Freeport

History

The town was once a part of North Yarmouth called Harraseeket, after the Harraseeket River. First settled about 1700, it was set off and incorporated on February 14, 1789, as Freeport. It is probably named "from the openness of its harbor" (free from ice). Freeport developed as four villages—Mast Landing, Porter's Landing, South Freeport and Freeport Corner—all of which are now part of the Harraseeket Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the head of tide on the Harraseeket River is Mast Landing, from which timber was shipped, particularly for use as masts. The estuary was dammed to provide water power for a gristmill, sawmill and fulling mill, with modest manufacturing and woodworking. The L.L. Bean flagship store is the anchor to outlet shopping in the town of Freeport. The town sees about 3.5 million visitors annually, spending $308 million in 2015 alone. L.L. Bean, for its part, has invested heavily in activities for both visitors and residents, including their Outdoor Discovery Schools, and their Summer Concert Series, which has attracted artists such as Edwin McCain, Great Big Sea, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Rockapella. In 1982, McDonald's made plans to tear down the Gore House, an 1850s Greek Revival house to build one of its stores. Outcry from residents caused the town to adopt new ordinances concerning what businesses could and could not do with their buildings, and McDonald's built the restaurant inside the house and opened it in 1984, maintaining the exterior appearance. This was one of the first times that McDonald's had been forced to change its restaurant design to fit local requirements. File:Old Schoolhouse, South Freeport, ME.jpg|Old Ledge Schoolhouse File:View of Main Street, Freeport, ME.jpg|Main Street File:Main…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Situated at the northeastern extremity of Casco Bay, Freeport is drained by the Harraseeket River. Freeport borders Brunswick and Durham to the north, Pownal to the west, and Yarmouth to the southwest. Freeport also shares small borders with Cumberland and Harpswell in Casco Bay. Cumberland and Harpswell are not connected to Freeport by roads, but since Freeport's town border ranges out into Casco Bay, the other towns' borders meet Freeport's. This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm, often humid summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Freeport has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Largest nearby schools

• Mabel I Wilson School
  Elementary · Cumberland · 762 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Brunswick High School
  High · Brunswick · 723 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• Freeport High School
  High · Freeport · 620 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Kate Furbish Elementary School
  Elementary · Brunswick · 600 students · 12:1 ratio
• Greely High School
  High · Cumberland · 599 students · 9.4:1 ratio
• Yarmouth High School
  High · Yarmouth · 546 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary
  Elementary · Brunswick · 522 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Brunswick Jr High School
  Middle · Brunswick · 518 students · 10.6:1 ratio