Cornish, Maine
Encyclopedia
Cornish is a town
in York County
, Maine
, United States. The population was 1,269 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland
–South Portland
–Biddeford
, Maine metropolitan statistical area
. Cornish has a number of antique shop
s near historic Thompson Park.
was established by Francis Small
in the vicinity of Cornish village, not far from the confluence
of the Ossipee River
with the Saco River
. Here converged three major Abenaki Indian
paths—the Sokokis Trail (Route 5
), the Ossipee Trail (Route 25) and the Pequawket Trail (Route 113
), making it a central location for conducting with Native American
s the lucrative fur trade. In 1668, Small purchased from Newichawannock Chief Captain Sunday (or Wesumbe) the Ossipee Tract, encompassing the present-day towns of Cornish, Parsonsfield
, Newfield
, Limerick
, Limington
and Shapleigh
(which then included Acton
). The price was two large Indian blankets, two gallons of rum
, two pounds of gunpowder
, four pounds of musket
balls and twenty strings of Indian beads. Small then sold a half interest in the tract to Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Eliot
.
In 1770, heirs discovered the unrecorded deed, and hired attorney James Sullivan of Biddeford
to pursue their claim. They won, and paid Sullivan for his services with the township he named Limerick. Small's descendants took possession of Newfield, Limington and Cornish, the latter first named Francisborough, then Francistown, after its original proprietor. Settled by Joseph Thompson in 1782, it was incorporated on February 27, 1794 as Cornish, presumably by settlers from the county of Cornwall
, England. The soil was very productive for farming, producing large crops of corn
and other types of grain
. In 1859, the population was 1,144. The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad ran up the Saco River valley in the early 1870s, servicing Baldwin Station across the bridge from Cornish.
, the town has a total area of 22.3 square miles (57.8 km²), of which, 22.1 square miles (57.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (0.81%) is water. Cornish is drained by the Ossipee River
and the Saco River
.
The town is crossed by state routes 5
, 25 and 160. Cornish borders the towns of Hiram
to the north, Baldwin
to the northeast, Limington
to the east, Limerick
to the south, and Parsonsfield
to the west.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 1,269 people, 521 households, and 340 families residing in the town. The population density
was 57.4 people per square mile (22.2/km²). There were 588 housing units at an average density of 26.6 per square mile (10.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.35% White, 0.24% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.08% from other races
, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.
There were 521 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples
living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the town the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $38,125, and the median income for a family was $46,477. Males had a median income of $31,853 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $17,494. About 9.3% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.
New England town
The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...
in York County
York County, Maine
York County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, the population was 197,131. Its county seat is Alfred.Founded in 1636, it is the oldest county in Maine and one of the oldest in the United States....
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States. The population was 1,269 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
–South Portland
South Portland, Maine
South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state. Founded in 1895, as of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,002. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of...
–Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...
, Maine metropolitan statistical area
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area
The Portland–South Portland–Biddeford Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Greater Portland, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Maine, anchored by the city of Portland and the smaller cities of South Portland and Biddeford...
. Cornish has a number of antique shop
Antique shop
An antique shop is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally and with the advent of the Internet found online...
s near historic Thompson Park.
History
In 1665, a trading postTrading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
was established by Francis Small
Francis Small
Francis Small was an enterprising trader and landowner residing primarily in Kittery, Maine. He made the first recorded land purchase in what is now Maine, and proceeded to amass so much that he was called "the great landholder." He possessed the largest number of acres of anyone who ever lived...
in the vicinity of Cornish village, not far from the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Ossipee River
Ossipee River
The Ossipee River is an river in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean at Saco, Maine....
with the Saco River
Saco River
The Saco River 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 Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
. Here converged three major Abenaki Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
paths—the Sokokis Trail (Route 5
Maine State Route 5
State Route 5 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from the an intersection with Route 9 in Old Orchard Beach, to an intersection with Route 120 in Andover. Route 5 is long....
), the Ossipee Trail (Route 25) and the Pequawket Trail (Route 113
Maine State Route 113
State Route 113 is a state highway in southwestern Maine . It runs from an intersection with Maine State Route 25 in Standish north to the town of Gilead, where it ends at U.S. Route 2 near the New Hampshire border...
), making it a central location for conducting with Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s the lucrative fur trade. In 1668, Small purchased from Newichawannock Chief Captain Sunday (or Wesumbe) the Ossipee Tract, encompassing the present-day towns of Cornish, Parsonsfield
Parsonsfield, Maine
Parsonsfield is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,584 at the 2000 census. Parsonsfield includes the villages of Kezar Falls, Parsonsfield, and North, East and South Parsonsfield...
, Newfield
Newfield, Maine
Newfield is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,328 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowbrook Museum Village, Newfield is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area.-History:...
, Limerick
Limerick, Maine
Limerick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,240 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, Limington
Limington, Maine
Limington is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,403 at the 2000 census. Limington is a tourist destination with historic architecture. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:In 1668, Francis Small...
and Shapleigh
Shapleigh, Maine
Shapleigh, pronounced "SHAP-lee", is a town in York County, Maine, United States which was incorporated as the state's 43rd town in 1785. The population was 2,326 at the 2000 census. Shapleigh is divided into the villages of North Shapleigh, Shapleigh Corner, Ross Corner and Emery Mills...
