Kittery [key], town (1990 pop. 9,372), York co., extreme SW Maine, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River opposite Portsmouth, N.H.; inc. 1647. Its economy centers around tourism and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which is located on two islands owned by the federal government and connected with Kittery by two bridges. The oldest town in Maine (settled c.1623), it grew as a trading, fishing, lumber-shipping, and shipbuilding center. John Paul Jones's ship Ranger (built in 1777), and the Kearsarge of Civil War fame were both built there. Several 18th-century houses remain. William Whipple, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Kittery.
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