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Ogunquit is a resort town in York County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. [edit] History
Ogunquit, which means "beautiful place by the sea" in the indigenous Abenaki language, was first a village within Wells, which was settled in 1641. The first sawmill was established in 1686, and shipbuilding developed along the tidal Ogunquit River. Local shipwrights built schooners, brigs and dories. At what was then called Fish Cove, near the unnavigable Josias River, fishing was a major livelihood. But the cove was unprotected by a headland or breakwater from Atlantic storms, so fishermen had to protect their boats by hauling them ashore each night. Resolving to create a safe anchorage, they formed the Fish Cove Harbor Association, and dug a channel across land they purchased to connect Fish Cove with the Josias River. When the trench was complete, erosion helped to further widen the passage. The resulting tidewater basin is called Perkins Cove, spanned by a manually operated draw footbridge. With a three and a half-mile beach of pale sand and dunes forming a barrier peninsula, connected to the mainland in 1888 by bridge across the Ogunquit River, the village was discovered by artists. It became a popular art colony and tourist area. Particularly after 1898, when the Ogunquit Art Colony was established, it was not unusual to see both artists and fishermen working around Perkins Cove. To accommodate summer crowds, several seaside hotels and inns were built. Marginal Way, a scenic trail dating back to the 1920s, runs along the coast from Perkins Cove to Ogunquit Beach. Ogunquit seceded from Wells in 1980 and incorporated as a town. Ogunquit was named America's Best Coastal Small Town in USA Today's 10 Best Readers' Choice 2016. Ogunquit is a destination for LGBT tourists, with numerous LGBT-owned and -operated hotels, restaurants, bars, theaters, and other businesses. Most of the LGBT-oriented businesses are in the village area of the town.[1] A July 2016 article in Bloomberg News cited Ogunquit as one of several Maine coastal destinations being visited by "trendsetters and gentrifiers". [edit] Research Tips
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