Harrison is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States.

Harrison is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area.

On March 8, 1805, Harrison was set off and incorporated from portions of Otisfield and Bridgton.

[3] In the autumn of 1792, two brothers from Gorham, John and Nathan Carsley, built a camp and cleared land in Harrison.

[4] In 1832, the Cumberland and Oxford Canal opened, connecting Portland with Sebago Lake.

As the company name indicates, the canal was originally planned to reach Oxford County, but instead terminated at Harrison.

The town became a center for trade and transportation, with wharves and warehouses lining the shore.

[4] In 1847, the Sebago & Long Pond Steam Navigation Company built Fawn, the first steamboat to ply the lakes and waterways.

It had a shallow draft to navigate the winding Songo River, with passengers asked to shift sides as ballast to keep both paddlewheels in the water around sharp curves.

When the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad commenced service to Sebago Lake Station in 1870, the canal was abandoned as obsolete.

Beginning in 1898, the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad, a narrow gauge line, delivered freight and passengers directly to Harrison.

[5] In 1936 the Historic Deertrees Theatre was built by Enrica Clay Dillon and is still home to countless theatre, opera and music performances, including the Sebago Long Lake Music Festival.

Harrison is bordered by the town of Bridgton to its west, Waterford and Norway to its north, Otisfield to its east, and Naples to its south.