Editing Androscoggin County, Maine (section)

==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, Maine|Wiscasset]], the county seat of [[Lincoln County, Maine|Lincoln County]], in which Lewiston was originally located. It was also an impractical circumstance as Lewiston's neighbor, Auburn, was part of [[Cumberland County, Maine|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, Maine|Bath]], [[Brunswick, Maine|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, Maine|Kennebec County]], and [[Oxford County, Maine|Oxford County]].<ref>[https://i1.wp.com/maineanencyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/Maine-Counties-1840-small.jpg 1840 Map of Maine Counties with Town Boundaries]. Accessed July 2021.</ref>

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.<ref>Hodgkin, Douglas I., ''Frontier to Industrial City:Lewiston Town Politics 1768–1863''. Just Write Books, Topsham, Maine, 2008</ref>