Mackworth Island is an approximately 100 acres (40.5 ha) island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 on the border line of Falmouth, Maine

Falmouth, Maine

Falmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 11,185 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area....

 and Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

. In 1631, Sir Ferdinando Gorges

Ferdinando Gorges

Sir Ferdinando Gorges , the "Father of English Colonization in North America", was an early English colonial entrepreneur and founder of the Province of Maine in 1622, although Gorges himself never set foot in the New World.-Biography:...

 gave the island to Arthur Mackworth, his deputy in Casco Bay

Casco Bay

Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...

, and the island has retained his name. There is a causeway

Causeway

In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...

 connecting the island to the mainland in Falmouth. Visitors to the island must pass by a tollhouse; cars can enter the island but parking is limited. There is a footpath around the perimeter of the island with views of Falmouth, Portland, and other islands surrounding the bay. The island is heavily wooded. Mackworth Island has a beautiful rocky shore and offers ample opportunities for surf fisherman of Bluefish and Stripers.

Governor Baxter School for The Deaf

In 1957, Maine's governor Percival P. Baxter

Percival P. Baxter

Percival Proctor Baxter was the 53rd Governor of the U.S. state of Maine who served from 1921 to 1925.-Early life:...

deeded his summer home on the island to create the Governor Baxter School for The Deaf (formerly known as the Maine School for The Deaf). The school is infamous for a sexual abuse scandal which became public in 1981 and involved the school's principal and superintendent.

External links

• Mackworth Island Maine Office of Tourism