List of counties in Maine
| Counties of Maine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | State of Maine |
| Number | 16 |
| Populations | 17,535 (Piscataquis) – 281,674 (Cumberland) |
| Areas | 370 square miles (960 km2) (Sagadahoc) – 6,829 square miles (17,690 km2) (Aroostook) |
| Government | County government |
| Subdivisions | cities, towns, plantations, unincorporated territories, census designated place, Indian Reservations |
This is a list of the sixteen counties in the U.S. state of Maine. Before statehood, Maine was officially part of the state of Massachusetts and was called the District of Maine. Maine was granted statehood on March 15, 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise. Nine of the sixteen counties had their borders defined while Maine was still part of Massachusetts, and hence are older than the state itself.[1] Even after 1820, the exact location of the northern border of Maine was disputed with Britain, until the question was settled and the northern counties took their final, official form by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed in 1842.[2] Almost all of Aroostook County was disputed land until the treaty was signed.[1]
The first county to be created was York County, created as York County, Massachusetts by the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652 to govern territories it claimed in southern Maine.[3] No new counties have been created since 1860, when Knox County and Sagadahoc County were created. The most populous counties tend to be located in the southwestern portion of the state, along the Atlantic seaboard. The largest counties in terms of land area are inland and further north. Maine's county names derive from a mix of British, American, and Native American sources, reflecting Maine's pre-colonial, colonial, and national heritage.[1]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry. Maine's code is 23, which when combined with any county code would be written as 23XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.[4]
List
| County |
INCITS [5] |
Seat [6] |
Established [6] |
Origin |
Etymology |
Population [6][7] |
Area [6][7] |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Androscoggin County | 001 | Auburn | 1854 | From parts of Cumberland County, Kennebec County, and Lincoln County | The Androscoggin Native American tribe. | 107,702 | 497 mi² (1,287 km²) | 
|
| Aroostook County | 003 | Houlton | 1839 | From parts of Penobscot County, and Washington County | A Native American word meaning beautiful river. | 71,870 | 6,829 sq mi (17,687 km2) | 
|
| Cumberland County | 005 | Portland | 1761 | As Cumberland County, Massachusetts from part of York County | Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II of Great Britain. | 281,674 | 1,217 sq mi (3,152 km2) | 
|
| Franklin County | 007 | Farmington | 1838 | From parts of Kennebec County, Oxford County, and Somerset County | Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Father, scientist, printer, and diplomat. | 30,768 | 1,744 sq mi (4,517 km2) | 
|
| Hancock County | 009 | Ellsworth | 1790 | As Hancock County, Massachusetts, from part of Lincoln County | John Hancock (1737–1793), the Founding Father and president of the convention that produced the United States Declaration of Independence. | 54,418 | 2,351 sq mi (6,089 km2) | 
|
| Kennebec County | 011 | Augusta | 1799 | As Kennebec County, Massachusetts from part of Lincoln County | The Kennebec River in Maine. | 122,151 | 951 sq mi (2,463 km2) | 
|
| Knox County | 013 | Rockland | 1860 | From parts of Lincoln County and Waldo County | Henry Knox (1750–1806), the first United States Secretary of War (1789 - 1794), who lived in Thomaston, Maine. | 39,736 | 1,142 sq mi (2,958 km2) | 
|
| Lincoln County | 015 | Wiscasset | 1760 | As Lincoln County, Massachusetts from part of York County | The city of Lincoln, England. | 34,457 | 700 sq mi (1,813 km2) | 
|
| Oxford County | 017 | Paris | 1805 | As Oxford County, Massachusetts from parts of Cumberland County and York County | Probably named for Oxford, Massachusetts. | 57,833 | 2,175 sq mi (5,633 km2) | 
|
| Penobscot County | 019 | Bangor | 1816 | As Penobscot County, Massachusetts from part of Hancock County | The Penobscot Native American tribe. | 153,923 | 3,556 sq mi (9,210 km2) | 
|
| Piscataquis County | 021 | Dover-Foxcroft | 1838 | From parts of Penobscot County and Somerset County | An Abenaki word meaning rapid waters. | 17,535 | 4,377 sq mi (11,336 km2) | 
|
| Sagadahoc County | 023 | Bath | 1854 | From part of Lincoln County | A Native American word meaning mouth of big river. | 35,293 | 370 sq mi (958 km2) | 
|
| Somerset County | 025 | Skowhegan | 1809 | As Somerset County, Massachusetts from parts of Kennebec County | The county of Somerset in England. | 52,228 | 4,095 sq mi (10,606 km2) | 
|
| Waldo County | 027 | Belfast | 1827 | From parts of Hancock County, Kennebec County and Lincoln County | Samuel Waldo, Maine landowner and a colonial soldier in the 1745 siege of Louisbourg. | 38,786 | 853 sq mi (2,209 km2) | 
|
| Washington County | 029 | Machias | 1790 | As Washington County, Massachusetts from part of Lincoln County | George Washington, the first President of the United States. | 32,856 | 3,255 sq mi (8,430 km2) | 
|
| York County | 031 | Alfred | 1652 | As Yorkshire County, Massachusetts from the southern part of the District of Maine. Renamed York County by Massachusetts in 1668 | York, England, the birthplace of Christopher Levett who first attempted to settle the area. | 197,131 | 1,271 sq mi (3,292 km2) |  |
Song
A song is taught to many elementary school children across the state, entitled the Maine County Song, to aid in memorizing the names of the state's 16 counties. It is sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle.
- Sixteen counties has our state
- Cumberland and Franklin
- Piscataquis and Kennebec
- Oxford, Androscoggin
- Waldo, Washington, and York
- Lincoln, Knox, and Hancock
- Sagadahoc and Somerset
- Aroostook and Penobscot[8]
An alternate version as put forth by the Maine Secretary of State's Kids' Page:
- The sixteen counties in our state
- Are Cumberland and Franklin
- Piscataquis and Somerset
- Aroostook, Androscoggin
- Sagadahoc and Kennebec
- Lincoln, Knox and Hancock
- Waldo, Washington and York
- Oxford and Penobscot[9]
References
- 1 2 3 Clark, Charles E. (1990). Maine: A History. University Press of New England. ISBN 0-87451-520-3.
- ↑ Bassett, John (1913). A Short History of the United States. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 869001. pp. 437–438
- ↑ Clark, Charles E. (1970). The Eastern Frontier: The Settlement of Northern new England, 1610–1763. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. OCLC 94907. p. 50
- ↑ "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- 1 2 3 4 National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- 1 2 "Maine QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". State & County QuickFacts. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ↑ 16 counties fit nicely in ‘Yankee Doodle’
- ↑ Secretary of State Kid's Page (Home)
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