[3] Once territory of the Wawenock (or Walinakiak, meaning "People of the Bay") Abenaki Indians, early Bristol was one of the most important and embattled frontier settlements in the province.

In 1631, the area was granted as the Pemaquid Patent by the Plymouth Council to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from Bristol, England.

The Great Colonial Hurricane on August 15, 1635 sank the galleon Angel Gabriel while it was anchored off the settlement, drowning some crew and passengers.

In 1664, the Duke of York (the future King James II) claimed Pemaquid was within his patent, which also included Sagadahoc and recently acquired New Amsterdam.

To help anglicize the latter into New York City, Governor Sir Edmund Andros had some of its Dutch inhabitants transported to Pemaquid, now called Jamestown for its royal owner.

[4] During King Philip's War, in 1676 Indians attacked and burned English settlements up the coast, including Pemaquid.

[6] On August 14–15, 1696, the famous Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captured and destroyed the fort along with a combined force of French and Indians from present-day Castine.

The pirate sloop had come from Monhegan to the south, where on April 29, the Snow (a type of two masted vessel) Anne arrived.

Carr's sloop, lying at Pemaquid, which they alsoe took a little distance from said Pemaquid, but finding the Mast and Bowspreat not serviceable [to repair the snow] they left her there, and brought the Master thereof aboard the Snow then at Menhagen [Monhegan]...The pirates soon left the area, abandoning all the other vessels (including the Anne) they had captured and most of their prisoners at Matinicus on or about May 9, 1717 on Minot's sloop.

On June 21, 1765, the town was incorporated as Bristol, named after the home port of the Pemaquid Patent proprietors.

[5] During the War of 1812, the waters off Pemaquid Point saw the capture of HMS Boxer by the USS Enterprise on September 5, 1813.

The town would set off land to create Nobleboro in 1788, Bremen in 1828, Damariscotta in 1848 and South Bristol in 1915.