Thornton Oaks' History

The Thorntons were settlers of Brunswick, c. 1717 and Thornton Oaks is an eponymous tribute to Matthew Thornton, the final signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The first homes built at Thornton Oaks were sold in 1990. The community was completed in 1994 with the opening of the Matthew Terrace apartment building. An affiliate of Mid Coast Health Services, Thornton Oaks is a homeowners cooperative with approximately 200 residents.

The town of Brunswick, settled in 1628, is rich in American history. Mansions built in the Federal, Greek revival and Italianate styles line historic Maine Street, where the landmark First Parish Church presides at the head of the town mall.

Bowdoin College, founded in 1794, boasts many illustrious alumni, among them Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathanial Hawthorne and General Joshua Chamberlain, who also served as the college’s president. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in a house on Federal Street while her husband, Calvin Stowe, taught at Bowdoin. More recent graduates include Maine statesmen, George Mitchell and William Cohen.