Misplaced Pages

#138861

133-601: Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County , Maine , United States. The town is part of the Portland – South Portland – Biddeford , Maine, metropolitan statistical area . As of the 2020 census , Cape Elizabeth had a population of 9,535. One of the wealthiest towns in the state, Cape Elizabeth is the location of Portland Head Light , which is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. Since 1999, it has hosted

266-725: A CDP which is coextensive with the entire town. CDPs are only recognized within towns, not cities. Because the primary role of CDPs is to establish "place" data for communities located in unincorporated areas, a CDP cannot be within an incorporated place. Since the Census Bureau recognizes New England cities as incorporated places, a CDP cannot be within a city. Data users from outside New England should be aware that New Englanders usually think in terms of entire towns (i.e., MCD data), making CDP data of marginal local interest. Since virtually all territory in New England outside of Maine

399-461: A borough or city can span more than one town. In practice, though, most cities in Connecticut today do not function any differently from their counterparts elsewhere in New England. See the section below on boroughs and villages for more background on this topic. There are far fewer cities in New England than there are towns, although cities are more common in heavily built-up areas, and most of

532-484: A borough, a city can cover only a portion of a town rather than being coextensive with the town. This is rare today—only one or two examples remain—but it was more common in the past. At least one borough historically spanned more than one town: the borough of Danielsonville originally laid over parts of Killingly and Brooklyn , until the Brooklyn portion petitioned to be reorganized as a fire district and concurrently

665-529: A city, it is coextensive and consolidated with the Town of Hartford; governed by a single governmental entity with the powers and responsibilities of the Town being carried out by the entity referred to as the City of Hartford. In legal theory though not in current practice Connecticut cities and boroughs could be coextensive (covering the same geography as the town) without being consolidated (a single government); also

798-420: A fair number of unincorporated, named communities that lie within the incorporated territory of a municipality. Connecticut is one of two New England states to have any type of incorporated general-purpose municipality below the town level, namely incorporated boroughs (Vermont has incorporated villages). There are nine remaining in the state, with one, Naugatuck , having consolidated with the town. Additionally,

931-473: A female householder with no husband present, and 52.7% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03, and the average family size was 2.75. In the city, the population was spread out, with 16.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

1064-404: A few cases in Maine where a township or gore does not border any other unorganized land, it is treated as its own MCD rather than being folded into a larger UT. In theory, a CDP could probably be defined within an MCD representing an unorganized area. Due to the extremely sparse population in most such areas, however, there are few if any cases in which the Census Bureau has actually done so. For

1197-485: A fire hazard. As a result, the Portsmouth Housing Authority proposed the destruction of approximately 200 buildings, a school, and a church and redevelopment for commercial, industrial, and public use, rather than for residences. The project would displace approximately 300 families as a result. In 1968, Portsmouth Preservation Inc., a preservation organization was formed to attempt to save some of

1330-497: A historical example in New Hampshire, see Plantation number four . Most areas of New England never developed municipal forms based on the compact populated place concept. This contrasts with states with civil townships, which typically have extensive networks of villages or boroughs that carve out or overlay the townships. Two of the New England states do have general-purpose municipalities of this type, however, to at least

1463-470: A limited extent. Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . Such areas remain a part of their parent town, but assume some responsibilities for municipal services within their boundaries. In both states, they are typically regarded as less important than towns, and both seem to be in decline as institutions. In recent decades, many boroughs and villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control. The term "village"

SECTION 10

#1732780668139

1596-478: A list of all New England towns and other town-level municipalities, see the following articles: Note: All population statistics are from the 2020 United States census . Connecticut contains 169 incorporated towns. Put into terms that are equivalent to the other New England states, 20 are cities/boroughs and 149 are towns. (As discussed in the Cities section of Other types of municipalities in New England above,

1729-657: A long symbiotic relationship with Kittery, Maine , across the Piscataqua River. In 1781–1782, the naval hero John Paul Jones lived in Portsmouth while he supervised construction of his ship Ranger , which was built on nearby Badger's Island in Kittery. During that time, he boarded at the Captain Gregory Purcell house , which now bears Jones' name, as it is the only surviving property in

1862-476: A native village. Three or four native men were shot while retreating; Church discovered five captive New Englanders in the wigwams; six or seven prisoners were summarily killed as an example; and nine prisoners were taken. A few days later, in retaliation, the natives attacked Church at Cape Elizabeth on Purpooduc Point, killing seven of his men and wounding 24 others. On September 26, Church returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire . In 1703, during Queen Anne's War ,

1995-599: A nine-member at-large City Council to serve as the city's primary legislative body. The candidate who receives the most votes is designated the Mayor (currently Deaglan McEachern), while the candidate receiving the second-highest vote total is designated the Assistant Mayor (currently Joanna Kelley). While the mayor and council convene to establish municipal policy, the City Manager (currently Karen Conard) oversees

2128-461: A normal-sized town, these areas were known by a variety of names, including gores , grants, locations, purchases, surpluses, and strips. Sometimes these areas were not included in any town due to survey errors (which is the technical meaning of the term "gore"). Sometimes they represent small areas that were left over when a particular region was carved into towns, not large enough to be a town on their own. Some appear to have simply been granted outside

2261-568: A part of a town — within Barnstable, the seven villages correspond to districts for fire, water, sewer and elementary schooling, for instance. (In Maine and New Hampshire, the term "village corporation" is used for a type of special-purpose district.) Many villages also are recognized as places by the United States Postal Service (some villages have their own post offices , with their names used in mailing addresses) or

