Until 1814, Maine’s three Berwicks -- South Berwick, Berwick and
North Berwick -- were all one town, Berwick. Why that name? Many
New England towns were named for English towns -- Plymouth,
Massachusetts or Dover, New Hampshire, for example. Some -- like
Pittsfield, MA, or Wolfeboro, NH -- were named to honor great
English leaders. Throughout the 1600s the area that became the
Berwicks in Maine was part of the town of Kittery and known at
first as Quamphegan or Newichawannock. But gradually the name
Barwick or Berwick took hold, taken from a town associated with
England’s old rival, Scotland. Why? 17th century tower in
Dunbar, Scotland Except during brief intervals, Scotland was
still a separate kingdom until the Act of Union in 1707. The
Scottish throne and boundaries had long been disputed with
London. The town of Berwick-on-Tweed (pronounced Barrick) is
only about 40 miles (64.5 km) from the Scottish capital of
Edinburgh, and sits right on the contested Scots-English border
at the mouth of the Tweed River