Falmouth Burning Historic Waterfront (Portland)
Portland, Maine, USA
Olde Saint Paul’s Parish historical marker, 279 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101, USA
MARKER
VISITOR INFORMATION
Confirm the 1775 burn footprint against the Maine Historical Society map before selecting a map pin. Modern Falmouth, Maine is a separate municipality; Virginia and Jamaica namesakes are unrelated. Map point reviewed October 3, 2026: Visitor reference is the photographed parish-history marker at present-day Saint Paul’s. It records destruction of the first church in the 1775 bombardment of Falmouth. The parish relocated after the fire; this is a nearby interpretive marker, not the original church position, burn-area center or eighteenth-century waterfront. Visitor information reviewed October 3, 2026: Read the parish-history marker at the current church exterior. This is a nearby reference for the bombardment. The present church dates to 1868 and is separate from the original waterfront church. Church interior access, church parking and toilets at the marker remain unestablished; nearby public parking and City Hall toilets are described below. Parking researched October 3, 2026: Nearby paid Custom House Square Garage serves a walk to the Congress Street historical marker. Check current garage hours and tariffs; the garage is separate from the historic waterfront footprint.
Visitor information batch 2 — reviewed October 3, 2026: Nearby public restrooms are listed by Portland Downtown at City Hall, 389 Congress Street, using the Congress Street entrance. Check the building’s current opening before relying on them. These off-site facilities are separate from Saint Paul’s church and do not establish church interior access.
No separate ticket or staffed hours are listed for the exterior marker. Church or mission interiors follow their own service and visitor schedules; respect property rules.
Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.
June or September for interpreting Portland’s historic waterfront in generally mild weather. Establish the intended memorial stops and check any desired museum or guided walk separately.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
0
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
About Falmouth Burning Historic Waterfront (Portland)
The burning of Falmouth devastated the settlement now known as Portland, Maine, on October 18, 1775. British naval forces under Henry Mowat bombarded the waterfront and set buildings ablaze. The event brought the early Revolutionary War into a coastal community whose working harbor and homes were closely connected.
Portland’s reconstructed streets and waterfront form the setting for this history. The mapped visitor reference is a parish-history marker at present-day Saint Paul’s, whose first church was destroyed during the attack. The parish later relocated, so this marker does not identify the original church footprint or the full destruction area.
History happened here at Falmouth Burning Historic Waterfront (Portland)
On October 18, 1775, Mowat’s force attacked Falmouth during the opening year of the war. Bombardment and burning damaged the waterfront settlement and disrupted civilian life as well as maritime activity. Contemporary accounts preserved through Maine’s historical collections describe the destruction from the perspective of a community directly affected.
The place name can cause confusion: the attacked settlement is now Portland, rather than modern Falmouth alone. Rebuilding and changes to the waterfront have altered the physical setting. Parish history offers one way to follow the consequences, while historical maps and testimony remain essential for tracing the extent of the attack.
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
Research reviewed October 2, 2026. Event ID 010fb475-b64d-4a0b-b118-c5d2b76bfd91; Events Latest 10PM.csv row 3.
https://www.mainememory.net/lessons/the-burning-of-falmouth/f5f5y9a8
https://www.mainememory.net/media/pdf/1283.pdf
Map location reviewed October 3, 2026. Visitor reference is the photographed parish-history marker at present-day Saint Paul’s. It records destruction of the first church in the 1775 bombardment of Falmouth. The parish relocated after the fire; this is a nearby interpretive marker, not the original church position, burn-area center or eighteenth-century waterfront.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=186362
Visitor classification and amenities reviewed October 3, 2026. Destination: Olde Saint Paul’s Parish history marker at 279 Congress Street, Portland.
Prose batch 3 researched October 3, 2026. Fast pass; proofing pending. Maine Memory page returned 403 during refresh; existing research retained. Saint Paul’s marker is at the later parish location, not the destroyed church footprint.
Parking researched October 3, 2026. The official Greater Portland 2026 parking guide lists public Custom House Square Garage at 25 Pearl Street with hourly visitor rates. Nearby paid Custom House Square Garage serves a walk to the Congress Street historical marker. Check current garage hours and tariffs; the garage is separate from the historic waterfront footprint.
https://www.visitportland.com/blog/2026/01/10/greater-portland-parking-guide/
Visitor information batch 2 — reviewed October 3, 2026