Editing York, Maine (section)

==History==
[[File:The Old Gaol, York Village, ME.jpg|thumb|left|[[The Old Gaol]] (Jail) in 1901]]
First settled by Europeans in 1624, the plantation was originally called Agamenticus, the [[Abenaki]] term for the [[York River (Maine)|York River]], which also was the name given to the [[Mount Agamenticus|hill]], visible from sea.<ref name="gazetteer">{{cite book |title= the United States Gazetteer | last=Scott |first= Joseph | publisher= F. and R. Bailey at Yorick's Head | year=1795}}</ref>

In 1638, settlers changed the name to Bristol after [[Bristol, England|Bristol]], [[England]], from which they had immigrated. Envisioning a great city arising from the [[wilderness]], Sir [[Ferdinando Gorges]], lord proprietor of Maine under the [[Plymouth Council for New England|Plymouth patent]], named the capital of his province Gorgeana.

On March 1, 1642, by charter of [[King Charles I of England|King Charles I]], Gorgeana became the first incorporated city in America.<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/n407 369]–372| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859. }}</ref>

Following Gorges' death, the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] claimed his dominion. In 1652, York, Massachusetts, was incorporated from a portion of Gorgeana, making it the second oldest town in Maine after [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], incorporated two years earlier. It was named for [[York]], England; however, control of the region was contested between [[New England]] and [[New France]], which incited [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] to attack [[English people|English]] settlements throughout the [[French and Indian Wars]].<ref name="Coolidge"/>

[[File:Sewall's Map of York, Maine, 1794.png|thumb|left|Sewall's Map of York, Maine, 1794]]
The first Congregational church of York was organized in 1672, by Rev. [[Shubael Dummer]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://history.rays-place.com/me/york-me.htm|title=History of York, Maine |author=Geo. J. Varney|year= 1886|access-date=December 4, 2009}}</ref> the son of [[Richard Dummer]] and uncle to [[William Dummer]], who became acting governor of the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]].

During [[King William's War]], York was destroyed in the [[Candlemas Massacre]] of 1692. During the raid by the Abenakis, Dummer was shot at his own front door. About 50 others were slain and near 100 carried away captive, among them Dummer's wife, Lydia, and their son, where "through snows and hardships among those dragons of the desert she also quickly died"; nothing further was heard of the boy.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Family of Dummer |last= Dummer|first=Michael |date= June 2005|edition= 7th|chapter=5: Richard and Early Days in New England|page=26}}</ref>

The final local Indian attack occurred at the Cape Neddick area during [[Dummer's War]] in 1723. Hostilities diminished with the [[French people|French]] defeat at the [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)]], and ceased altogether with the 1763 [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]].

===Trading center===
As provincial capital and site of the [[The Old Gaol|Royal Gaol]] (Jail), York prospered. Numerous [[wharf|wharves]] and [[warehouse]]s serviced trade with the [[West Indies]]. Agricultural products and [[lumber]] were shipped in exchange for [[sugar]], [[molasses]] and other commodities. One notable [[merchant]] was [[John Hancock]], whose establishment is now a museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://oldyork.org/visit.html|title = Museums of Old York}}</ref> Following the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolution]], however, President [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Embargo Act of 1807]] crippled trade. York, bereft of status as capitol, would not again be prosperous until after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], when its sea breezes and colonial charm, including old homes like the [[John Sedgley Homestead]], attracted tourists.<ref>{{Citation
 | last = Varney
 | first = George J.
 | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. York
 | place = Boston
 | publisher = Russell
 | year = 1886
 | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/york-me.htm }}
</ref>

===Present day===
Like [[Bar Harbor, Maine|Bar Harbor]] and [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], York became a fashionable summer resort, and retains many distinctive examples of [[Gilded Age]] architecture, particularly in the [[Shingle style]]. A cluster of historic buildings in the center of York Village are maintained as museums by the Old York Historical Society.