Biddeford Pool is a neighborhood within the city of

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddef ...

, named for a large tidal pool located off

Saco Bay Saco Bay ( ) is a small curved embayment of the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Maine in the United States. Saco Bay is approximately wide, running from the Fletcher Neck (the Biddeford Pool peninsula) and the mouth of ...

south of the mouth of the

Saco River The Saco River ( , Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic O ...

. It is approximately southeast of downtown

Biddeford Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddefo ...

, to which it is connected via State Route 208. The center of

Kennebunkport Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. The town center, the area in and around Dock Squa ...

is to the southwest, connected via State Route 9. Biddeford Pool has a post office with the ZIP Code 04006.

Background

Biddeford Pool is the site of Maine's first recorded permanent settlement, then called Winter Harbor (not to be confused with present-day

Winter Harbor, Maine Winter Harbor is a town on the Schoodic Peninsula in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 461 at the 2020 census. The town is located just outside the Schoodic Peninsula portion of Acadia National Park and is due east of th ...

). In the winter of 1616-1617, Richard Vines, a physician, resided here as part of the colonization efforts of

Sir Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the mai ...

, lord proprietor of Maine. An early village developed on the north side. In 1688, Fort Mary was built near the pool's entrance. The former Fletcher's Neck Lifesaving Station, closed in 1971 and on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, still stands at Ocean Avenue and Fourth Street. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Biddeford Pool Military Reservation was established from 1941 to 1945, on what is now the Abenakee Golf Club. It had four circular concrete platforms called "

Panama mount The Panama Mount is a form of gun mount for fixed coastal artillery developed by the U.S. Army in Panama during the 1920s. Widely used during the buildup to and during World War II by the United States military, it was typically equipped with ...

s" for 155 mm guns, three of which remain today. From December 1941 to 12 February 1943 it was garrisoned by Battery F of the 240th Coast Artillery of the

Maine National Guard The Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management (DVEM) is a government agency in Maine. It comprises the two components of the Maine National Guard, the Maine Army National Guard and the Maine Air National Guard, the Bureau of V ...

; this unit was then relieved by Battery E of the 22nd Coast Artillery, which departed in October 1943; it is unclear what unit was at the site after that time. The small harbor hosts both vacationers and lobstermen. Its water level fluctuates from a large navigable body during high

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

to mostly

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s during low tide. The only exception is the deep mouth, where a gut is located which is naturally

dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing ...

d by tidal current. It is locally known as "The Gut." Consequently, this is the area where most boats are moored.

Wood Island Light Wood Island Light is an active lighthouse on the eastern edge of Wood Island in Saco Bay (Maine), Saco Bay, on the southern coast of Maine. The light is just outside the entrance to Biddeford Pool and the end of the Saco River. The lighthouse is ...

is located about a mile offshore to the northeast. Biddeford Pool is bounded by the mainland to the south and west, by

Hills Beach Hills Beach is a seaside community in Biddeford, York County, Maine, United States, approximately north of Boston, Massachusetts. Hills Beach is a narrow stretch of sandy beach on the north side of Biddeford Pool near the mouth of the Saco Ri ...

to the north, and by East Point to the east. The area is a popular summer destination for visitors from as far south as

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and as far west as

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The pool is surrounded by tall grass

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es that are home to a variety of birds and other wildlife. East Point Sanctuary, maintained by the Maine Audubon Society, is considered to be one of the premier

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

spots on the northeast coast. Mile Stretch Road, a sandy strip of beach which connects the neighborhood of Biddeford Pool to the mainland, is a notable

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

. Points of interest around Biddeford Pool include the Biddeford coastal neighborhoods of

, Fortune's Rocks, and Granite Point; and the Kennebunkport coastal area of Goose Rocks.

References

External links

City of Biddeford, Maine

McArthur Public Library

Biddeford Pool Webpage

East Point Sanctuary -- Maine Audubon Society

Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse

Biddeford Pool Yacht Club

Biddeford Historical Society

{{York County, Maine Biddeford, Maine Neighborhoods in Maine Villages in Maine Populated coastal places in Maine Natural pools Landforms of York County, Maine