Falmouth began as a farming and fishing town with an active wooden ship-building industry along the Presumpscot River Estuary. The town later developed a number of small villages, each with a post office, stores, and its own school. Following the Civil War, the population dropped and did not begin to increase until the beginning of World War II. Wealthy Portland residents and out-of-state visitors established summer estates in Falmouth Foreside. With the introduction of the automobile and the electric trolley in the early 1900s, the Falmouth Foreside and West Falmouth areas enjoyed an influx of people who could live in Falmouth and work in Portland. After World War II, Falmouth continued to increase in size as roads were improved and more houses were built. Today Falmouth remains a growing community with extensive retail, health, retirement, and service facilities.

The true crime story of a notorious arsonist and murderer who kept a Cape Cod town in fear thanks to crooked cops. The Cape Cod beach town of Falmouth seemed like a lovely place to visit. But those who lived there year-round knew its other, darker side… Local businessman and infamous bully Melvin Reine had started setting the homes of his so-called enemies on fire. Few of his victims—or even the police—ever dared to implicate him. Because those who did would pay the price… Mysterious events kept creeping up in Falmouth. The disappearance of Melvin’s wife, a dead man found in a cranberry bog, a teenager slated to testify against Melvin who boarded a ferry, never to be seen again—was Melvin somehow responsible? Only one police officer, John Busby, had the guts to press him for answers. One day he found himself on the wrong end of a sawed-off shotgun…but managed to survive the attack. This is the shocking true story about what can happen to an all-American town when evil rules.

The year 1777 is bleak indeed for the cause of American Independence, with the British army twice defeating Washington and taking the capital city of Philadelphia and the Royal Navy sweeping aside the defenses of the Delaware Bay. And for Captain Isaac Biddlecomb and the men of the half-built frigate Falmouth, things are direr still. After managing to slip through a British blockade, they find themselves trapped in a desolate harbor on the New Jersey coast and menaced not by the British but by the outlaw bands that terrorize the countryside and see Falmouth as a potentially valuable prize. Deserter Angus McGinty steals Biddlecomb’s most potent weapon, the captured British sloop Sparrowhawk, leaving him to face the ruthless Pine Robbers on his own, with only his diminished crew and the near-useless local militia to help. Meanwhile, Virginia Biddlecomb, trapped in occupied Philadelphia, sees her chance to play a clandestine role in the fight. In the course of her activities, however, she lets slip information that will put her husband, his ship, and his crew in mortal danger, leading to a desperate race to get the unwieldy Falmouth to a place beyond the reach of the Royal Navy.

This is a modern scan of a rare, readable and fascinating history of Falmouth written over 100 years ago. It is an exhaustive study of the town, covering Arwenack, Pendennis, the Killigrew family, Falmouth in the eighteenth century, the Packet Ship Service and the story of the town's growth. Susan Gay used many old documents and maps during her research for this book, many of which have sadly since been lost or destroyed, making the information found within this volume important and irreplaceable. The book on sale is a full scan of the 1903 volume. It is A5 in size, printed as black and white paperback with 264 numbered pages plus several front sheets containing an introduction, list of contents etc. It contains illustrations throughout as per the original book. NB: THE PAGES OF THE SCAN MAY CONTAIN SOME IMPERFECTIONS THAT WERE EITHER PART OF THE ORIGINAL BOOK OR INTRODUCED DURING THE EXTENSIVE SCANNING PROCESS. HOWEVER, ALL WORDS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE PERFECTLY LEGIBLE