.
When were Wigwam first discovered?
The first wigwam evidence in Maine dates from this period. 2550 BP (551 BC) - Confucius is born in China. 1000-1100 AD - Norse sailors, led by Leif Erikson, arrive in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Evidence suggests that they may have reached as far south as Maine.
When was peace declared in the Kennebec?
1677- Waldron and Frost sent to the Kennebec to subdue the Indians - peace was declared in 1678
