Acton was part of a much larger Ossipee Tract purchased by Francis Small, a trader from Kittery, from Chief Sunday of the Newichawannock Indian tribe in 1661. Small sold half of his interest in the land to Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Eliot, but Shapleigh did nothing with it. In 1770, his heirs found the unrecorded deed and divided the land, with Shapleigh's descendants awarded a half of what was to become Limerick and all of Parsonfield and Shapleigh. Initially called Hubbardstown Plantation, Shapleigh was incorporated and named for Nicholas Shapleigh. Acton was set off from Shapleigh on March 6, 1830, and incorporated.
The town was first settled at Acton village in 1776 by Benjamin Kimens, Clement Steele, and John York, all from York. A few years later, mills were constructed at Acton's various water power sites, including sawmills, gristmills, a hemp mill, a felt mill, and a carding mill, as well as a tannery and shoe factory. In 1877, a vein of silver was discovered near Goding Creek and the Lebanon border, which led to prospectors digging mines during the 1880s, after which the silver ran out. Although much of the soil around Acton was poor, the ridges yielded some good crops.
Acton's western border is with New Hampshire, the boundary being the Salmon Falls River. The town has frontage with several lakes, including Mousam Lake, Great East Lake, and Square Pond. The town is located northwest of Sanford along Maine Route 109.
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