Damariscove is an uninhabited island that is part of Boothbay Harbor in Lincoln County, Maine, United States, approximately 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the coast at the mouth of the Damariscotta River.
The island has served in the past as a fishing settlement and a United States Coast Guard life saving station.
[3] Damerill had been a member of the failed Popham Colony, but moved to Damariscove in 1608 to establish a store to supply the fishing community.
[6] Damariscove had become a thriving community when, in 1671, Massachusetts Bay Colony laid claim to the island, extending their eastern borders.
According to historian and pirateologist Kenneth J. Kinkor and the Boston trial records of the Whydah's survivors, it was the intent of Bellamy to establish a pirate republic on Damariscove and join forces with the Pirate Republic of the Bahamas, thus completely blockading the entire Eastern seaboard and wrestling control of North America from England and the rest of Europe.
[14] By the late 19th century, most farming and fishing had moved elsewhere, while many of the surrounding areas, such as Squirrel Island, Southport and Boothbay Harbor were developing into resort communities.
The station, which still stands today at the southern end of the harbor, was staffed by the United States Life-Saving Service and later the U.S. Coast Guard until 1959.
[19] In December 2009, Governor John Baldacci named Damariscove, together with Monhegan and Boon islands as test sites for offshore deepwater wind power technologies.
Critics have called for careful oversight to ensure that local lobster fisheries and migratory bird paths are not affected.