Acton is a town in York County, incorporated on March 6, 1830; it ceded land to Shapleigh in 1831. It was part of a much larger tract of land in purchased in 1661 by Francis Small from Chief Sunday of the Newichawannock Tribe.
Settled in 1776, the town's first mill, a grist mill, was built on the Salmon Falls River in 1779 by Joseph Parsons.
Prior to incorporation it was the western part of the plantation of Hubbardstown; in 1789 it became the eastern part of the town of Shapleigh. The town was named for Acton, England, now a part of greater London.
Silver was discovered in 1877, followed by a decade of mining and prospecting, after which the mines were abandoned.
Acton's western border is with New Hampshire and is defined by the Salmon Falls River. The town has substantial frontage on several lakes: Mousam, Wilson, Great East, and Square Pond.
The town lies northwest of Sanford on Route 109, which continues into New Hampshire.
