Bates College is in the Androscoggin County city of Lewiston.
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 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 eventually won the debate. Androscoggin County was created in 1854 from towns originally in Cumberland County, Lincoln County, Kennebec County, and Oxford County.[3]
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.[4]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 497 square miles (1,290 km2), of which 468 square miles (1,210 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (5.9%) is water.[5] It is the second-smallest county in Maine by total area, after neighboring Sagadahoc County.
The Androscoggin River flows through the center of the county, as well as forming a short part of the county line with Sagadahoc County in the south. The Adroscoggin Riverlands State Park lies along the river, north of Auburn. The county is also the site of Poland Spring, the original source of the bottled water brand bearing its name.
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9] 1990–2000[10] 2010–2016[11] 2017[12]
2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 107,702 people, 44,315 households, and 28,045 families living in the county.[13] The population density was 230.2 inhabitants per square mile (88.9/km2). There were 49,090 housing units at an average density of 104.9 per square mile (40.5/km2).[14] The racial makeup of the county was 92.8% white, 3.6% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population.[13] The largest ancestry groups were as follows: 21.2% cited English ancestry, 20.5% French Canadian, 20.1% French (not counted in the previous group), 15.5% Irish, 8.1% German, and 5.0% American.[15]
Of the 44,315 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 28.3% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 39.8 years.[13]
The median household income was $44,470 and the median family income was $55,045. Males had a median income of $41,554 versus $31,852 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,752. About 9.7% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.[16]
2020 census
At the 2020 census, there were 111,132 people and 45,825 households living in the county.[17] The population density was 237.5 inhabitants per square mile (91.7/km2) inhabitants per square mile. There were 50,844 housing units at a density of 102.3 per square mile (39.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 90.6% white, 5.4% black or African American, 1.1% Asian, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin accounted for 2.2% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: 19.7% English, 18.6% French, 14.6% Irish, 5.7% German, 4.7% Italian, 3.7% Scottish, and 2.1% Subsaharan African.[18] 10.6% of the population over age 5 spoke a language other than English at home.[19]
The median household income was $64,500, and $73,029 for families. The per capita income was $34,273. At 12.7%, Androscoggin County has a poverty rate nearly 2% higher than the state as a whole. The poverty rate for those under 18 was 19.4% and 8.5% for individuals aged 65 and over.[20]
Media
Newspapers
The 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.
Androscoggin County is governed by an elected county commission consisting of seven members representing single-member districts.[25] Currently, the county commissioners are:
District 1 Edouard Plourde (D)
District 2 Roland Poirier (D)
District 3 Brian Ames (R)
District 4 Garrett Mason (R)
District 5 Andrew Lewis (D)
District 6 Terri Kelly (R)
District 7 Sally A. Christner (R)
Voter registration
Active voter registration and party enrollment as of March 2024[26]
Some agriculture exists here.[27] Androscoggin is especially known for poultry – ranking #1 in the state for the poultry and egg category[27] from 77 producing farms.[28] The county is also top in the state for hog and pig production.[27]
