Hype for the Future 64L: More on York County, Maine

Introduction

Apart from the central and northern portions of York County, the community at the southern tip of the State of Maine is also important relative to the historical context of New Somersetshire as well as of historic Yorkshire County of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Today, however, the county hosts numerous historic sites as well as art galleries representative of the culture at the beginning of the modern Yankee settlement of the State of Maine.

The Berwicks

The communities of North Berwick, Berwick, and South Berwick are located effectively immediately to the east of the Piscataqua River and the New Hampshire state line. Two notable historic houses remain functional museum sites to this day in the South Berwick community, including the Hamilton House and the Sarah Orne Jewett House. The Lady Mary Inn at Hurd Manor is a notable place to stay in the North Berwick community, and the central Berwick area is directly opposite the City of Somersworth, Strafford County, New Hampshire.

Old Orchard Beach

The Town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is located at the northern end of the coast of York County in southern Maine, south of the City of Portland and home to the Old Orchard Pier and the historic area of the community. Largely identified as a summer resort community, Old Orchard Beach maintains a permanent population of under ten thousand yet maintains the necessary infrastructure of a significantly larger community within the Portland area.

City of Saco

Saco is a city located on the north side of the Saco River and directly west of the Town of Old Orchard Beach in York County, Maine. The primary attractions on the coast in Saco are the Goosefare Brook Observation Deck and the Camp Ellis Beach. However, more centrally located within the City of Saco are the Saco Quarry, the Point of Factory Island, the River View attraction, and the Saco Museum.

City of Biddeford

Biddeford is a city located on the south side of the Saco River, opposite the City of Saco, in York County, Maine. While the City of Saco is primarily known for serving the greater area, the City of Biddeford contains the islands of Wood Island and Stage Island on the coast, as well as the Mermaid Cove and former Fletcher’s Neck Lifesaving Station areas in the coastal village area at Biddeford Pool. The Mimi Gregoire Carpenter Studio Gallery is located at the southern end of the city, with the Biddeford Campus of the private University of New England located directly over the Saco River opposite the Camp Ellis area of Saco.

Within the downtown area of the City of Biddeford are the signature Lincoln Hotel and the Biddeford Mills Museum, as well as many of the local attractions and shops that define the area of Biddeford and surrounding communities, including Saco and elsewhere in coastal York County.

Arundel, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport

The Towns of Arundel, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport are three interlocked towns within York County and surrounding regions in the State of Maine. Arundel and Kennebunk are located directly along Route 1 and bypassed by Interstate 95, while Kennebunkport is served more locally by Route 9 along the coast and by Route 35 from the central Kennebunk area.

Within the particular town of Arundel along United States Route 1 is the Maine Classic Car Museum; however, most of the other attractions associated with Arundel are usually either in Kennebunk or in Kennebunkport, both located relatively further south. Arundel is also home to the Hemlock Campground and to the Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, with the Seashore Trolley Museum primarily located just over the line into nearby Kennebunkport.

Within the Coopers Corner area of the Town of Kennebunk are the attractions of the Maine Art Hill and Deborah Randall Fine Art, with the Grist Mill Pond crossing into the Town of Kennebunkport marked by iconic signage indicating the particular location of the town line. The Inn at English Meadows is a four-star resort hotel in the Kennebunk area, with more central locations within the town identified as home to Parson’s Beach on the coast, the Brick Store within the central village, and Gallery 149 within the West Kennebunk village area. The Beach House Inn is yet another resort hotel located along the coast, with numerous other lodging sites primarily along the Kennebunkport town line on either side.

Though the Arundel Farm Gallery may not be physically located within the Town of Arundel, the area of Kennebunkport proper is home to Wendy Webster Good Fine Art and the Homeport Pottery Artisans Gallery in the northern outlying area, as well as the Ewing House associated with the town though in nearby Biddeford.

Further south, approaching the central village area of Kennebunkport, are the notable attractions of the Goat Island Lighthouse, the Wright Gallery, and the Atlantic Hall. Technically within the central village area and the historic district are the F-8, Compliments, Landmark, Northlight, and W R Paine Galleries, as well as the Intown Trolley Company, the Bush Exhibit, the 19th-century mansion of the Kennebunkport Historical Society, the Kennebunkport Inn, the Boathouse Waterfront Hotel (at the trolley company site), the branch of Vermont’s Ben and Jerry’s, and more.