(which then included Acton
Acton, Maine
Acton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,145 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Acton, Miller Corner and South Acton. The town is home to the Acton Fairground, which holds the Acton Fair every late summer...
). The price was two large Indian blankets, two gallons of rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
, two pounds of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
, four pounds of musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
balls and twenty strings of Indian beads. Small then sold a half interest in the tract to Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Eliot
Eliot, Maine
Eliot is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,204 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....
.
In 1770, heirs discovered the unrecorded deed, and hired attorney James Sullivan of Biddeford
Biddeford, Maine
Biddeford is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is the largest town in the county, and is the sixth-largest in the state. It is the most southerly incorporated town in the state and the principal commercial center of York County. The population was 21,277 at the 2010 census...
to pursue their claim. They won, and paid Sullivan for his services with the township he named Limerick. Small's descendants took possession of Newfield, Limington and Cornish, the latter first named Francisborough, then Francistown, after its original proprietor. Settled by Joseph Thompson in 1782, it was incorporated on February 27, 1794 as Cornish, presumably by settlers from the county of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England. The soil was very productive for farming, producing large crops of corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and other types of grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
. In 1859, the population was 1,144. The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad ran up the Saco River valley in the early 1870s, servicing Baldwin Station across the bridge from Cornish.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 22.3 square miles (57.8 km²), of which, 22.1 square miles (57.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (0.81%) is water. Cornish is drained by the Ossipee River
Ossipee River
The Ossipee River is an river in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean at Saco, Maine....
and the Saco River
Saco River
The Saco River 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 Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
.
The town is crossed by state routes 5
Maine State Route 5
State Route 5 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from the an intersection with Route 9 in Old Orchard Beach, to an intersection with Route 120 in Andover. Route 5 is long....
, 25 and 160. Cornish borders the towns of Hiram
Hiram, Maine
Hiram is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,423 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Hiram, East Hiram, South Hiram and Durgintown...
to the north, Baldwin
Baldwin, Maine
Baldwin is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,290 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, metropolitan statistical area.-History:...
to the northeast, Limington
Limington, Maine
Limington is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,403 at the 2000 census. Limington is a tourist destination with historic architecture. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:In 1668, Francis Small...
to the east, Limerick
Limerick, Maine
Limerick is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,240 at the 2000 census.-History:...
to the south, and Parsonsfield
Parsonsfield, Maine
Parsonsfield is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,584 at the 2000 census. Parsonsfield includes the villages of Kezar Falls, Parsonsfield, and North, East and South Parsonsfield...
to the west.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,269 people, 521 households, and 340 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 57.4 people per square mile (22.2/km²). There were 588 housing units at an average density of 26.6 per square mile (10.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.35% White, 0.24% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.08% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.
There were 521 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.00.
The median income for a household in the town was $38,125, and the median income for a family was $46,477. Males had a median income of $31,853 versus $25,625 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $17,494. About 9.3% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- Cornish Historical Society & Museum
- Saco River Festival Association
- Caleb R. Ayer HouseCaleb R. Ayer HouseThe Caleb R. Ayer House or Ayer-Swasey House is an historic house in Cornish, Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002....
- George F. Clifford HouseGeorge F. Clifford HouseThe George F. Clifford House is an historic house in Cornish, York County, Maine. The two story house is an example of Greek Revival style and was built nearly 15 years after the style fell out of favor. It was built in 1873-74 for George Franklin Clifford, son of United States Supreme Court...
- Odd Fellows-Rebekah HallOdd Fellows-Rebekah Hall (Cornish, Maine)The Odd Fellows-Rebekah Hall in Cornish, Maine was built in 1902. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.It was associated with the Odd Fellows fraternal/social organization and its Rebekah Hall counterpart for women members....
- LeRoy F. Pike Memorial Building
Notable people
- Caleb R. AyerCaleb AyerCaleb R. Ayer was a Maine politician in the 19th century. Ayer graduated from Dartmouth College in 1834 and was admitted to the bar in 1838. He was an associate of Nathan Clifford and moved to Cornish in York County in 1841. Six years later in 1847, Ayer was elected as a Democrat to the Maine...
, 19th century State Senate President and Secretary of State - David DunnDavid Dunn (Governor)David Dunn was an American Democratic politician and lawyer. He served as the 18th Governor of Maine in 1844.- Biography :David Dunn was born in Cornish, Maine on January 17, 1811....
, 18th governor of Maine - Eddie FilesEddie FilesCharles Edward Files was an American baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics during the Major League Baseball season. A Maine native, Files was born in Portland and died in Cornish. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Cornish. He attended Bowdoin College.-References:...
, baseball pitcher - David HammonsDavid Hammons (Maine)David Hammons was a United States Representative from Maine. He was born in Cornish on May 12, 1808. He attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Lovell. He was elected a member of the Maine State Senate, and was elected as a Democrat to the...
, congressman - Joseph HammonsJoseph HammonsJoseph Hammons was a United States Representative from New Hampshire. He was born in Cornish, Maine and educated by private tutors and in the common schools...
, congressman from New Hampshire - Steve LetarteSteve LetarteSteve Letarte is the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He first began as crew chief for Jeff Gordon when he took over the job of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet from Robbie Loomis in September 2005. Letarte was born in Cornish, Maine.-Early Racing Career:Letarte began...
, NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Sprint Cup Series crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.