Town file
Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Old Orchard Beach, Maine (York County, Maine) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 13, "Murder Bubbling Under The Surface" (12 April 2017). Old Orchard Beach sits on the southern coast of Maine, in York County, about twenty-five minutes from Portland.
- Town
- Old Orchard Beach
- County
- York County
- State
- Maine
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 13
- Approximate location
- 43.534, -70.357
Episode 13 / 12 April 2017 / 64 min / full
Murder Bubbling Under The Surface
"It is Old Orchard Beach, Maine ... it's in York County, Maine." about 0:02:50
The case: Murder of the Balduke family (February 20, 2008). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2017
- Population
- 8,776
- Median age
- 50.2
- Median home value
- $200,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $965
- Cost of living
- 107
- Religious
- 30%
- Property crime
- ▲ more than 10% higher
- Violent crime
- ▲ almost 20% higher
History, in brief
- The first Europeans arrived in 1603. about 0:05:12
- Two rivers nearby are the Saco and the Goose Fare rivers. about 0:05:38
- The area was settled in 1657 by Thomas Rogers. about 0:06:16
- Rogers called the place the Garden by the Sea, a name still used. about 0:06:24
- Rogers set up a big apple orchard, and the town took its name from the old orchard. about 0:06:29
- A series of Indian attacks destroyed the family's home and they left the area. about 0:07:09
- The orchard stayed going for 150 years afterwards. about 0:07:24
- In 1829 the first public house, a bar, opened. about 0:07:33
- By the 1830s it had become a tourist spot because of the beach and the drink. about 0:08:20
- In 1881 the Bates College president set up a Free Will Baptist revival camp there. about 0:09:02
- It was officially incorporated in 1883. about 0:09:02
- Most of the hotels were destroyed in a big fire in 1907 and the town had to rebuild. about 0:09:29
- A couple of original buildings from the 1800s are still standing. about 0:09:35
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Scarborough, Maine2.8 miles
- Sanford, Maine21 miles
- Lebanon, Maine29 miles
- Dover, New Hampshire36 miles
- Kittery, Maine36 miles
- Hampton, New Hampshire47 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.