Kittery, Maine

Episode 71 / 30 May 2018 / 149 min / full

An Extra Terrible Person

"James introduces the town as Kittery, Maine, in York County, zip code 03904, area code 207, the southern tip of Maine" about 0:06:31

The case: Murders of Dawn Marie Garvin, Patricia Hurt and Lori Ward by covered name name withheld here (November 1987). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2018

Population

9,653

Median age

47.1

Median household income

$60,225

Median home value

$307,797

Two-bedroom rent

about $1,140

Cost of living

125

Religious

30%

Property crime

▲ slightly higher than average, pretty much on the money

Violent crime

▲ about 15% higher

History, in brief

• Kittery is in York County, Maine, zip code 03904, area code 207; about 50 minutes from Portland, about an hour and five minutes from Boston, and 40 minutes from Old Orchard Beach. about 0:08:34
• The town covers 75 square miles, of which 57.5 square miles are water, leaving about 17 miles of land. about 0:08:46
• The town motto is 'Gateway to Maine'. about 0:09:58
• Kittery began as an English settlement around the natural harbour at the river and the ocean, from about 1623. about 0:11:19
• By 1632 a fort had been built on the New Hampshire side of the river; the defensive works later became Fort McClary in Kittery Point on the Maine side. about 0:13:43
• Kittery was incorporated in 1652 as the first town in the district of Maine, making it the oldest incorporated town in Maine; York became a town two days later. about 0:14:08
• It was named after the manor of Kittery Court at Kingswear in Devon, England, the birthplace of founder Alexander Shapleigh, who arrived in 1635 on the ship Benediction, co-owned with Captain Francis Champernowne, a cousin of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, lord proprietor of Maine. about 0:15:16
• Settlers, including the Pepperell family, established fisheries off the islands, salting fish and exporting it to Europe. about 0:15:52
• Kittery is the southernmost town in Maine. about 0:17:58
• In 1705, during Queen Anne's War, tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy raided the town, killing six citizens and taking five prisoners. about 0:18:13
• During the American Revolution the first vessels of the US Navy were built on Badgers Island, including the 1777 USS Ranger. about 0:19:01
• From the War of 1812 through the world wars to Vietnam, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard built, overhauled and repaired ships, from wooden ships to ironclads and nuclear submarines. about 0:19:47
• The 1996 film Thinner, from the a covered name King novel, was filmed in Kittery. about 0:20:12
• Notable people from Kittery include Sir William Pepperell, the serial killer Arthur Shawcross, and John O'Hurley (J. Peterman). about 0:20:24
• In 1790 there were 3,259 people in Kittery. about 0:21:27

Open the episode file