About this city
Also known as: The Birthplace of American Sawmilling
Nestled along the tidal falls of the Salmon Falls River on the New Hampshire border in southernmost Maine, South Berwick is a historic and culturally rich town steeped in early colonial history. Settled in 1631, the town pioneered early American industry by constructing the first water-powered sawmill in the New World, later growing into a prosperous textile manufacturing, timber shipping, and brickmaking powerhouse during the 19th century. South Berwick achieved enduring literary fame as the lifelong home of celebrated author Sarah Orne Jewett, who captured the poetic decline of coastal shipping towns in her New England masterworks. Today, the town presents an elegant, historic community characterized by grand colonial historic homes, an elite academic boarding school academy, and rolling preserved riverside pastures.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1 day
Tour the elegant 1890s historic interior and literary library at the Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum. Hike the rolling forested trails and view the tidal river rapids inside Vaughan Woods State Park. Admire the grand Georgian architecture of the 1785 Hamilton House overlooking the river.