2394-527: A particular municipality. All municipalities titled as cities are classified as incorporated places, even if their population-distribution pattern is no different from that of a typical town; towns are never classified as incorporated places, even if they are thoroughly built up. The ambiguity over whether certain municipalities in Massachusetts should be classified as cities or towns, and the Census Bureau's inconsistent handling of these municipalities (see

2527-663: A publicly funded bus network in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and neighboring Maine including service in, to and from Portsmouth. C&J is a private intercity bus carrier connecting Portsmouth with coastal New Hampshire and Boston, as well as direct service to New York City. Wildcat Transit , operated by the University of New Hampshire , provides regular bus service to the UNH campus in Durham and intermediate stops. The service

2660-413: A result, Maine has developed more of an infrastructure for administration of unincorporated and unorganized areas than the other New England states. The existence of this fallback probably explains why Maine has had significantly more towns disincorporated over the years than any other New England state. There have been numerous instances of towns in Maine disincorporating despite populations that numbered in

2793-521: A similar purpose to MCDs in other states in terms of governmental function or civic-identity importance. New England towns are classified as MCDs not because they are not "incorporated" but rather the data that the census gathers on places is analyzed based on different models (those of compact settled places and open rural places) that is not well represented by the New England Town system of organization. In order to better fit their own purposes,

SECTION 20

#1732780668139

2926-412: A single compact populated place. Plantations in Maine are similarly classified as MCDs. That New England towns serve, in essence, the same function as incorporated places in other states, but are not treated as incorporated places by the Census Bureau, can be a source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that New England towns are not incorporated, or necessarily serve

3059-574: A small herd of sheep. Cape Elizabeth is the home of three coastal parks: Fort Williams Park , Two Lights State Park , and Crescent Beach State Park . Additionally, the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust, a private nonprofit corporation, protects 560 acres (230 ha) of land on 22 different parcels for public use, maintaining a large system of connecting non-motorized trails on most. The town itself has 923 acres of land owned or under easement protection for conservation purposes. As of

3192-423: A somewhat different manner from that of the other New England states. In these areas, towns were often "chartered" long before any settlers moved into a particular area. This was very common in the mid to late 18th century—although there were towns which predated that period and were not part of this process in southeastern New Hampshire, such as Exeter . Once there were enough residents in a town to formally organize

3325-423: A town and a city have become blurred. Since the early 20th century, towns have been allowed to modify the town meeting form of government in various ways (e.g., representative town meeting , adding a town manager ). In recent decades, some towns have adopted what effectively amount to city forms of government, although they still refer to themselves as towns. As a practical matter, one municipality that calls itself

3458-719: A town and another that calls itself a city may have exactly the same governmental structure. With these changes in town government, a reluctance to adopt the title of city seems to have developed, and few towns have officially done so since the early 20th century. In Massachusetts, nine municipalities ( Agawam , Barnstable , Braintree , Franklin , Palmer , Randolph , Southbridge , West Springfield and Weymouth ) have adopted Mayor-Council or Council-Manager forms of government in their home rule charters, and are therefore considered to be legally cities, but nevertheless continue to call themselves "towns". They are sometimes referred to in legislation and other legal documents as "the city known as

3591-426: A town disincorporated or a plantation surrendered its organization). The remaining eight counties contain significant amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory. Most of these areas are in very sparsely populated regions, however. Only about 1.3% of the state's population lives in areas not part of a town, city, or plantation. (Since the 2000 Census, two towns, Madrid and Centerville, have disincorporated. Thus, at

3724-550: A town government, no further action was necessary to incorporate. This practice can lead to inconsistencies in the dates of incorporation for towns in this region. Dates given in reference sources sometimes reflect the date when the town was chartered, which may have been long before it was settled, and not the date when its town government became active. In other parts of New England, some "future towns" were laid out along these lines, but such areas would not be formally incorporated as towns until they were sufficiently settled to organize

3857-560: A town government. A typical town in the northern three states was laid out in a 6-by-6-mile (9.7 by 9.7 km) square. Each contained 36 sections, 1 mile (1.6 km) squares or 640 acres (260 ha). One section was reserved for the support of public schools. This was copied when the Continental Congress laid out Ohio in 1785–87. Many early towns covered very large amounts of land. Once areas had become settled, new towns were sometimes formed by breaking areas away from

3990-562: A town meeting as its legislative body; instead, a city's legislative body is an elected representative body, typically called the city council or town council or board of aldermen . City governments are typically administered by a mayor (and/or city manager ). In common speech, people often generically refer to communities of either type as "towns", drawing no distinction between the two. The presence of incorporated boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont has influenced

4123-460: A unique type of entity called a plantation . Beneath the town level, Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . In addition to towns, every New England state has incorporated cities. However, cities are treated in the same manner as towns under state law, differing from towns only in their form of government. Most cities are former towns that changed to a city form of government because they grew too large to have

Cape Elizabeth, Maine - Misplaced Pages Continue

4256-475: A very rudimentary organization that does not rise to the level of an organized general-purpose municipal government (e.g., a town clerk 's office exists for the purpose of conducting elections for state or federal offices). In general, unorganized areas fall into one of the three categories below. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, as town boundaries were being drawn up, small areas would sometimes be left over, not included in any town. Typically smaller than

4389-595: Is 110 feet (34 m) above sea level, within Pease International Airport. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Portsmouth has a warm-summer humid continental climate , abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Portsmouth was 104 °F (40.0 °C) on August 2, 1975, while the coldest temperature recorded was −26 °F (−32.2 °C) on January 22, 1984. Portsmouth

4522-605: Is Cape Elizabeth, which Charles named in honor of his sister, Elizabeth of Bohemia . The first habitation by Europeans was on Richmond Island. Without title, Walter Bagnall (called "Great Walt") in 1628 established a trading post, dealing in rum and beaver skins. "His principal purpose appears to have been to drive a profitable trade with the Indians," writes historian George J. Varney, "without scruple about his methods." His cheating caught up with him in October 1631, when he

