Popham, George

Popham, George (pŏp`əm), c.1550–1608, early colonist in Maine, b. England. He was named in the patent granted to the Plymouth Company in 1606. In consequence of the colonization project of his uncle, Sir John Popham, and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, George Popham, in the Gift of God, with Ralegh Gilbert in the Mary and John, set out in 1607 from Plymouth, England, to plant a colony in North America. They explored the Maine coast and settled at the mouth of the Kennebec (then called the Sagadahoc) River on the present site of Phippsburg. A fort was erected, called Fort St. George, and Popham became president of the colony. He died that winter, and the colony was abandoned in the following summer.

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Popham, George (?–1608) colonist; born in England. A sea captain, he and Sir Ferdinando Gorges proposed the idea of a Northern Virginia colony. Popham and Raleigh Gilbert commanded the two ships that landed off the coast of Maine in 1607. They stayed the winter at the mouth of the Kennebec River, but Popham died in February and the colony was abandoned that summer.