South Portland, port city (1990 pop. 23,163), Cumberland co., SW Maine, on the Fore River and Casco Bay, part of the Portland metropolitan area; separated from Falmouth (now Portland) as part of the town of Cape Elizabeth 1765, separated from Cape Elizabeth and inc. 1898. Ships have been built there since the 17th cent., and together with neighboring Portland it forms the Port of Portland. The city, which is eastern terminus of the Portland-Montreal oil pipeline, is an important East Coast oil port. South Portland produces varied light manufactures and is a wholesale and retail trade center. There is an international airport (located in both Portland and South Portland). The area was settled c.1633. Fort Preble (now Fort Williams) was built in Cape Elizabeth before the War of 1812. Portland Head Light, near the fort in Cape Elizabeth, is the oldest lighthouse (1791) on the Maine coast. The Univ. of Southern Maine is there.
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