Augusta Maine is the capital city of the state of Maine, as well as being the county seat of Kennebec County and just about the center of population for the state.
The population of the capital city is just about 19,000 people.
Located at the head of the Kennebec River, it is also home to the University of Maine.
Maine was first explored by the in 1607, however this ill fated group of settlers did not last long. The colony was abandoned less than a year later.
It's extreme northern positioning makes Maine weather harsh in wintertime
The settlement was known by its Indian name — Cushnoc (or Coussinoc or Koussinoc), meaning “head of tide.” Fur trading was at first profitable, but with Indian uprisings and declining revenues, the Plymouth Colony sold the Kennebec Patent in 1661. Cushnoc would remain empty for the next 75 years into the French and Indian Wars.
A huge band of the Native American Abenakis showed vast hostility toward British settlements and was located a bit further further up the Kennebec at Norridgewock.
In 1722, the tribe and its allies attacked Fort Richmond (now Richmond) and destroyed Brunswick. In response, Norridgewock was sacked in 1724 during Dummer’s War, when English forces gained tentative control of the Kennebec. In 1754, a blockhouse named Fort Western (now the oldest wooden fort in America), was built at Cushnoc on the eastern bank.
Summertime in Augusta is lush and green with mild temperatures
Cushnoc was incorporated as part of Hallowell in 1771. Known as “the Fort,” it was set off and incorporated by the Massachusetts General Court in February 1797 as Harrington.
In August, however, the name changed to Augusta after Augusta Dearborn, daughter of Henry Dearborn. In 1799, it became county seat for newly created Kennebec County. Maine became a state in 1820, and Augusta was designated its capital in 1827.
Excellent soil provided for agriculture, and water power from streams provided for industry. In 1837, a dam was built across the Kennebec where the falls drop 15 feet at the head of tide, and by 1838 10 sawmills were contracted. With the arrival of the Kennebec & Portland Railroad in 1851, Augusta became a mill town.
In 1883, the property of A. & W. Spague Company was purchased by the Edwards Manufacturing Company, which erected extensive brick mills for manufacturing cotton textiles. Other Augusta firms produced lumber, sash, doors, shutters, broom handles, stone cutters’ tools, shoes, cemetery monuments, ice and furniture. The city developed as a publishing and shipping center.
Today, government and post-secondary education are important businesses as well as tourism.
Bed and breakfasts and leaf tours, as well as maple syrup production takes place in Maine and the outdoorsperson will find a lot to occupy their time.
In August some of the things that might interest you are:
* Children’s Discovery Museum
* Kennebec Historical Society & Museum
* Kennebec River Rail Trail — 6.5 mile riverside trail to Hallowell, Farmingdale and Gardiner
* Maine Military Historical Society Museum
* Maine State House
* Maine State Museum
* Old Fort Western
* Pine Tree State Arboretum