Wells and Ogunquit

The Town of Wells is located just to the south of the Town of Kennebunk and is home to the Johnson Hall Museum, located in the northern portion of the town. Further south is the Town of Ogunquit, home to the Scully Gallery and the potentially seasonal Barn Gallery and Ogunquit Museum of American Art sites. The Lobster Point Lighthouse is also located within the Town of Ogunquit, along with the Sea Bell Gallery and associated resorts and art galleries alike throughout the community area.

Southernmost Towns

The Town of York is immediately to the south of the Town of Ogunquit, with the Museum of American Art situated extremely close to the town line. The Cape Neddick Lighthouse, otherwise known as the “Nubble Lighthouse,” is located within the Town of York. Situated to the west of York are two of the oldest towns in the State of Maine, Eliot and Kittery. Of all towns located within the State of Maine, Kittery is the oldest by year of town establishment. Within the Town of Eliot is the Raitt Homestead Museum, while within the Town of Kittery are the Wood Island Life Saving Station and the Fort McClary State Historic Site. Ultimately, however, these southernmost towns within the State of Maine are highly subordinate to the larger City of Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, representing the culmination of the Seacoast region of the State to the south.

Hype for the Future 49CIN → Cincinnati Metropolitan Area

The Cincinnati Metropolitan Area is the largest metropolitan area associated with the State of Ohio, though not necessarily the largest within Ohio itself (that title is likely more accurate to the Cleveland-Akron-Canton Combined Statistical Area per the 2020 United States Census). Apart from Ohio, the inner urban area also extends over the Ohio River into the Commonwealth of Kentucky to the south. The outer fringes of the area also extend into the State of Indiana, thus creating a tri-state region centered at Cincinnati, formerly known as Losantiville.

Historically, the City of Cincinnati was located within the Northwest Territory, originally as part of an unorganized portion of the Territory. As of 1788, Cincinnati would not have been considered part of any county territory at all, as Washington County had not extended west of the Scioto River, nearer Chillicothe, which would later become the original state capital of the State of Ohio. As of 1790, when Hamilton County was first formed, much of the Cincinnati area and even the Dayton area would eventually become part of the County, though the northwestern portion of the area, including the Indiana section as well as the Oxford area in Ohio, would become associated with Knox County, which would evolve separately into the county home to Vincennes, the oldest European settlement in the modern State of Indiana. In 1800, when Clermont County was formed out of the southeastern portion of Hamilton County, the outer east side of Cincinnati had been split off of the inner city area as a result. The next significant split to define the Cincinnati area would occur in 1803, when the counties with Hamilton and Lebanon had split off of Hamilton County to form Butler and Warren Counties, respectively. At the time, much of the extreme eastern side of the Cincinnati area toward Chillicothe and to the south of Columbus had been associated with the Counties of Adams, Ross, and Scioto. Of the counties in question, Adams County is along the Ohio River to this day, with Scioto River further upstream and Ross County somewhat further to the north.

Even though the modern State of Ohio was first settled nearer Marietta, the county formation had actually been more developed nearer Cincinnati even in 1803. For instance, Athens County, a modern county adjacent to Washington County, had not yet been formed, though Clermont, Butler, and Warren Counties had already been formed and in full force. Even Franklin County had been formed in 1803, somewhat prior to the formation of Athens County. Although Ohio University (OU) in Athens was the first university to be established in the State of Ohio, Miami University in Oxford was the second and remains located in Butler County to this day. More recent university formations within the Ohio portion of the Greater Cincinnati area include the following, with years of establishment, control, and status for each higher educational institution:

• University of Cincinnati (UC) (1809, public)
• Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (1969, public community college)
• Athenaeum of Ohio (1829, private Catholic) ← Cincinnati
• Xavier University (1831, private Catholic) ← Cincinnati
• Art Academy of Cincinnati (1869, private special focus)
• Wilmington College (1870, private)

