Androscoggin County, Maine

Androscoggin County, Maine
Location in the state of Maine
Maine's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 18, 1854
Seat	Auburn
Largest city	Lewiston
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	497.23 sq mi (1,288 km²) 470.27 sq mi (1,218 km²) 26.95 sq mi (70 km²), 5.42%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	107,702 229/sq mi (88.4/km²)

Androscoggin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the county's population was 107,702. Its county seat is Auburn^[1]. It is included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, Metropolitan Statistical Area and partially included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, Metropolitan New England City and Town Area.

Bates College is located in the Androscoggin County city of Lewiston.

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.^[2]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 497.23 square miles (1,287.8 km²), of which 470.27 square miles (1,218.0 km²) (or 94.58%) is land and 26.95 square miles (69.8 km²) (or 5.42%) is water.^[3]

Adjacent counties

• Franklin County, Maine - north
• Kennebec County, Maine - northeast
• Sagadahoc County, Maine - southeast
• Cumberland County, Maine - south
• Oxford County, Maine - west

Demographics

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 103,793 people, 42,028 households, and 27,192 families residing in the county. The population density was 221 people per square mile (85/km²). There were 45,960 housing units at an average density of 98 per square mile (38/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.98% White, 0.66% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.5% were of French Canadian, 19.4% French, 14.3% English, 9.7% United States or American and 8.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 14.29% of the population speak French at home.[1]

There were 42,028 households out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.60% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.30% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,793, and the median income for a family was $44,082. Males had a median income of $31,622 versus $22,366 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,734. About 7.50% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.80% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Newspapers

• Lewiston Sun Journal prints a daily newspaper in four different editions statewide. The Sun Journal was the recipient of the 2008 New England Daily Newspaper of the Year and the 2009 Maine Press Association Newspaper of the Year.

Magazines

• Lewiston Auburn Magazine, launched in April 2010, features current events and history of Lewiston/Auburn, with an emphasis on the people who are helping to rebuild the area.

Politics

Presidential elections

In Presidential elections Androscoggin County has been one of the most consistently, though not always the most strongly, Democratic counties in the state. It was the only county in Maine to be won by George McGovern in 1972. Jimmy Carter also carried the county twice. Although in 1984 and 1988 it went for the Republican candidate.^[9] In the last five Presidential elections the Republican candidate has received as much as 43.7%, but still lost by more than ten percent each time.^[10]

Voter registration

Voter registration

Cities and towns

• Auburn
• Durham
• Greene

• Leeds
• Lewiston
• Lisbon

• Livermore
• Livermore Falls
• Mechanic Falls
• Minot
• Poland
• Sabattus
• Turner
• Wales

See also

• Androscoggin Creature
• Lisbon School Department
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Androscoggin County, Maine

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ Hodgkin, Douglas I., Frontier to Industrial City:Lewiston Town Politics 1768–1863. Just Write Books, Topsham, Maine, 2008
3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
4. ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/me190090.txt
5. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
6. ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
8. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/. Retrieved 2011-06-11. 
9. ^ David Leip's Presidential Atlas (Maps for Maine by election)
10. ^ The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Maine)
11. ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of August, 2011". Maine Bureau of Corporations. http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2011/20110817r-e-active.pdf. 

External links

• Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce
• Maine Local Government - County of Androscoggin page

		Franklin County	Kennebec County
	Oxford County
		Androscoggin County, Maine
		Cumberland County	Sagadahoc County

v d e Municipalities and communities of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States County seat: Auburn Cities Auburn The Dirty Lew Towns Durham Greene Leeds Lisbon Livermore Falls Livermore Mechanic Falls Minot Poland Sabattus Turner Wales CDPs Lisbon Falls Livermore Falls Mechanic Falls

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Coordinates: 44°10′N 70°13′W / 44.17°N 70.21°W / 44.17; -70.21