Newcastle is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Lincoln County,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, United States. The population was 1,848 at the 2020 census. The village of Newcastle is located in the eastern part of the town, on the

Damariscotta River The Damariscotta River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 tidal river in Lincoln County, Maine, that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. ''Damariscotta'' i ...

. Together with the village of Damariscotta linked by the Main Street bridge, they form the Twin Villages (see Damariscotta-Newcastle CDP).

History

Originally called Sheepscot Plantation, Newcastle was first settled in the 1630s by

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

and around 50 families. Around 1649–1650, John Mason purchased a tract of land from the

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...

s Chief Robinhood and Chief Jack Pudding. The territory was claimed in 1665 by the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

. Renamed New Dartmouth, the plantation was attacked and destroyed in 1676 during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

. When the war was over, some of the inhabitants returned. But it was destroyed again in 1689 during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

, and the village was not reoccupied for about 40 years. In 1730, Colonel David Dunbar, the superintendent and governor of the Province of Sagadahoc, resettled it as Newcastle, named in honor of the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

. In 1978, the village of Sheepscot on the Sheepscot River in western Newcastle was listed 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 ...

as the

Sheepscot Historic District The Sheepscot Historic District encompasses a historic village in Alna and Newcastle, Maine. Located just below the mouth of Dyer Brook where it enters the Sheepscot River, the includes an area that has seen little alteration in more than 1 ...

. It includes 51 buildings in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

, and Federal styles, on . (The

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

recognizes Sheepscott, Shepscooke, Shippscutt, and Shipscot as variants of the name Sheepscot.)

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Newcastle is situated beside the

. The town is crossed by U. S. Route 1 and state routes

194 Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 194 for thi ...

and

215 Year 215 ( CCXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laetus and Sulla (or, less frequently, year 968 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 215 for this year ha ...

. It borders the towns of

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer) * Jefferson (singer) or Geoff Turton (born 1944), British s ...

to the north, Edgecomb to the south, and

Alna Alna is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. It is named after the Alna River, River Alna, which flows through it. The borough consists of the following neighborhoods: * Alnabru * Ellingsrud * Furuset * Haugerud, Oslo, Haugerud * Hellerud * Li ...

to the northwest. Separated by water, it is near the towns of Wiscasset to the southwest, and Nobleboro, Damariscotta,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and South Bristol to the east.

Climate

Demographics

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,748 people, 724 households, and 493 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 880 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.74%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.11%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.29% Asian, 0.06% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 0.69% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population. There were 724 households, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,000, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $28,466 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $24,289. About 4.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,752 people, 787 households, and 505 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 992 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.8%

, 0.1%

, 0.5%

, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% from

, and 1.2% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population. There were 787 households, of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.8% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.70. The median age in the town was 49.6 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.8% were from 25 to 44; 33.4% were from 45 to 64; and 23.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.

Sites of interest

* Frances Perkins Center https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins_National_Monument * Newcastle Historical Society & Museum * Lincoln Academy * Second Congregational Church * St. Andrew's Church *

St. Patrick's Church St. Patrick's Church, Saint Patrick's Church, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church or Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, and similar, may refer to: Australia * St Patrick's Church, Adelaide, a heritage-listed church in Adelaide, South Australia ...

Notable people

Edwin Flye Edwin Flye (March 4, 1817 – July 12, 1886) was an American politician, merchant, banker, bank president, and shipbuilder from Maine. Early life Born in Newcastle, Massachusetts (now in Maine), Flye attended the common schools and Lincol ...

, US congressman * William T. Glidden, clipper ship line co-owner and railroad investor *

Frances Perkins Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member o ...

, US Secretary of Labor under President Franklin Roosevelt *

Peter Throckmorton Edgerton Alvord Throckmorton (July 30, 1928 – June 5, 1990), known as Peter Throckmorton, was an American photojournalist and a pioneer underwater archaeologist. He is best remembered for fusing academia, archaeometry, and diving in 1960 to cre ...

, American pioneer underwater archaeologist

References

External links

Town of Newcastle, MaineNewcastle, MaineMaine Genealogy: Newcastle, Lincoln County, MaineSheepscot Valley Conservation Association
{{authority control Towns in Lincoln County, Maine Towns in Maine