Records of the First Church of Pepperrellborough [now Saco], Maine

In 1653 the town of Saco was incorporated by Massachusetts. The town was reorganized under the name of Biddeford in 1718. In 1752 the majority of members of the parish in Biddeford voted to build a new meeting house on the west side of the Saco River. The residents of the east side dissented and split off as a separate parish. They began to search for property upon which to build their new church.

Sir William Pepperrell Jr. owned a vast amount of land in Saco (about 5500 acres), including a large estate on the east side of the river. He agreed to sell a two-acre lot to the parishioners, and gave them an additional four acres when he wrote the deed. The new meeting house was built between 1752 and 1757.

In 1762 the town of Biddeford voted that the residents of the east side should be a separate district, and named the district Pepperrellborough. In 1805 the town's name was changed to Saco.

This transcription of the original church records was compiled by Edgar Yates in 1914.

The original text is available at the NEHGS Research Library, call number F29.S1 F57 1914.

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