Cornish

History

In 1665, a trading post was established by Francis Small in the vicinity of Cornish village, not far from the confluence of the Ossipee River with the Saco River. Here converged three major Abenaki paths—the Sokokis Trail (Route 5), the Ossipee Trail (Route 25) and the Pequawket Trail (Route 113), making it a central location for conducting with Native Americans the lucrative fur trade. In 1668, Small purchased from Newichawannock Chief Captain Sunday (or Wesumbe) the Ossipee Tract, encompassing the present-day towns of Cornish, Parsonsfield, Newfield, Limerick, Limington and Shapleigh (which then included Acton). The price was two large Indian blankets, two gallons of rum, two pounds of gunpowder, four tons of musket balls and twenty strings of Indian beads. Small then sold a half interest in the tract to Major Nicholas Shapleigh of Eliot. In 1770, heirs discovered the unrecorded deed, and hired attorney James Sullivan of Biddeford to pursue their claim. They won, and paid Sullivan for his services with the township he named Limerick. Small's descendants took possession of Newfield, Limington and Cornish, the latter first named Francisborough, then Francistown, after its original proprietor. Settled by Joseph Thompson in 1782, it was incorporated on February 27, 1794, as Cornish, presumably by settlers from the county of Cornwall, England. The soil was very productive for farming, producing large crops of corn and other types of grain. In 1859, the population was 1,144. The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad ran up the Saco River valley in the early 1870s, servicing Baldwin Station across the bridge from Cornish.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Cornish is drained by the Ossipee River and the Saco River. The town's highest point is Clark Mountain, 1,320+ feet (402+ m) above sea level. It is also York County's highest point. The second highest point in the town and county is Hosac Mountain, 1,320 feet (402 m), often mistaken as the highest point in York County. The town is crossed by state routes 5, 25 and 160. Cornish borders the towns of Hiram to the north, Baldwin to the northeast, Limington to the east, Limerick to the south, and Parsonsfield to the west.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• H B Emery Jr Memorial School
  Elementary · Limington · 213 students · 13.3:1 ratio