 In 1739 Brunswick was incorporated as the 11th town in the Province of Maine, whose residents survived on fishing, farming, lumbering and shipbuilding.
The first dam between Brunswick and Topsham was completed about 1753, as the area had a growth spurt. Though only about 19 houses existed in 1742, by 1753 records show 80 males eligible to vote, an number that grew to 92 four years later.
An important early industry was shipbuilding. A total of at least 99 vessels, amounting to nearly 12,000 tons, were built here between 1789 and 1807.
Along with the mills and the shipbuilding industry, the other defining nineteenth century influence on Brunswick has was the rise of Bowdoin College, established in 1794.
Brunswick was also home to Joshua L. Chamberlain, the bookish Bowdoin professor cum Civil War Hero whose extraordinary military career included the acceptance of the surrender of the confederate infantry at Appomattox , thus ending the war.
During the twentieth century, Brunswick continued to expand and develop, seeing its population mushroom during the war years, and continue to grow steadily ever since. Brunswick Naval Air Station appeared in the 1940's, and has grown to become an important influence on the community
With Bowdoin College, the Maine State Music Theater, the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, and the Pejepscot Historical Society , the town is a powerful cultural magnet as well.
The town of 20,000 people is about 47 square miles in area, measuring 12 miles at its widest. It has 66 miles of irregular shoreline on the ocean and 12 miles along the Androscoggin River.
From Maine: An Encyclopedia (www.themaineencyclopedia.com)
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