 Freeport is a rapidly growing town in Cumberland County, incorporated on February 14, 1789 from part of North Yarmouth and Prout's Gore. On four subsequent occasions it ceded land to Brunswick, once to Pownal.
The town was named, according to some, for Sir Andrew Freeport, a character in Addison's Spectator Papers. Appropriately for its later development, Freeport represented the merchant class.
Currently, it is a very popular center of outlet stores, including the legendary L. L. Bean. It is also Bean's corporate headquarters and catalog order site.
Freeport hosts two nature preserves. Mast Landing Sanctuary, on Upper Mast Landing Road, is operated by the Maine Audubon Society and has self-guiding nature trails through fields, woods, salt marsh, and along streams with beavers in residence. Wolf Neck Woods State Park also has self-guiding nature trails through picturesque woods fronting the Harraseeket River and Casco Bay, along with a picnic area and an active osprey nest on a small island just offshore.
From Maine: An Encyclopedia (www.themaineencyclopedia.com)
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