Popham, George [key], 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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