Sebastian Cabot explored the Gulf of Maine in 1497. Soon after, European fishing fleets began coming to the coast of Maine for the amazing abundance of cod and other fish that was found. Stories of 400 pound cod are common amongst these old tales.

Giovanni da Verrazano also explored the area during 1524 and may have explored up the Kennebec River as far as the Merrymeeting Bay. Merrymeeting Bay is a large tidal bay on the Kennebec River just north of Bath, Maine. Most of the area around the bay consists of low rolling hills, good pasture land and tall stands of trees. Native American Indians used the bay and the good land around it. To the point that they introduced wild rice to the area from the mid-west.

In 1605, George Weymouth visited Monhegan, and explored the midcoast area of Maine. He took several Indians as captives, arousing great interest in London, but ruining any relationship between the English and the Indians for 150 years.

Exactly who first visited what is today Bowdoin or exactly when is unknown. It very well could have happened as early as the 1620s. Traders and trappers may have been in the area sooner. But with repeated wars between the English and the Indians, much of Maine was nearly wiped clean of Europeans several times until the wars ended in the 1760s.

Many disputes over the ownership of land existed in Maine due to the many wars, the changes of kings in England, and influence of the Massachusetts leaders. One very ironic case arises from this convoluted land ownership. Dr. Peter Bowdoin, a Protestant who fled France after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1686. He settled in Boston and afterward purchased that tract of land which bears the name, Bowdoinham. It was part of the Pejepscot Patent.

The Bowdoin Purchase now came in and the tract received its name. The Dr. Peter Bowdoin is of no relation with James Bowdoin Jr. of Massachusetts, born English, son of the governor and founder of Bowdoin College.

The Town of Bowdoin, named after James Bowdoin, separated from Bowdoinham and incorporated in 1788. As incorporated, Bowdoin was 90 square miles and included the current towns of Lisbon, Lisbon Falls and Sabattus. The population rose slowly until it peaked in 1850 at 1861 residents.

By the time of the Civil War the population had slide down to 1587 people. The Civil War monument was erected at Bowdoin Center in 1907. The cannon barrel was said to have been brought up from Fort Popham in Phippsburg, at the mouth of the Kennebec River. The monument lists 138 names of men who served. And shares it's spot with a small Revolutionary War stone.

The local population continued to slide until 1940 when it reached 466 residents. There are still some roads where you can see the outline of many old forgotten foundations. Until recently it has remained largely agriculturally based. Today it boasts a population of about 2700. And serves as a suburb of Augusta, Bath/Brunswick and Lewiston/Auburn.

Bibliography:

"A Quick History of the Merrymeeting Bay Area"
http://link75.org/mmb/History/thmbhist.html

"A History of the Town of Bowdoin"
http://www.bowdoinme.com/History.htm

"Abenaki History, Part II"
http://www.manataka.org/page381.html

"Early Explorers of the Maine Coast"
http://www.coastguides.com/sidebars/earlyexplorers.html

"Bowdoin Demographics"
http://bowdoinme.areaguides.net/census.html

"History of Bowdoinham"
http://history.rays-place.com/me/bowdoinham-me.htm

"History of Bowdoinham"
http://www.bowdoinham.com/Public_Documents/BowdoinhamME_WebDocs/about

"Silas Adams Writes the History of Bowdoinham"
http://www.link75.org/bhm/bhmhis/history/silas1.html