History
Named by the area's original Abenaki inhabitants, "Piscataqua" is believed to be a combination of "peske" (branch) with "tegwe" (a river with a strong current, possibly tidal). The first known European to explore the river was Martin Pring in 1603. Captain John Smith placed a spelling similar to "Piscataqua" for the region on his map of 1614. The river was site of the first sawmill in the colonies in 1623, the same year the contemporary spelling "Piscataqua" was first recorded.
After the Allies' European victory in the Second World War, a German submarine flying a white flag sailed up the river, where New Hampshire state police received its captain and crew as POWs.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is located on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine near the Piscataqua's mouth. The dispute between New Hampshire and Maine over ownership of Seavey’s Island was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001, locating the state border at the center of the river's navigable channel.
Read more about this topic: Piscataqua River
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