[3] The first known European contact was the St. Croix colony founded by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1604.

On June 25, 1604, Champlain and his men spent a long and severe winter on St. Croix Island with no fresh water and diminished supplies.

Two-fifths of the men died of scurvy, and the colony moved across the Bay of Fundy to Port Royal in present-day Nova Scotia.

On February 24, 1798, Eastport was incorporated as a town from Plantation Number 8 PS by the Massachusetts General Court, and named for being the easternmost port in the United States.

[5] From 1807 to 1809, the town was a center of extensive two-way smuggling during the Embargo Act imposed by President Thomas Jefferson.

In 1809, Fort Sullivan was erected atop a village hill, but it was captured by a British fleet under command of Sir Thomas Hardy on July 11, 1814, during the War of 1812 as part of the initiative to establish the colony of New Ireland.

England claimed that Moose Island was on the British side of the international border which had been determined in 1783.

[6] Eastport is the location most recently occupied by a foreign country in the contiguous United States.

With tides of about 25 feet (7.6 m), Eastport's spacious harbor remained ice-free year round.

The population grew with the emergence of the sardine fishery and related canning businesses, which studded the shoreline by the end of the 19th century.

By 1886, the town contained 13 sardine factories, which operated day and night during the season, and produced approximately 5,000 cases per week.

Each September, the city hosts the annual Maine Salmon Festival in the historic downtown district.

Events include the Grand Independence Parade (with considerable participation of its Canadian neighbors), fireworks over the Bay of Fundy, free entertainment at Overlook Park, greasy pole and water sports, an antique car show, and contests and games for all ages with prizes.

Since 1905, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships have made a port call over the 4th and provided free tours.

[12] Beginning in 2004, Eastport began the new year with the drop of a sardine and maple leaf.

[13][14] Eastport is the easternmost city in the United States; Lubec is farther east but is a town.

Old Sow, the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere, sits on the international boundary between Eastport and Deer Island.