4655-617: Is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire , United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine , Portsmouth was formerly the home of the Strategic Air Command 's Pease Air Force Base , since converted to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease . American Indians of

4788-399: Is crossed by Interstate 95 , U.S. Route 1 , U.S. Route 4 , New Hampshire Route 1A , New Hampshire Route 16 , and New Hampshire Route 33 . Boston is 55 miles (89 km) to the south, Portland, Maine , is 53 miles (85 km) to the northeast, and Dover, New Hampshire , is 13 miles (21 km) to the northwest. The Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) operates

4921-582: Is divided among the 25th through 31st Rockingham districts. Politically, Portsmouth is a center of liberal politics and a stronghold for the Democratic Party. Ronald Reagan was the last Republican presidential nominee to carry the city in his 1984 landslide reelection. In 2016, Portsmouth voted 67.70% for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election , 62.53% for Colin Van Ostern in the gubernatorial election , 64.48% for Maggie Hassan in

5054-532: Is elected at large on a nonpartisan basis to staggered three-year terms. The school board is also a seven-member body elected at large on a nonpartisan basis to staggered three-year terms. Town council incumbents (term expires): The school board incumbents (term expires): The Town Manager since January 30, 2017, is Matthew E. Sturgis. The Superintendent of Schools is Donna Wolfrom. Cape Elizabeth voted for all Republican presidential candidates from 1968–1988 by double digit margins, then voted Republican narrowly in

5187-411: Is incorporated, CDPs do not really serve the same purpose as they do elsewhere; CDPs in New England invariably represent territory that is not "unincorporated", but part of a larger incorporated town. The extent to which such an area has its own distinct identity can vary, but is not usually as strong as identification with the town as a whole. There are numerous instances where the Census Bureau recognizes

5320-482: Is maintained by the town and has a pay display parking system to assist with park repairs. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 45.93 square miles (118.96 km), of which 14.70 square miles (38.07 km) is land and 31.23 square miles (80.89 km) is water. The nearest city is South Portland . Cape Elizabeth shares a border with South Portland to

5453-433: Is no area that is outside the bounds of a municipality. Using usual American terminology, there is no "unincorporated" land in Massachusetts. Of the 351 municipalities, the number that are cities and the number that are towns is a matter of some ambiguity. Depending on which source is consulted, anywhere from 39 to 53 are cities. The ambiguity is the result of questions around the legal status of municipalities that have since

Cape Elizabeth, Maine - Misplaced Pages Continue

5586-510: Is one of the few states in the region that is an exception to this rule; the Massachusetts Constitution requires a town to have a population of at least 10,000 people before it can switch its government from a town meeting form to a city form. Nevertheless, even without a hard and fast population limit for city status, the practical threshold to become a city seems to be higher in the three southern New England states than in

5719-481: Is sometimes used in New England to describe a distinct, built-up place within a town or city. This may be a town center , which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The town of Barnstable, Massachusetts , for example, includes the villages of Barnstable Village , West Barnstable , Centerville , Marstons Mills , Osterville , Cotuit , and Hyannis . Except for

5852-469: Is sufficiently populated to be covered by a town or a city. In colonial times, Massachusetts also used the term "plantation" for a community in a pre-town stage of development (Maine originally got the term from Massachusetts, as Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it became a state via the Missouri Compromise ). The term "plantation" had not been much used in Massachusetts since

5985-528: Is the sole city in Rockingham County, but the fourth-largest municipality, with fewer people than the towns of Derry , Londonderry , and Salem . As of the census of 2010, there were 21,233 people, 10,014 households, and 4,736 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,361.1 people per square mile (525.5 people/km ). There were 10,625 housing units at an average density of 681.1 per square mile (263.0/km ). The racial makeup of

6118-509: The Abenaki and other Algonquian languages -speaking nations, and their predecessors, inhabited the territory of coastal New Hampshire for thousands of years before European contact. The first known European to explore and write about the area was Martin Pring in 1603. The Piscataqua River is a tidal estuary with a swift current, but forms a good natural harbor. The west bank of the harbor

6251-668: The Beach to Beacon 10K road race which starts at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at Portland Head Light. Cape Elizabeth has a single community school department. The Cape Elizabeth High School's team name is the "Capers". First explorations by the Kingdom of Spain set a map with the location of Cape Elizabeth, naming it "Cabo de Arrecife" in 1525. English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold arrived at Cape Elizabeth in May 1602, during his explorations of what would later be called New England . At

6384-498: The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Portsmouth one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations". The compact and walkable downtown on the waterfront draws tourists and artists, who each summer throng the cafes, restaurants and shops around Market Square. Portsmouth annually celebrates the revitalization of its downtown (in particular Market Square) with Market Square Day, a celebration dating back to 1977, produced by

6517-428: The United States Census Bureau (which recognizes some villages as census-designated places and tabulates census data for them). Towns with an example of the former, such as Richmond, Rhode Island , do not have a post office themselves, but instead use villages in town or villages in nearby towns as a mailing address. This leads to a weaker town identification in such towns, with residents more strongly identifying with

6650-549: The United States Census Bureau does not classify New England towns as "incorporated places". They are instead classified as " minor civil divisions " (MCDs), the same category into which civil townships fall. The Census Bureau classifies New England towns in this manner because they are conceptually similar to civil townships from a geographic standpoint, typically exhibiting similar population-distribution patterns. Like civil townships, but unlike most incorporated municipalities in other states, New England towns do not usually represent

