From the early seventeenth century to the American War for Independence, the Castine peninsula and its environs were alternately occupied, colonized, settled or raided by the French, the English, and the Dutch.  The area changed hands according to the terms of treaties negotiated in Europe between these rival powers.

The French Flag: The French were the first Europeans to occupy the area for any length of time, first as missionaries and later as soldiers.  They built Fort Pentagöet in the 1630s, and although the Fort would later change hands, the majority of the European settlers here nonetheless remained French throughout the seventeenth century.

The Dutch Flag: In 1674 the Dutch raided and briefly occupied Fort Pentagöet, but were soon ousted by a French force that included Baron St. Castin.

The English Flag: Fort Pentagöet changed hands several times, from the French to the English, from the English back to the French, and finally, after 1715 to the English, when it became part of the British Empire following the Treaty of Utrecht.

The United States Flag: In the eighteenth century, Scots-Irish settlers from Britain and English settlers from Massachusetts built homes here. Many of them rebelled against the British Empire in the 1770s.  The British built Fort George here during the War for American Independence, only to abandon it when the war was over.