Editing Georgetown, Maine (section)

==History==
[[File:Benjamin Riggs House.jpg|thumb|left|Front of the Benjamin Riggs House, located along Robinhood Road in Georgetown, a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Built in 1790, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places]]

The [[Abenaki]] called the island Erascohegan, possibly meaning "good spear-fishing." Other interpretations of the word suggest that it meant "a watching place."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/indianplacenames00hude|title=Indian Place Names of New England|last=Huden|first=John Charles|date=1899}}</ref> John Parker, a [[fisherman]] from [[Bedfordshire, England|Bedfordshire]], England, purchased it in 1649 from Chief Mowhotiwormet, commonly known as Chief Robinhood, for a [[hogshead]] of [[rum]] and some [[pumpkin]]s. Parker built the first permanent homestead on what eventually became known as Parker's Island.<ref>[http://www.georgetownhistoricalsociety.org/Georgetown History 10-07.html Carolyn F. "Billie" Todd, "A Brief Historical Perspective"]{{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The [[Kennebec River]] valley was attacked and burned in 1676 during [[King Philip's War]], then again in 1689 at the outset of [[King William's War]], and was not resettled until after the 1713 [[Treaty of Portsmouth (1713)|Treaty of Portsmouth]]. The town of Newtown-on-Arrowsic was rebuilt in 1714 on the southern end of [[Arrowsic, Maine|Arrowsic Island]], which was incorporated in 1716 by the [[Massachusetts General Court]] as Georgetown-on-Arrowsic, named for Fort St. George. The town's boundaries were extended to encompass Parker's Island, [[Woolwich, Maine|Woolwich]], [[Phippsburg, Maine|Phippsburg]] and [[Bath, Maine|Bath]] (which included [[West Bath, Maine|West Bath]]). Abandoned during [[Dummer's War]] and beleaguered during the [[French and Indian Wars]], the region resettled slowly in the 1750s until peace was assured with the 1759 [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham|Fall of Quebec]].<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| publisher=A.J. Coolidge| page = 140| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ&q=coolidge%20mansfield%20history%20description%20new%20england%201859&pg=PA140}}</ref>

About half of Parker's Island provided [[Grazing|grazing land]], and some residents raised [[livestock]] and produced [[butter]] and [[cheese]]. In 1858, there were two [[sawmill]]s, two [[roof shingle|shingle]] mills, a [[Bucket|pail]]maker and a [[shipbuilder]]. But the [[merchant marine]] and [[fishing]] were the town's principal occupations. By 1841, all the other parts of Georgetown had been set off and incorporated as towns, leaving Parker's Island with sole claim to the ancient name. Situated between the mouths of the [[Sheepscot River|Sheepscot]] and Kennebec rivers on the [[Gulf of Maine]], Georgetown developed into a summer resort, attracting a number of prominent artists. The island is a noted site for [[bird watching]].<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Georgetown
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/georgetown-me.htm }}
</ref>