6783-511: The census of 2010, there were 9,015 people, 3,616 households, and 2,620 families living in the town. The population density was 613.3 inhabitants per square mile (236.8/km). There were 3,963 housing units at an average density of 269.6 per square mile (104.1/km). The racial makeup of the town was 96.6% White , 0.5% African American , 0.2% Native American , 1.4% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 0.3% from other races , and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of

SECTION 50

#1732780668139

6916-439: The gubernatorial election , and 68.50% for Carol Shea-Porter in the congressional election . In March 2014, Portsmouth became the first municipality in New Hampshire to implement protections for city employees from discrimination on the basis of gender identity, by a 9–0 vote of the city council. Tertiary institutions: Portsmouth School District is the public school district of the community. Private schools: The city

7049-413: The senatorial election , and 62.16% for Carol Shea-Porter in the congressional election . In 2014, Portsmouth voted 70.05% for Maggie Hassan in the gubernatorial election , 67.34% for Jeanne Shaheen in the senatorial election , and 68.34% for Carol Shea-Porter in the congressional election . In 2012, Portsmouth voted 67.56% for Barack Obama in the presidential election , 70.16% for Maggie Hassan in

7182-446: The 1840s, and for many years prior to the 1860s Vermont had just one city. Even Massachusetts, historically New England's most populous state, did not have any cities until 1822, when Boston was granted a city form of government by the state legislature. In most of New England, population is not a determining factor for what makes a city or town, and there are many examples of towns with larger populations than nearby cities. Massachusetts

7315-717: The 18th and 19th centuries as what might be termed "future towns", but never saw enough settlement to actually commence operation of a formal town government. All three of the northern New England states also include at least one unorganized township that was once a town but has disincorporated and reverted to unorganized territory, generally due to population loss. Maine also has some unorganized townships that were once organized as plantations. Maine has significantly more unorganized territory than Vermont or New Hampshire. Fewer than 100 Vermont residents and fewer than 250 New Hampshire residents live in unorganized areas. In Maine, by contrast, about 10,000 residents live in unorganized areas. As

7448-497: The 18th century. Massachusetts also once had "districts", which served much the same purpose. They were considered to be incorporated, but lacked the full privileges of a town. On August 23, 1775, in order for more representation for the Revolutionary War, 36 towns in Massachusetts and 6 in Maine were incorporated, effectively eliminating the district meaning. Maine and Rhode Island are also known to have made limited use of

7581-643: The 1905 signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth which ended the Russo-Japanese War . Though US President Theodore Roosevelt orchestrated the peace conference that brought Russian and Japanese diplomats to Portsmouth and the Shipyard, he never came to Portsmouth, relying on the Navy and people of New Hampshire as the hosts. Roosevelt won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomacy in bringing about an end to

7714-457: The 1970s, through home-rule petition, adopted corporate charters approved by the state legislature with forms of government that resemble city government and do not include elements traditionally associated with town government (especially, a board of selectmen and a town meeting). Of the fourteen communities that have done so, all but three call themselves a "town" in their municipal operations, and are usually referred to by residents as "towns", but

7847-450: The 20th century, however. One late instance was the separation of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire , from the town of Lisbon in 1962. It has not taken place anywhere in New England in the last fifty years; boundary changes of any type are fairly rare. Towns are the basic building block of the New England municipality system, although several other types of municipalities also exist. Every New England state has cities . In addition, Maine also has

7980-553: The 42 municipalities that title themselves as cities are recognized as cities. This includes the 39 cities that adopted city forms of government through pre-home rule procedures. The other 309 municipalities in the state are treated as towns below. The same classification is used for identifying Massachusetts cities on the list of New England towns and its attendant pages with historical census population statistics. For further information, see this section of Massachusetts government . Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth

8113-478: The CDP. At the same time, not all built-up places with significant populations are recognized as CDPs. The Census Bureau has historically recognized relatively few CDPs within urbanized areas in particular. Many towns located in such areas do not contain any recognized CDPs and will thus be completely absent from Census materials presenting the population of "places". Greenwich, Connecticut, is one prominent example. While

SECTION 60

#1732780668139

8246-410: The Census Bureau, can be another source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that cities are incorporated but towns are not, or that cities and towns represent two fundamentally different types of entities. The Census classifies New England municipalities strictly based on whether they are towns or cities, with no regard to the actual population-distribution pattern in

8379-452: The Census only counts cities and certain fully urbanized towns as "places" in its categorization. In other towns, those with small built-up central villages, the Census designates one or more census-designated places (CDPs) and considers all other land to be parts of "minor civil divisions". This classification is done only for the Census's own data analysis, and otherwise has no connection to

8512-527: The Killingly portion was renamed Danielson by the General Assembly. There are no legal restrictions in Connecticut that would prevent a city or borough today from similarly overlaying the territory of more than one town, provided it is not consolidated with one of the underlying towns. Cities actually developed earlier in Connecticut than in the other New England states, and were originally based on

8645-641: The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office considers all fourteen to be legally cities. Other sources within state government often refer to all fourteen municipalities as towns, however. The U.S. Census Bureau listed all as towns through the 1990 Census. For the 2000 Census, some were listed by the Federal government as towns and some as cities, a situation that continues in Census materials since 2000. Massachusetts appears to be

8778-621: The Patriot government moved the capital inland to Exeter , which ensured that it would be under no threat from the Royal Navy, which bombarded Falmouth (now Portland, Maine ) instead on October 18, 1775. Portsmouth was the destination for several of Beaumarchais's ships containing materiel , such as artillery, tents, and gunpowder, to help the American revolutionary effort. African Americans helped defend Portsmouth and New England during

