NEWCASTLE

Newcastle, incorporated in 1763, lies between the Sheepscot and Damariscotta Rivers, and includes three village centers: Sheepscot, first settled in the early 1620's, North Newcastle and Damariscotta Mills. The early settlements were destroyed several times in the French and Indian Wtrs, so the earliest buildings are dated in the 1750's. Notable are the Glidden House, circa 1752, and the Kavanaugh Mansion, circa 1800, home of Edward Kavanaugh, Governor of Maine in the 1840s.

Newcastle became one of the most important shipbuilding centers on the coast. Full rigged ships, clippers and downeasters all came from Newcastle yards. Small boats are still being bu itt today. Another principal industry of long ago was brick making.

Newcastle claims two historic churches: St. Patrick's, the first Roman Catholic church organized north of Boston and St. Andrew's, an Episcopal church that cherishes a lovely edifice and is the first church built by Henry Vaughan, who later devoted his talents to the design and construction of the National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. Newcastle was the home of Frances Perkins, the first woman ever to serve in the nation's cabinet. Lincoln Academy, founded in 1804 by the Reverend Kiah Bayley, is one of the earliest Maine private academies still in existence.

Dodge Point is a beautiful tract of ppblicly owned land on the Damariscotta River available for nature walks and picnicking. Each spring brings the greatly anticipated return of alewives that leap the falls at Damariscotta Mills to spawn in the lake.