Cousins Island, ME

Cousins Island is a census-designated place in the town of Yarmouth, stretching into Casco Bay from the Maine coast. The 2020 census counted 528 residents. Bridges connect the island to the mainland and to Littlejohn Island, but the water still shapes the place's sense of distance. Sandy Point offers a hand-carry boat launch, and the island's coves, woods, and shoreline make it one of Yarmouth's distinct coastal communities.

The name reaches back to John Cousins, an early settler whose land lay between the branches of the Cousins River and the island that bears his name. Yarmouth's historical record also places Cousins Island among the town's old districts, with a long mix of farms, summer homes, and maritime activity. Winter changes the island's pace, but the bridges keep it linked. Today it is a residential island with a simple local rhythm: one road system, water on every side, and a bridge that ties the community to Yarmouth while preserving the feeling of a separate place.