Kennebunk, Maine

Kennebunk (/ˈkɛnᵻbʌŋk/ or local /ˈkɛniːbʌŋk/) is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 10,798 at the 2010 census (The population does not include Kennebunkport, a separate town). Kennebunk is home to several beaches, the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, the 1799 Kennebunk Inn, many historic shipbuilders' homes, and the Nature Conservancy Blueberry Barrens (known locally as the Blueberry Plains), with 1,500 acres (6 km²) of nature trails and blueberry fields.

History

Kennebunk (disambiguation)

Kennebunk may refer to multiple things located in the U.S. state of Maine:

Kennebunk station

Kennebunk is a planned intercity rail station on the Downeaster route, to be located off Depot Street in Kennebunk, Maine. Station facilities will be located in the extant station building, with a new high-level handicapped accessible platform outside. Seasonal service is planned to begin in 2016, though the full platform may not be completed until 2017 or 2018. The depot was previously used for passenger service from 1873 to 1965.

History

Boston & Maine Railroad

From the 1840s until 1873, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) used the Portsmouth, Saco and Portland Railroad to reach Portland, Maine. That year, after the joint lease of the PS&P by the B&M and the Eastern Railroad ended, the B&M built an extension of its mainline from South Berwick, Maine to Portland. The foundation for a station at Kennebunk on the new line was begun in 1872 and the station opened the next year. The station was built as a single-story clapboard structure, typical of B&M stations on the line.

The Kennebunk and Kennebunkport Railroad opened in 1883 from Kennebunk to Kennebunkport, Maine. The B&M operated service on the branch until 1926. Mainline service ton Kennebunk continued until the final day of service on January 3, 1965. The station building remains, largely unchanged over the past 130 years.