Within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the general south side of Cincinnati, including the mouth of the Licking River that Losantiville was partially named for, was entirely located within Kentucky (also spelled “Kentucke” at the time) County under the Commonwealth of Virginia as of 1776, with the county becoming effective in 1777. When the three original Kentuckian counties of Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln were formed in 1780, the Northern Kentucky area was entirely associated with Fayette County. In 1785 (effective 1786), the eastern third of the Northern Kentucky area would become part of the then-newly-formed Bourbon County, which today uses Paris as the county seat and is associated with the Bluegrass region. The western two-thirds of the Northern Kentucky area remained under Fayette County, which today uses the significantly larger City of Lexington as the county seat. In 1788 (established 1789), county governance in the Northern Kentucky region would be transferred from Fayette County to Woodford County in the west and from Bourbon County to Mason County in the east. Woodford County today uses Versailles, approximately midway between Franklin and Lexington, as the county seat, while Mason County uses Maysville as the county seat and is directly along the Ohio River further upstream. Once Kentucky had separated off from Virginia in 1792, much of the Woodford County portion of the area, including the Northern Kentucky section, has become the northern end of Scott County, which uses Georgetown as the modern county seat and is in the direct path between Lexington and Cincinnati, approximately midway. In 1794 (effective 1795), following the formation of Harrison County using Cynthiana as the county seat, was the formation of Campbell County, which would cover the entirety of the Northern Kentucky area as well as much of the area directly to the north of Georgetown, including modern-day Pendleton and Grant Counties. At the southeastern end of the county would become Bracken County as of 1796 (effective 1797); following the split of Bracken County between Campbell and Mason Counties, the Northern Kentucky region proper would become split again with the formation of Boone County, established 1798 and effective 1799, named for Daniel Boone. Also around the time of the Boone County formation was the formation of Pendleton County further south, splitting the aforementioned area to the north of Georgetown from Northern Kentucky.

Deeper down into Kentucky, yet still occasionally in the broader definition of Northern Kentucky, was the formation of Owen County from Scott, Franklin, Gallatin, and Pendleton Counties in 1819 followed by the formation of Grant County from western Pendleton County in 1820. While numerous minor exchanges in county boundaries were established throughout the next several years, the most significant of the changes was the addition of the Glencoe area and further east to Gallatin County from Boone County in 1837. While Gallatin County would later split in 1838 with Carroll County formed to the west, including from Henry and Trimble Counties, the final addition to the county map that would define Northern Kentucky was the incorporation of Kenton County as an independent county from the western part of Campbell County. With just a few minor tweaks, the approximate county boundaries have remained very similar to the original boundaries following the Kenton County formation of 1840.

Though the Commonwealth of Kentucky lacks the university-friendly traditions that had defined the Northwest Territory through the Northwest Ordinance and especially within the State of Ohio, the Northern Kentucky region actually has Northern Kentucky University (NKU), located in Highland Heights, Kentucky. Though NKU is the only public Kentucky university to be associated with the Greater Cincinnati area, numerous private institutions may be associated with the indirect Cincinnati area within the Commonwealth. The private liberal arts college of Georgetown College is located in Georgetown, which is in Scott County, though the area is more appropriately identified as the north side of Lexington. Thomas More University is located in Crestview Hills, which is definitely identified with Northern Kentucky as the university is firmly located within the orbit of Cincinnati, significantly detached from the Lexington and Bluegrass regions. For health education, Beckfield College is a private for-profit college located in Florence within the region. The community college serving the Northern Kentucky region is the Gateway Community and Technical College, serving classes in Covington, Edgewood, and Boone County.

Though the Ohio and Kentucky portions of the area already cover the vast majority of the tri-state area, the smaller portion of Indiana does not contain a significant influence on the culture of the Cincinnati region, with many residents identifying more rurally or with the smaller communities of the region. For instance, residents of Liberty, Indiana, could identify either with proximity to Richmond or to Oxford, Ohio, or the residents of the surrounding area in Union County (typically more associated with Dayton) may identify with the rural traditions locally. The only colleges or universities that could reasonably identify with the Cincinnati area within the State of Indiana are private: Hanover College in Hanover (typically more associated with Louisville) and Veritas Baptist College in Greendale.

Attractions

The Northern Kentucky and Eastern Cincinnati regions are generally regarded as more historically significant, with both located approaching the Appalachian Mountains further to the south and east. Clermont County, Ohio, is often regarded as Appalachian by culture as well as by nature, though the extent of the cultural influence may not nearly be as significant as in the backcountry regions of Virginia or North Carolina.