Brunswick was incorporated in 1739 as the eleventh town in the Province of Maine, whose residents survived on fishing, farming, lumbering and shipbuilding. The first dam between Brunswick and Topsham was completed about 1753, as the area had a growth spurt. Although fewer than twenty houses existed in 1742, by 1753 records show eighty males eligible to vote, a number that grew to ninety-two four years later.
An important early industry was shipbuilding. A total of at least 99 vessels, amounting to nearly 12,000 tons, were built in Brunswick between 1789 and 1807. Along with the mills and the shipbuilding industry, another defining 19th century influence on Brunswick was Bowdoin College, established in 1794.
Brunswick was also the home of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the Bowdoin professor whose Civil War career included the acceptance of the surrender of the Confederate infantry at Appomattox, which effectively ended the war.
During the 20th century, Brunswick continued to expand and develop, seeing its population mushroom during the war years, and continue to grow steadily ever since. Brunswick Naval Air Station appeared in the 1940s, and has become an important influence.
The town consists of 47 square miles in area, measuring 12 miles at its widest, with 66 miles of irregular shoreline on the ocean and 12 miles along the Androscoggin River.
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