8911-472: The Statistics and Superlatives section below), further blurs matters. To fill in some of the "place" data, the Census Bureau sometimes recognizes census-designated places (CDPs) within New England towns. These often correspond to town centers or other villages, although not all such areas are recognized as CDPs. In cases where a town is entirely or almost entirely built-up, the Census sometimes recognizes

9044-517: The Town of ..." Greenfield, in December 2017, dropped the "town" designation, which some called "embarrassing" and which legislators said made paperwork more difficult. Common parlance labeling a community a "city" or a "town" may have more to do with its current size, whether its current size or its historical size and reputation. In addition to towns and cities, Maine has a third type of town-like municipality not found in any other New England state,

9177-527: The Town of Greenwich appears in MCD materials, the Census Bureau does not recognize Greenwich as a "place". In New Hampshire and Vermont, the Census Bureau treats each individual unorganized entity (township, gore, grant, etc.) as an MCD. In Maine, it seems, due to the extent of unorganized area, the Census Bureau typically lumps contiguous townships, gores, and the like together into larger units called "unorganized territories" (UTs), which are then treated as MCDs. In

9310-611: The U.S., except that it uses the town as its basic unit rather than the county. Even though the Census Bureau does not treat New England towns as "incorporated places", it does classify cities in New England as such. The rationale behind this is that cities are likely to be more thoroughly built-up and therefore more readily comparable to cities in other states than towns are. Boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont are also treated as incorporated places. That New England states, in general, regard cities and towns on equal footing, yet they are handled in two different ways by

9443-564: The US Census Bureau treats Groton Long Point as a borough, as an act of the state legislature gives it the same powers as a borough, although it has never formally organized as one. They were once more numerous. Many of those that remain are very small. Connecticut also has at least one remaining city ( Groton ) that is within, but not coextensive with, its parent town . A second non-coextensive city, Winsted , still exists on paper, but its government has been consolidated with that of

9576-559: The United States associated with him. Built by the master housewright Hopestill Cheswell, an African American, it has been designated as a National Historic Landmark . It now serves as the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard , established in 1800 as the first federal navy yard, is on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine. The base is famous for being the site of

9709-476: The actual organization or legal status of New England towns. The census bureau does uniquely recognize towns, however, in that it classifies metropolitan areas in New England on the basis of town boundaries rather than county boundaries as it does in other parts of the U.S. Unique to New England is the New England city and town area , which is analogous to Metropolitan Statistical Areas in other parts of

9842-404: The average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males. The median income for a household in the town

9975-505: The borough concept. At one time, all cities were non-coextensive; the practice of making cities coextensive with their towns was a later adaptation intended to mimic the city concept that had emerged in the other New England states. Over time, many non-coextensive cities have expanded to become coextensive with their parent town. As with boroughs, many have also disincorporated and reverted to full town control. These two trends have combined to make non-coextensive cities very rare in recent times;

10108-653: The boundary with New York State , housing the Stratford Shoal Light , is not part of any town and is administered directly by the United States Coast Guard . In general, inhabited minor off-shore islands are administered as part of a nearby town and in some cases, are their own independent towns, such as the town of Gosnold , Massachusetts, which encompasses the Elizabeth Islands . Unlike municipalities in most other states,

10241-415: The built-up area around a town center as a CDP, resulting in a CDP that bears the same name as the town. In these cases, data for the CDP is, in general, meaningless to local residents, who seldom draw any particular distinction between the built-up area around the town center and outlying areas of the town. A local source citing data for such a community will almost always use the data for the entire town, not

10374-399: The city was 91.5% White , 1.7% African American , 0.2% Native American , 3.5% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.7% some other race, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population. There were 10,014 households, out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were headed by married couples living together, 8.3% had

10507-431: The city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top ten employers in the city are: The Portsmouth Downtown Historic District encompasses the city's historic urban core and Market Square. The city has a vibrant restaurant culture. In 2023, it was reported that the city had 36,000 restaurant seats for a population of 22,000. The Seacoast United Phantoms are a soccer team based in Portsmouth. Founded in 1996,

10640-593: The city's day-to-day operations. Portsmouth is part of New Hampshire's 1st congressional district , currently represented by Democrat Chris Pappas . Portsmouth is part of the Executive Council 's 3rd district, currently represented by Republican Janet Stevens . In the State Senate , Portsmouth is represented by Democrat Rebecca Perkins Kwoka . In the State House of Representatives , Portsmouth

10773-525: The city's prosperity. Portsmouth was part of the Triangle Trade , which made significant profits from slavery. At the town's incorporation in 1653, it was named "Portsmouth" in honor of the colony's founder, John Mason . He had been captain of the English port of Portsmouth , Hampshire , after which New Hampshire is named. When Queen Anne's War ended in 1712, Governor Joseph Dudley selected

10906-434: The district concept. Districts have not been at all common since the first half of the 19th century, and there have not been any districts anywhere in New England in over a century. Maine is the only New England state that currently has a significant amount of territory that is not sufficiently populated to support town governments; thus, it is the only New England state that still needs the plantation type of municipality. For

11039-400: The evolution of cities in those states. In Connecticut in particular, the historical development of cities was quite different from in the other New England states, and at least technically, the relationship between towns and cities is today different from elsewhere in New England. Just as boroughs in Connecticut overlay towns, so do cities; for example, while Hartford is commonly thought of as

11172-490: The exception rather than the rule in the New England system, and the number of New England residents who live in them is extremely small in comparison to those who live in towns and cities, even in Maine. Most such areas are located in very sparsely populated regions. Much of the barely inhabited interior of Maine is unorganized, for example. The majority of the unincorporated areas in New Hampshire are in Coos County , and

