Androscoggin County, Maine - History

History

Demand for a new county emerged when the rapidly growing town of Lewiston complained of the long distance it had to travel to reach Wiscasset, the county seat of Lincoln County, which Lewiston was originally in. It was also an impractical circumstance as Lewiston's neighbor, Auburn, was part of Cumberland County. As the growing partnership of the two towns emerged, the case for the towns to be in the same county grew. Different plans were discussed, including Lewiston joining Cumberland County. Eventually, the idea of a new county came to the table. At this point in time there was a debate between which town the new county would be its center. With Bath, Brunswick, and Lewiston each pining for a county in which it was the center, Lewiston would eventually win the debate. Androscoggin County was created in 1854 from towns originally in Cumberland County, Lincoln County, Kennebec County, and Oxford County.

The next issue centered on where to put the county seat, as both Lewiston and Auburn desired to be named the county seat. It would eventually be put to a vote, with both towns putting different offers on the table that would cut the costs of the new county buildings for surrounding towns. Auburn would eventually win a convincing victory with the towns on each side of the river voting for the town on their side. As more people then lived to the west of the Androscoggin River, Auburn won the vote.