Editing Sebago, Maine (section)

==History==

Originally called Flintstown, it was granted in 1774 by the [[Massachusetts General Court]] to survivors of Captain John Flint's company of soldiers from [[Concord, Massachusetts]]. It replaced a grant of 1735 that awarded them Township No. 3 (now [[Walpole, New Hampshire]]), but which was ruled invalid when the border between [[Massachusetts]] and [[New Hampshire]] was redrawn to satisfy prior claims by the descendants of [[John Mason (governor)|John Mason]]. On June 23, 1802, Flintstown was incorporated as [[Baldwin, Maine|Baldwin]]. Then on February 10, 1826, Sebago was set off from Baldwin and incorporated as a separate town. It took the name of [[Sebago Lake]]. Land was annexed from [[Denmark, Maine|Denmark]] in 1830, and taken in 1834 to help form [[Naples, Maine|Naples]].<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/n338 300]–301| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

[[Image:Hillcrest Lodge, Sebago Lake, ME - 1917.jpg|thumbnail|left|Hillcrest Lodge, Sebago Lake, ME – 1917]]

[[Lumberjack]]s and woodsmen were the first European inhabitants of the area, but they left as soon as the first growth of [[pine]] was cut. It 1790, Joseph Lakin from [[Groton, Massachusetts]], built a cabin, then returned with his family and possessions. The surface of the town is very uneven and generally rocky, so it was hard work to clear a [[farm]] for [[Tillage|cultivation]]. But the soil was good and yielded abundant crops. [[Watermill|Mills]] were built at [[water power]] sites, and products included long and short [[lumber]], shooks, and [[boot]]s and [[shoemaking|shoes]]. In 1832, the [[Cumberland and Oxford Canal]] opened, increasing [[trade]] between Sebago Lake and [[Portland, Maine|Portland]]. In the early 1870s, the [[Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad]] carried tourists and freight to Sebago Lake Station in [[Standish, Maine|Standish]], where [[steamboat]]s took them to various landings around the lake. [[Inn]]s, [[hotel]]s and summer camps opened, and the town became a recreation area, which it remains today.<ref>[http://history.rays-place.com/me/sebago-me.htm George J. Varney, "History of Sebago, Maine" (1886)]</ref>

In 1906, the [[Order of Sir Galahad]], an Episcopal youth organization, established [[Camp O-AT-KA]] in East Sebago.<ref>{{cite web |title=Camp O-AT-KA Founded in 1906 |url=https://campoatka.org/camp/history/ |website=Camp O-AT-KA}}</ref>