Castine, a town in Hancock County, was once known as Majabigwaduce or Bagaduce for short, now the name of the river on its eastern shore.
In 1629 the (British) King's Council for New England authorized Edward Ashley to establish a trading post at what was then Pentagoet. By 1631 the post was destroyed by the French for the first time, then again in 1635. The Massachusetts Bay colonists attempted to assert their claim, to no avail.
Incorporated in 1796 from portions of the town of Penobscot, it later set off land to Brooksville (in 1817) and then acquired some of the earlier land it had ceded to Penobscot.
The town is named for Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie, Baron de St. Castin who held a French land grant in the area. He made friends with the Indians, attempted to accommodate the English, then fought them and the Dutch to protect the area.
The British finally took the town in 1779, but now the colonists wanted them out. That year Castine was the scene of the defeat of American forces attempt, known as the Penobscot Expedition, to liberate the town. It returned to American control in 1783 at the end of the Revolutionary War.
Two forts, Madison and George, are among the many historic sites throughout the community.
The Maine Maritime Academy, established in 1941, and its training ship State of Maine, are located in the town.
