Located about 7 miles (11 km) south of Portland, Scarborough is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.

[4] In 1631, the Plymouth Council for New England granted the "Black Point Patent" to Captain Thomas Cammock, nephew of the Earl of Warwick.

Cammock built a house and began residence in 1635 on the 1,500-acre (6.1 km2) tract of land, which extended from the Spurwink River to Black Point—today this area is known as Prouts Neck.

[5] At the outbreak of King Philip's War in 1675, Scarborough was an important coastal settlement with over one hundred houses and one thousand head of cattle.

[4] By 1676, the town had been laid to waste as a result of the war—some settlers were killed and others were taken hostage by the Native Americans.

[4] Subsequently, Massachusetts sent soldiers accompanied by Indian allies in 1677 to secure the town for resettlement.

On June 29, 1677, while pursuing some Indians sent as a ruse, the company was ambushed by warriors under Chief Squandro.

In the New England militia of nearly one hundred soldiers, fifty to sixty were left dead or mortally wounded.

After several attempts to rebuild between guerrilla incursions during King William's War, the survivors evacuated in 1690 and moved south to Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Boston.

Resettlement of Scarborough started in 1702 when seven settlers arrived from Lynn, Massachusetts, and construction began on a fort located on the western shore of Prout's Neck's Garrison's Cove.

Despite the treaty, in August 1703, five hundred French and Indians under command of the Sieur de Beaubassin made a sudden descent upon English settlements from Casco Bay (Portland) to Wells.

Cattle and timber were important local products for export, with Scarborough's many water power sites operating a dozen sawmills.

In early years of Scarborough's settlement bonfires were set on Scottow Hill, elevation 144 feet (44 m), as warnings to the surrounding countryside of approaching danger.