11305-425: The historic building stock in the area slated for redevelopment. After bitter fighting and preservation advocacy, just fourteen houses were saved and mostly moved to an area known today as “The Hill”. This preservation was only the beginning, and eventually efforts conspired to created the afformentioned historic district. Urban renewal was many events that led to its creation. Portsmouth shipbuilding history has had

11438-805: The hundreds. While these were not large communities, they were large enough to realistically operate a town government if they wanted to, but simply elected not to. In Vermont and New Hampshire, disincorporation has, in general, not been brought up for discussion unless a town's population has approached single digits. In general, coastal waters in the New England states are administered directly by either state or federal agencies and are not part of any town. Several towns, however, have chosen to include all or part of their corresponding coastal waters in their territory. Coastal waters include human-made structures built within them. In Connecticut, for example, an artificial, uninhabited island in Long Island Sound at

11571-490: The incorporated villages in Vermont, these "villages" are not incorporated municipalities and should not be understood as such. Towns do sometimes grant a certain measure of recognition to such areas, using highway signs that identify them as "villages", for example. These informal "villages" also sometimes correspond to underlying special-purpose districts such as fire or water districts, which are separately incorporated quasi-municipal entities that provide specific services within

11704-708: The large existing Plough of Lygonia patent, which included Cape Elizabeth. The Cape Elizabeth settlement on the Fore River was known as Purpoodock. It was attacked during King Philip's War in 1675. During King William's War , in Major Benjamin Church 's second expedition a year later on September 11, 1690, he arrived with 300 men at Casco Bay . He went up the Androscoggin River to Fort Pejepscot (present-day Brunswick, Maine ). From there he went 40 miles (64 km) upriver and attacked

11837-464: The largest municipalities in the region are titled as cities. Across New England as a whole, only about 5% of all incorporated municipalities are cities. Cities are more common in the three southern New England states, which are much more densely populated, than they are in the three northern New England states. In early colonial times, all incorporated municipalities in New England were towns; there were no cities. Springfield, Massachusetts , for instance,

11970-618: The majority of the unincorporated areas in Vermont are in Essex County . Two additional counties in New Hampshire and three additional counties in Vermont contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory. In Maine, eight of the state's sixteen counties contain significant amounts of unorganized territory (in essence, those counties in the northern and interior parts of the state). Four other counties contain smaller amounts. Most of these areas have no local government at all; indeed, some have no permanent population whatsoever. Some areas have

12103-413: The mills. It shifted growth to the new mill towns. The port of Portsmouth declined, but the city survived Victorian -era doldrums, a time described in the works of Thomas Bailey Aldrich , particularly in his 1869 novel The Story of a Bad Boy . In the 20th century, the city founded a Historic District Commission, which has worked to protect much of the city's irreplaceable architectural legacy. In 2008,

12236-577: The non-profit Pro Portsmouth, Inc. This emphasis on historic preservation and revitalization was the result of much pain and destruction. Portsmouth is largely walkable due to its network of streets and tight blocks filled with preserved Revolution-era homes. However, like many other cities all over the region (and nation), Portsmouth was hit by Urban Renewal, a planning tool used nationwide to provide Federal funds to address “urban blight” and revitalize downtown cores after decades of suburbanization and loss of tax revenue. An urban renewal district for Portsmouth

12369-459: The north and Scarborough to the west. The town includes two islands. Ram Island is a small and unoccupied island southwest of Richmond Island. This should not be confused with Ram Island Ledge which contains Ram Island Ledge Light and is within Portland, Maine. The 226-acre (91 ha) Richmond Island, originally inhabited by Native Americans, then English settlers, is now uninhabited except by

12502-450: The oldest continually operating preschools in the greater Portland area, Ledgemere Country Day School. The school opened in 1935 and has been operating in the same location ever since, under a number of different owners. Cape Elizabeth school proposed a bill to update the schools. In November 2022 the vote was rejected as the budget was too high. Cape Elizabeth has a town council-town manager form of government. The seven-member town council

12635-443: The only New England state where this issue has arisen, though other New England states also have municipalities that have adopted what amounts to city forms of government but continue to call themselves "towns". In the other New England states, it does not appear that any need to officially label such municipalities as "cities" has been identified. For purposes of determining the "largest town" and "smallest city", in this article, only

12768-530: The only one currently incorporated is the city of Groton , located in the southwestern part of the town of Groton, Connecticut . In Vermont, if a village becomes a city, it does not continue to overlay its parent town, but breaks away and becomes a completely separate municipality. Most cities in Vermont today are actually former villages rather than former towns, and are much smaller than a typical town in terms of land area. The above process has created several instances where there are adjacent towns and cities with

12901-411: The original existing towns. This was an especially common practice during the 18th and early 19th centuries. More heavily populated areas were often subdivided on multiple occasions. As a result, towns and cities in urbanized areas are often smaller in terms of land area than an average town in a rural area. Formation of new towns in this manner slowed in the later part of the 19th century and early part of

13034-524: The plantation. A plantation is, in essence, a town-like community that does not have enough population to require full town government or services. Plantations are organized at the county level and typically found in sparsely populated areas. There is no bright-line population divider between a town and a plantation, but no plantation currently has any more than about 300 residents. Plantations are considered to be "organized" but not "incorporated." Not all counties have them; in some southern counties, all territory

13167-448: The population were below the poverty line , including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over. Heinemann USA is based in Portsmouth. Before its dissolution, Boston-Maine Airways (Pan Am Clipper Connection), a regional airline, was also headquartered in Portsmouth. Companies with headquarters in Portsmouth include packaged software producer Bottomline Technologies and frozen yogurt maker Sweet Scoops. According to

13300-407: The population. There were 3,488 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and

