The town was once territory of the Wawenock (or more precisely Walinakiak, meaning "People of the Bays") Abenaki people, who traveled in canoes to hunt for fish, shellfish, seals and seafowl. In 1614, Captain John Smith explored the coast, and is said to have named Christmas Cove when he visited it on Christmas Day. The land was subsequently part of the Pemaquid Patent, granted by the Plymouth Council for New England in 1631 to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from Bristol, England, from which the town derives its name.
The town was once territory of the Wawenock (or more precisely Walinakiak, meaning "People of t,he Bays") Abenaki people, who traveled in canoes ,to hunt for fish shellfish, seals and seafowl. In 1614 Captain John Smith explored the coast, and is said to have named Christmas Cove when he visited it on Christmas Day. The land was subsequently part of the Pemaquid Patent, granted by the Plymo,uth Council for New England in 1631 to Robert Aldsworth and Gyles Elbridge, merchants from Bristol England, from which the town derives its name.