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This project is part of the State of Maine Portal.=
Androscoggin County, Maine is a county in the southwestern part of the state. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the county's population was 107,702. Its county seat is Auburn.
Androscoggin County comprises the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and partially included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, Metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is also a part of the Portland-Lewiston-South Portland, Maine Combined Statistical Area.
History
Demand for a new county emerged when the residents of the rapidly growing town of Lewiston complained of the long distance they had to travel to reach Wiscasset, the county seat of Lincoln County, in which county Lewiston was originally located. 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. The debate then became over which town would be the center of the new county. Bath, Brunswick, and Lewiston each desired the distinction. 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, including ideas to 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.
Ethnic Groups
The racial makeup of the county in 2000 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. 9.6% of the population speak French and 1.5% of the population speak Spanish at home.
In the 2000s, Somali immigrants in the United States began a secondary migration to Maine from other states on account of the area's low crime rate, good schools and cheap housing. In 2011, there were an estimated 5,000 Somali immigrants in Lewiston.
About the Project
Please use this project to add, research, document, and discuss your ancestors from Androscoggin County. You can add profiles for:
- People born in Androscoggin County
- People who lived in Androscoggin County
- People who died in Androscoggin County
When you find helpful resources for research, please share them here so that others can benefit.
If you have projects related specifically to Androscoggin County, like projects for towns or families centered within the county, you can also add those.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or general thoughts to share, please use the "Discussions" link at the upper right corner of the page.