13433-441: The population. There were 3,616 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.5% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

13566-421: The relationship between towns and cities in Connecticut is different from the other New England states, at least on paper; thus, in the technical sense, all 169 of the above municipalities are really towns, with 20 overlaid by a coextensive city or borough of the same name.) Together, these 169 municipalities cover the entire state. There is no unincorporated territory, but, as in all New England states, there are

13699-439: The remaining 32 are organized as plantations. These 485 organized municipalities together cover much of, but not all of, the state's territory. Of Maine's sixteen counties, only four are entirely incorporated. Four other counties are almost entirely incorporated, but include small amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory (three of these four counties were entirely incorporated or organized at one time, but lost that status when

13832-506: The same name. In all cases, the city was originally the "town center" of the town, but later incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality. All three of the northern New England states ( Vermont , New Hampshire , and Maine ) contain some areas that are unincorporated and unorganized, not part of any town, city or plantation. Maine has significantly more such area than the other two states. While these areas do exist, their importance should not be overstated. They are certainly

13965-477: The shore opposite the island, near the Spurwink River . They worked at planting, fishing and trading. Two years later they were driven off by John Winter, Trelawny's agent. In 1636, Sir Ferdinando Gorges , lord proprietor of Maine, gave Cleeve and Tucker a grant of 1,500 acres (6.1 km) including the neck of land called Machegonne—now Portland . In 1643 English Parliamentarian Alexander Rigby bought

14098-554: The southern tip of the promontory, Richmond Island was visited around 1605 by Samuel de Champlain and was the site of a trading post in 1628. John Smith explored and mapped New England in 1615, and gave names to places mainly based on the names used by Native Americans . When Smith presented his map to King Charles I , he suggested that the king should feel free to change any of the Indian names to English ones. The king made many such changes, but only four survive today, one of which

14231-586: The team plays in the Northeast Division of USL League Two (USL2), one of the unofficial fourth-tier leagues of the American Soccer Pyramid . Freedom Rugby Football Club is a men's rugby union team based in Portsmouth, founded in the summer of 2014. The club is an active member of USA Rugby and New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU). The city of Portsmouth operates under a council-manager system of government. Portsmouth elects

14364-457: The three northern New England states. In Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, almost every city has at least 10,000 people, and all but a few have at least 20,000. In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, however, there are a number of cities with fewer than 10,000 people, and there are five (three in Maine and two in Vermont) with fewer than 5,000. Over time, some of the distinctions between

14497-471: The three way election of 1992, and has voted for each of the seven Democrat presidential candidates since 1996; five of them by double digits. Cape Elizabeth is served by a community newspaper, the Cape Courier . The nonprofit, biweekly paper is largely supported by volunteers, and was started by Ellen Van Fleet and Jan Soland in 1988. The Current , a weekly that began publishing in 2001, also serves

14630-399: The time of the 2000 Census, Maine had 22 cities, 434 towns, and 34 plantations, for a total of 490 organized municipalities. Also since the 2010 Census, Sanford adopted a new charter that included designation as a city.) Massachusetts contains 351 municipal corporations, consisting of cities and towns. These 351 municipalities together encompass the entire territory of Massachusetts; there

14763-475: The time of the earliest English colonial settlement , which predominated in New England, and they pre-date the development of counties in the region. Areas were organized as towns as they were settled, throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Town boundaries were not usually laid out on any kind of regular grid, but were drawn to reflect local settlement and transportation patterns, often affected by natural features. In early colonial times, recognition of towns

14896-480: The town center. The Cape Elizabeth School Department offices are across the street in the Cape Elizabeth Town Hall. Cape Elizabeth is home to Aucocisco School , a Special Purpose Private School specializing in students with learning disabilities. the town is also home to many preschools and day care centers. The high school had its first graduating class in 1877. Cape Elizabeth is home to one of

15029-444: The town of Winchester for many years, making it more of a special-purpose district than a true municipality. Winsted is no longer recognized by the Census Bureau as an incorporated place, although data is tabulated for a Census Designated Place that is coextensive with that of the original city. As of the 2020 census, Maine contains 485 organized municipalities, of which 23 are incorporated as cities, 430 are incorporated as towns, and

15162-592: The town to host negotiations for the 1713 Treaty of Portsmouth , which temporarily ended hostilities between the Abenaki Indians and the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire. In 1774, in the lead-up to the Revolution , Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth warning that the British Royal Navy was coming to capture the port. Although Fort William and Mary protected the harbor,

15295-525: The town was destroyed. It was resettled about 1719 or 1720. Cape Elizabeth became Maine's 23rd town on November 1, 1765, when it separated from Falmouth, as Portland was then known. Its first town meeting was held on December 2, 1765. South Portland separated in 1895 from Cape Elizabeth, which contains a number of houses designed by John Calvin Stevens . In 1872, construction of a US Army coast artillery fort began around Portland Head Light , which in 1899

15428-633: The town, as well as the neighboring communities of Scarborough and South Portland. The earliest newspaper in town was the Casket , published in 1868 by George Libby, a realtor. The Coast Watch was a weekly newspaper started in 1895, lasting 20 years. In 1881, the Cape Elizabeth Sentinel was published in Ferry Village, now a part of South Portland. This weekly lasted nearly 30 years. New England town Towns date back to

15561-419: The town. The population density was 615.5 inhabitants per square mile (237.6/km). There were 3,724 housing units at an average density of 252.8 per square mile (97.6/km). The racial makeup of the town was 98% White , 0.3% African American , 0.06% Native American , 0.99% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 0.12% from other races , and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of

