Editing Bowdoinham, Maine (section)

==History==

Fort Richmond was built upriver in 1719, protecting the area and encouraging [[British people|British]] settlement. About 1720, the mouth of the [[Cathance River]] was first settled by Captain Gyles Watkins. But during [[Dummer's War]], in the summer of 1723 all buildings in the region were burned and [[cattle]] killed by the [[Norridgewock]]s and their 250 [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indian]] allies from [[New France]]. The [[Kennebec River]] region was abandoned. When Gov. [[William Dummer]]'s Treaty of 1725 brought peace, it was resettled about 1730 by Abraham and Jonas Preble from [[York, Maine|York]].<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge  | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n91 60]–61| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Litigation from two conflicting claims, however, slowed the town's development. On July 3, 1637, [[Ferdinando Gorges|Sir Ferdinando Gorges]], the lord proprietor of Maine, had granted this part of [[New Somersetshire]] to Sir Richard Edgcumbe of [[Mount Edgcumbe House]], situated at [[Cremyll]] in [[Cornwall]], England. But the Kennebec Company conveyed it in 1752 to William Bowdoin of [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], older brother of [[James Bowdoin]]. The contested ownership went to court, whereupon Bowdoin won because Edgcumbe's grant was found obsolete and indefinite.<ref>[http://www.link75.org/bhm/bhmhis/home.html History of Bowdoinham, Maine] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626092202/http://www.link75.org/bhm/bhmhis/home.html |date=June 26, 2007 }}</ref> On September 18, 1762, the [[Massachusetts General Court]] incorporated it as Bowdoinham, named for William Bowdoin. It originally included [[Richmond, Maine|Richmond]], set off in 1823, and portions of [[Topsham, Maine|Topsham]] and the Plantation of West Bowdoinham, set off in 1788 as [[Bowdoin, Maine|Bowdoin]].<ref>[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mesagada/bowdoinham.htm Brief Description and History of Bowdoinham, Maine]</ref>

[[farming|Farmers]] grew [[apple]]s, [[wheat]], [[hay]] and [[potato]]es. They also raised [[sheep]]. [[Shipbuilding]] was an important early industry which faded over time, with the first vessel launched in 1768, and the last of any size in 1912. By 1886, the town had three [[sawmill]]s, a [[gristmill]], [[plaster]] mill, two [[clothing]] factories, a [[cheese]] factory and about a dozen [[ice]] companies. It also produced [[boot]]s and [[shoemaking|shoes]], [[tinware]], [[carriage]]s and [[horse harness|harness]]. Once a site of [[wharf|wharves]] to ship [[lumber]] and other goods, Cathance Landing became the town's business center called Bowdoinham Village.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Bowdoinham
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/bowdoinham-me.htm }}
</ref>