Arrowsic is a town in Sagadahoc County, incorporated on March 2, 1841 from an island portion of neighboring Georgetown, itself an island. Arrowsic Island, bounded on the west by the Kennebec River, separates Georgetown from Phippsburg. These two areas were settled in 1607, but it was not until 1625 that Europeans moved to Arrowsic Island - still only five years after the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth. Sir William Phipps was said to have worked in a shipyard here as a young man.
According to Brunelle, The name derives from an Indian word meaning 'place of obstruction.' Arrowsic Island was the site of a trading post established in 1654 and soon a shipyard, foundry, mills, and farms. In August of 1676 it was attacked by Indians and burned, with thirty people killed or captured. Archaeological excavations indicate a high standard of living for the period.
The island connects to the mainland by a bridge linking Preble Point with Sasanoa Point in Woolwich. The narrows between these points link Hanson Bay with the Kennebec River at the site of Bath Iron Works.