15694-621: The usual town structure, sometimes in areas where it was probably not contemplated that towns would ever develop. Over time, those located in more populated areas were, in general, annexed to neighboring towns or incorporated as towns in their own right. No such areas exist today in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island, but some remain in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. All three of the northern New England states contain some town-sized unorganized entities, referred to as "unorganized townships" (sometimes, just "townships") or "unorganized towns". Most of these are areas that were drawn up on maps in

15827-451: The village they live in. However, villages or CDPs have no existence as general-purpose municipalities separate from the town (if they even have any legal existence at all), and are usually regarded by local residents as a part of the town in which they are located, less important than the whole. It is possible for a Connecticut borough or Vermont village to become a city. In Connecticut, cities overlay towns just as boroughs do, and, just like

15960-402: The war. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 16.8 square miles (43.6 km ), of which 15.7 square miles (40.6 km ) are land and 1.2 square miles (3.0 km ), or 6.92%, are water. Portsmouth is drained by Berrys Brook, Sagamore Creek and the Piscataqua River , which is the boundary between New Hampshire and Maine . The highest point in the city

16093-632: The war. In 1779, 19 enslaved African Americans from Portsmouth wrote a petition to the state legislature and asked that it abolish slavery, in recognition of their war contributions and in keeping with the principles of the Revolution. The legislature tabled their petition. New Hampshire abolished slavery in 1857, by which time the institution was effectively extinct in the state. Thomas Jefferson 's 1807 embargo against American trade with Britain severely disrupted New England's trade with Canada , and several local businessmen went bankrupt. Portsmouth

16226-460: Was $ 144,250 (2022). In 2000, Males had a median income of $ 61,128 versus $ 32,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 47,983. About 1.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over. The Cape Elizabeth School Department consists of Elementary School, Cape Elizabeth Middle School, and Cape Elizabeth High School , all situated in one campus in

16359-433: Was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the town was 46.8 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17.3% were from 25 to 44; 37.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.2% male and 51.8% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 9,068 people, 3,488 households, and 2,605 families living in

16492-433: Was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males. For the period 2010–2014, the city's estimated median annual household income was $ 67,679, and the median family income was $ 90,208. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 58,441 versus $ 45,683 for females. The city's per capita income for the city was $ 42,724. About 4.0% of families and 7.6% of

16625-591: Was a town for the first two centuries of its existence. The entire land areas of Connecticut and Rhode Island had been divided into towns by the late 18th century, and Massachusetts was almost completely covered early in the 19th century. By 1850, the only New England state that still had large unincorporated areas was Maine ; by the end of the 19th century, most areas in Maine that could realistically be settled had been organized into towns. Early town organization in Vermont and much of New Hampshire proceeded in

16758-536: Was host to numerous privateers during the War of 1812 . In 1849, Portsmouth was incorporated as a city. Once one of the nation's busiest ports and shipbuilding cities, Portsmouth expressed its wealth in fine architecture. It has significant examples of Colonial , Georgian , and Federal style houses, some of which are now museums. Portsmouth's heart has stately brick Federalist stores and townhouses, built all-of-a-piece after devastating early 19th-century fires. The worst

16891-583: Was in 1813 when 244 buildings burned. A fire district was created that required all new buildings within its boundaries to be built of brick with slate roofs; this created the downtown's distinctive appearance. The city was also noted for the production of boldly wood-veneered federal-style (neoclassical) furniture, particularly by the master cabinet maker Langley Boardman. The Industrial Revolution spurred economic growth in New Hampshire mill towns such as Dover , Keene , Laconia , Manchester , Nashua and Rochester , where rivers provided water power for

17024-495: Was its North End neighborhood, which similar to Boston’s, was home to an Italian-American population. In 1964, federal funds were allocated to the North End project area in Portsmouth, for urban renewal. Prior to redevelopment, the North End was a mix of residential and commercial buildings, with many older houses converted into storefronts with apartments above. In the mid-1960s, the area was considered overcrowded, run down, and

17157-474: Was killed by the Indians, who also burned down his trading post. Two months later, the Plymouth Company granted Richmond Island to Robert Trelawney and Moses Goodyear, merchants of Plymouth , England, who made it a center for fisheries and trade . By 1638, Trelawney employed 60 men in the fisheries. The first settlers on the mainland were George Cleeve and Richard Tucker, who settled in 1630 on

17290-516: Was named Fort Williams , after Major General Seth Williams of the Civil War . The fort was to guard the southern entrance to Portland Harbor. Active between 1899 and 1962, the fort was then purchased by the town for about $ 200,000. Today, Fort Williams Park includes Portland Head Light and museum, some remains of the military fort, the ruins of Goddard Mansion, tennis courts, a baseball diamond and grandstand, and other recreation facilities. The park

17423-442: Was settled as a "plantation" (in colonial Massachusetts, the term was synonymous with town) as early as 1636, but the city of Springfield was not established until 1852. The oldest cities in New England date to the last few decades of the 18th century, (e.g. New Haven, Connecticut , was chartered as a city in 1784). In New England, cities were not widespread until well into the 19th century. New Hampshire did not have any cities until

17556-498: Was settled by European colonists in 1630 and named Strawbery Banke , after the many wild strawberries growing there. The village was protected by Fort William and Mary on what is now New Castle Island . Strategically located for trade between upstream industries and mercantile interests abroad, the port prospered. Fishing, lumber and shipbuilding were principal businesses of the region. Enslaved Africans were imported as laborers as early as 1645 and were integral to building

17689-431: Was very informal, generally connected to local church divisions. By 1700, colonial governments had become more involved in the official establishment of new towns. Towns were typically governed by a town meeting form of government, as many still are today. Towns originally were the only form of incorporated municipality in New England. The city form of government was not introduced until much later. Boston , for instance,

#138861