Scarborough

Scarborough, also spelled Scarboro, town, Cumberland county, southwestern Maine, U.S. It lies at the mouth of the Nonesuch River on the Atlantic coast. The town includes the communities of Scarborough, Higgins Beach, Prouts Neck, and West Scarborough. Scarborough is mainly a residential suburb for Greater Portland and the Biddeford-Saco urbanized area. Black Point, an early settlement made by Thomas Cammock, combined in 1658 with Blue Point and Stratton’s Islands to form one incorporated community, which was named for Scarborough, England. After 1883 the painter Winslow Homer made his home at Prouts Neck, a peninsula at the river mouth, and many of his canvases were inspired by the wild rockbound Atlantic coast; his studio is a national landmark. Farming, tourism, and Scarborough Downs Race Track are important to the economy. Area 48 square miles (124 square km). Pop. (2000) 16,970; (2010) 18,919.