City of Biddeford

Biddeford, a city in York County, was incorporated as a town on November 17, 1718 and as a city in 1855. It was originally part of the town of Saco, its twin city.

Some historians suggest that other early settlers had emigrated from Biddeford in Devonshire, England giving the area its name. Although Saco (including Biddeford) was destroyed during Queen Anne's War, the Massachusetts General Court authorized its resettlement, which began in 1714.

By 1762 the population had reached 1,000. While lumbering was the major industry until the early nineteenth century, textile manufacturing dominated for 100 years from mid-century. First Irish, then French Canadians came to work in the mills. The French arrived after 1870 and by 1910 elected the first mayor from the French community.

Biddeford is York County's largest city and a major industrial and commercial center.

Biddeford Pool, known in the 17th century as Winter Harbor, is both a village and a water body in the city. The village is at the eastern most point of land which virtually surrounds the Pool, just south of Wood Island.

Biddeford hosts two nature preserves managed by the Maine Audubon Society. The East Point Sanctuary at Biddeford Pool is a thirty-acre sanctuary offering beautiful ocean views and is considered one of the best spots for birding in southern Maine. A wide variety of waterfowl visit the point and harbor seals can be seen fishing off shore.

Wood and Stage Islands are both important nesting areas for waterfowl. A wooden boardwalk leads to an abandoned Coast Guard Lighthouse on Wood Island.

From Maine: An Encyclopedia (www.themaineencyclopedia.com)